“Be More Chill” Review: A joyous night out not to be missed
Photo taken by Yara Khalil
Review of opening night, Friday July 1st
After discovering Happily Ever After Production’s three years ago, Be More Chill is the very first HEA production that I have not been a part of. After rediscovering amateur theater as an adult and auditioning for every single musical since, I finally took a much needed break and got to be an audience member for this one - and honestly, it reminded me how joyful it is to watch a good amateur musical with performers who love what they are doing.
To me, that’s what’s special about community theater. Everyone onstage is there because they genuinely love it. And sure, scene changes may not go 100% smoothly or things may malfunction, but that’s much more preferable than seeing jaded professional actors who now see performing as just a job. The Be More Chill cast and crew brought that love and joy to the stage in spades - we even saw the front of house volunteers (The Squip Squad) hop in and dance in the audience with the cast during the song “The Smartphone Hour”- and they took their moment and brought it. Every single member of the ensemble brought energy and commitment to each dance number and each character they had to play, and stayed engaged in the content. My biggest pet peeve as an audience member is seeing a disengaged actor onstage, and I didn’t see that once during this show.
For context, Be More Chill is a newer musical with a massive cult following online. This show premiered in 2015 in New Jersey, where it was met with enthusiasm on social media, but only a “so-so” review from the New York Times. The original cast album was released, and it didn't look like the show would go much further than that. In 2017, seemingly out of nowhere, Be More Chill became a massive sensation on the internet. Not only were people listening to it and talking about it, but also making animated videos to the songs, leaking footage from the original production in 2015, and creating Be More Chill wikis, blogs, vlogs, Tumblrs, Subreddits, art, fiction, and even a “dating sim.” HEA’s production of Be More Chill was the Netherlands premiere of the show.
For musical theater fans, Be More Chill is basically a modern day Little Shop of Horrors, but instead of a man-eating plant, you have a super computer taken in pill form, and instead of a dweeby flower shop worker, you have a dweeby high school kid who wants to be popular. The score seems inspired by music from the 90’s and early 2000’s - just listen to “The Pitiful Children” and you’ll immediately hear the Backstreet Boys influence - which brings back a bit of nostalgia for audience members.
The show is led by Ethan Rajanayagam, who plays Jeremy Heere, the nerdy protagonist trying to survive high school. Ethan has a great voice - the moment he started singing at the start of the show, I knew the voices in the show were going to be high quality. Ethan plays a relatable protagonist who the audience genuinely enjoys going through the show’s journey with, and he plays the perfect foil to Philippe Bernay’s Squip (the show’s supercomputer antagonist).
I’ll start with the disclaimer that I might be a little biased because Philippe is one of my favorite actors to work with - but the SQUIP may be my favorite role of his yet. The moment he stepped onstage dressed as matrix-style Keanu Reeves, backlit by an eerie green light, the crowd went wild. Philippe’s portrayal of the SQUIP strikes the perfect balance of the “lovable baddie” - you know he’s the bad guy and you shouldn’t be rooting for him, but man is he so fun to watch.
Alissa Kos plays a very likable, relatable Christine and her smokey voice fits the rock genre of the show perfectly. All theater kids (including myself) relate maybe a bit too much to her obsession with theater as a coping mechanism to avoid real life problems. Brittany Sanders, always the polished performer, continues to deliver as Brooke - the SECOND most popular girl in school - and delivers the “popular girl” character with great comedic timing. A special shout out goes to Simon Bitton who plays Mr.Reyes, proving the “there’s no small roles, only small actors” quote - Simon milks every single moment he’s onstage and delivers the over the top theater teacher (and all of his other various ensemble roles) with joy and heaps of character.
The true standout of the show for me was M Monteiro, who plays Jeremy’s geeky best friend, Michael. Not only does M charm the audience with their portrayal of the role of the lovable geek who doesn’t care what anyone thinks - M’s rendition of “Michael in the Bathroom” was five minutes of pure musical theater magic. I know, that sounds super dramatic (what do you expect? I’m a theater kid at heart) - but it’s true. People were crying, people were cheering, two women in my row even STOOD UP to clap at the end of the song. The combination of M’s acting and their one-of-a-kind voice brought the house down.
Last but certainly not least, the show of course would not be as enjoyable as it is without the fantastic direction from Sara Watts and assistant director Ties Jansen, the complex and innovative choreo from Annick Huizinga and Yaël Sarioa, or the incredible, custom made projections by Marc De Wolf. The original Broadway production was known for being a technical feat, and HEA managed to minimize the set and tech and make up for it with incredible choreo and impressive animations and projections.
Be More Chill performs for only one more weekend at Het Zonnehuis on July 7th, 8th, and 9th. You can get your tickets to this great show at heaproductions.nl/be-more-chill. Maybe I’ll see you there- I’ve already got tickets to see it a second time ;)