#broadway bmc critical

[rebuke-me]

hi wider bmc fandom hope this helps

[weaponizedducks]

argue all you want but the best funniest most accurate representation of teenagers in media is the off broadway version of be more chill. it's the love of my life

[daz4i]

ok i just finished watching that video and i think. personally. maybe. we should start killing tony voters and broadway critics with hammers. just a suggestion tho no pressure ofc xx

was anyone gonna tell me the man who wrote the lightning thief's musical also wrote be more chill. or was i just supposed to hear it in a wait in the wings video myself

[finalgirlgretchen]

bmc fans are funny because i've never seen anyone SO incredibly defensive of a certain actor's performance. like i will admit that many people tend to critize wr A LOTTTT in favor of wc. but also ... criticizing a broadway actor, who is never going to see these criticisms, and expressing a personal opinion about their performance, is. normal. saying u don't like wr's voice or take on the character is a fine thing to say because a) ur allowed to have opinions and b) i PROMISE u. he DOES NOT care. come on girl

[of-decay]

i see so many fans of Soley the bmc broadway production here and look i know it’s easier to access content for and objectively has better set design ect but guys. guys. you can rip the two river version out of my cold dead hands. to me the broadway ver. exaggerates so many personalities in a way that i… do not like… not because they’re necessarily bad portrayals but because to me they come across as all garish and kind of obnoxious whereas in the two river they’re far more relatable and feel more like normal flawed teenagers which really gives the wackiness of certain plot points and moments time to shine. same goes for stuff such as costume design and stuff— i know it’s a silly criticism to have, but everyone in the broadway version dresses kind of like they’re going to an old jojo siwa concert LMAO. though actually broadway jenna and loser geek whatever slap you guys can have that.

but also in the broadway production lowkey everyone just kind of comes off as unlikable??? lmao??? and the jeremy christine kiss at the end holy shit i could write an entire essay on how that diminishes the entire plot of the musical and crushes christine’s character to smithereens. plus jeremy has sooooo much work to improve still at the end of the show and fix his own mindset which is why suddenly having christine like him back right there and then pretty much rewards him for just saying ‘oopsies’ (and i say this as a stagedorks enjoyer)

the changes in script and line delivery ect also make characters like michael so much less likeable imo, his original character was great because he was laid back and didn’t really care which is why MITB hit so hard, and in contrast broadway michael feels a lot… softer? like he’s been reduced to a more anxious and dependent sort of ray of sunshine character when originally he wasn’t really like that? (i could also say they watered down brooke’s character a lot but i won’t even get into that right now)

none of this is to say that you can’t enjoy broadway bmc, hell, i still watch it now and then because it’s fun and wacky and easier to access than two river! but if you haven’t given the original production a chance (the half of it you can find on youtube i guess LMAO) or at least listened to the cast recording i highly recommend it!

[sunshine-embry]

Just because I need to yap about my opinions :3

I have the urge to rant about my Be More Chill Two River vs Broadway version, so I am! I might make another post of just things I like in the songs or entire musical itself if I ever feel motivated enough to 🤗

Before I yap a lot, I just need to say I'm a bit biased towards the Broadway version because I have a record of it 😁

Anyway!

More Than Survive: I personally prefer the Broadway version, BUT I HAVE REASONS I PROMISE. Idk why but the two river version feels a bit too fast for me, but that could just be because I'm used to hearing the Broadway version that I think is slowed down a bit. 🤔

Besides from that, the conversation that Brooke and Chloe have I think is better in the two river version because it introduces Madeline, which Jeremy uses as a story in Be More Chill Part 1 (does that sentence make sense?) Meanwhile the conversation in the broadway version is just there 😑

The "Christines" in the Two River version feels especially too fast, like they were trying to cut down the run time, while the Broadway version just lets it go at a slower pace which I really like.

I also prefer the instrumentals in the Broadway version (idk if there's actually any change to them, it's just at a more digestible pace like I said before) but I see people saying that the Broadway instrumentals of the songs are worse? Idk, I just like it better.

I Love Play Rehearsal: I don't have anything much to say about I Love Play Rehearsal, but I still do have a few things. I really don't prefer any version, they're both equal to me.

Also the fact that in the Broadway version, Christine goes on a small rant about how there isn't any good roles for women in theater anymore which is kinda ironic considering that one of the main criticisms of Be More Chill is that the girl characters are all one-note characters :/

In the Broadway version, I really love when Stephanie Hsu emphasizes the "I LOVE play rehearsal" at the end, it makes me laugh every time without fail.

