UNPOPULAR Will Roland, left, as Jeremy with his best friend, Michael (George Salazar). , a nerdy and unhappy high school kid who seems to find all the answers in an illicit Japanese cyberdrug, This photograph is from the Off Broadway production.
THIS IS THE TALE of an unlikely Broadway hit. It started at Two River in Red Bank, N.J., a regional theater whose productions I reviewed for years for The New York Times. A Two River production of “Be More Chill” opened in 2015 and was warmly received.
Well, except by The Times. The paper eliminated its regional sections that year, but the daily sent one of its big-time critics, Charles Isherwood, to check it out. Isherwood tried to be nice — he called the production “energetic” — but concluded, “Even the show’s efforts at more zany comedy sometimes have a whiff of the stale about them.”
Well, that’s the great thing about young theatergoers. They haven’t seen everything before, so it’s fresh and crisp to them.
The producers persisted. They recorded an original cast album and put it online, and the last time we looked, it had been streamed more than 300 million times. Last summer, almost before you knew it, the show had an Off Broadway run, at the Signature Theater Center, which sold out. And on March 10, the show took that final big step. It opened on Broadway, at the 900-plus-seat Lyceum Theater.
If you are a high school student, you probably already know more about “Be More Chill” than any critic does. If you’re not, here are some key points:
CENTER OF ATTENTION Stephanie Hsu as Christina, Jeremy’s drama-club-loving classmate. And his dream girl.
THE HERO Our protagonist is Jeremy Heere (Will Roland), a nice high school guy who lives with his divorced dad (Jason SweetTooth Williams), who walks around at home in his boxer shorts way too much. Jeremy has a swell best friend (Michael, played by George Salazar). They’re sitting on the edge of Jeremy’s bed playing a video game as the show opens. And Jeremy lusts after Christina (Stephanie Hsu), a bouncy and charming classmate who loves being in school plays.
THE PLOT Unfortunately, Jeremy is a sad, insecure loser who believes nothing in his life will ever change. Then a sympathetic guy tells him about the Squip, a pill (“from Japan,” everyone says in awestruck voices) that’s really a computer thingie that will tell him exactly what to do in every situation to be cool and fabulous.
TALK ABOUT A LIFE COACH Jason Tam, left, as the personification of the Squip, can tell Jeremy (Roland) anything he needs to know to be cool.
THE SAVIOR For the sake of stagecraft, we see the Squip (Jason Tam) as a movie star type in sparkly silver spacesuit-influenced fashions. It is mentioned more than once that he looks like Keanu Reeves. He knows everything, and soon Jeremy is a winner. This is both wonderfully original and highly derivative. Anyone who ever saw Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam” may be reminded of an invisible (to others) Humphrey Bogart type advising Woody’s character on how to succeed with women.
THE DRUG To buy the Squip, Jeremy has to go to a Payless shoe store and ask this one particular sales guy. (There is probably no connection between this plot point and Payless’s bankruptcy announcement earlier this year.) When you take the Squip, you have to wash it down with Mountain Dew. (No one knows why.)
THE COMPLICATIONS The Squip drinks alcohol at the Halloween property, which turns out to be a mistake. He reverts to factory settings, starts speaking Japanese and passes out. I thought this was a fresh new idea until I watched “Toy Store 3” for the first time a few days ago and saw the same thing happen to Buzz Lightyear. Except he spoke Spanish.
HALLOWEEN FUN Christina and Jeremy with an unidentified friend.
THE WACKINESS The class does a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but one set in Athens, Ga. (as opposed to Athens, Greece), in a post-apocalyptic future. Most of Act II (of “Be More Chill,” not of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) takes place at a Halloween party.
THE PREDICTABLE PARTS When Jeremy becomes Mr. Popularity, he has to abandon Michael, and Michael feels hurt. When the entire study body is given a choice between getting Squippy and being flawlessly cool every remaining day of their lives or being their authentic selves, you can probably guess which they choose.
MEAN GIRLS From left, Katlyn Carlson, Tiffany Mann and Lauren Marcus.
THE MUSIC Everyone’s favorite song seems to be “Michael in the Bathroom,” which is indeed about Michael’s hiding out in the bathroom at a party where he’s not having a good time. And I know people well past their 18th birthdays who have done that. Christina’s big song is “I Love Play Rehearsal.” And “The Smartphone Hour” is a group number that recalls the “Telephone Hour” number from the multiple-Tony-winning “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” in which hordes of teenagers gossiped on Princess phones with rotary dials. (Note to younger readers: “Birdie” was an all-about-teenagers musical that opened on Broadway in 1960.) Music and lyrics are by Joe Iconis.
Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, bemorechillmusical.com, 2 hours 30 minutes. Open run.