Also, the Broadway version is faster than the two river version and I don't like that. I guess I just like slow songs :/

The Squip Song Something about the Broadway version of this song makes me so happy and idk why.

Anyway, I really like in the Broadway version when Jeremy whispers drugs even though he gets stoned with Michael. It's funny.

I am kinda sad that the Broadway version cut out the one part with Rich after "it helps you rule", 'cause it was really funny to me. This whole song is really funny to me.

I don't have that much to talk about for the Squip Song 'cause I usually listen to the broadway version because it makes me very very happy for no reason (literally, if you see me listening to it, I will actually smile sm)

Two Player Game: I know I'm going to come on strongly rn, but two player game is my least favorite Broadway version of a BMC song. Fight me.

First of all, the instrumentation kinda falls flat. The original gives such a warm feel to it if you know what I mean, but the Broadway one just kinda feels soulless.

I don't know how to explain it, but just know that I prefer the two river version wayyy over the Broadway version.

The Squip Enters: This is not a song, it's nearly a minute of screaming 🤗

Be More Chill Part 1: My main thing I don't like in the Broadway version of this is the Squip's talking voice. Emphasis on talking voice.

I adore how Jason Tam sings the new part added to the song, I love it sm. But I don't like the smoker voice. It gives me the creeps.

Besides that, like I said before, I love the new addition to the song in the Broadway version, it makes me happy for reasons I can't even begin to explain.

In both versions, I really like the part where Jeremy is telling Chloe and Brooke about how he used to date Madeline even though he didn't. Speaking of Madeline, I have a Madeline ask blog called @tres-magnifique (yes, I did only add this here to self-sponser)

Do You Wanna Ride?: I'm pretty sure it's nearly identical in both versions, having similar instrumentals and the same actresses in both. There's nothing much to talk about.

Be More Chill Part 2: Controversial opinion, but Be More Chill pt 1 should just be called Be More Chill and this song should be called Be More Chill Reprise. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. I have nothing else to say about this song.

I can't do MTS reprise or Sync Up because they are two very different songs.

A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into: Controversial opinion, I don't like this song. I tried to force myself to like it, but something about it I don't like. Like I said for the past two - correct me if I'm wrong - but I'm pretty sure the two versions are basically the same, there's no version I prefer.

Upgrade: Finally something I can yap about! First of all, I prefer the Broadway version. It's just something about it I really like!

I really like how Brooke tries to speak French knowing that Jeremy used to date Madeline. I just think that it's a nice touch.

Anyway, I really like that Brooke and The Squip don't share a part at the beginning, because the two river version where they do makes me really uncomfortable. Plus, I really like Brooke's part in the Broadway version.

I don't understand why they changed "damn" to "now" in the Broadway version. I'm not complaining, but it's just weird to me.

I don't really mind the fact that in the Broadway version, they take out Jake's part about getting sporty and playing cricket. I know that some people compare it to the part in Voices In My Head, in which Jake asks Christine out using something that he likes, but Jeremy does it using something she likes, but Idrc.

What I am kinda mad that they took out in the Broadway version though, is that they took out the part where Jake talks about his parents being in a money laundering scheme. Idk, it just makes me kinda sad.

I'm so glad that in the Broadway version they made Loser Geek Whatever it's own song. IT'S SO GOOD JUST FOR A SMAL PART?!?! LIKE WHAT?!?! I might be a little biased considering it's my favorite BMC song, but still though I'm so happy 😁

I also like how they added the whole "I'm tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am" part, because it really shows that everyone (minus Michael) isn't happy with something and it just adds another layer to their characters. The overlapping also just makes me happy. I think that's it for upgrade.

I'm too lazy to rant anymore, tell me if u want me to do this with the second act. Also thank you for listening to me yap for a solid 10 minutes.

[in-newjersey]

So here are my thoughts on my first time seeing a live BMC production!

Making this non-rebloggable, I am not a real theater critic and I do not want to draw any attention to this actual cast on an anonymous blog to strangers on the internet

For starters, casting!

I respect the variety going on here and the degree of diverging from famous character appearance-tropes. Tiny Latino Jeremy who's as fit as a gymnast and can (and does) do acrobatic spin kicks sometimes? Love it. Plus-size butch-esque Brooke? 10/10. Genderfuckery long-haired Michael who gesticulates with a huge fan through most conversations? Hell yeah. Pink-haired Nirvana-grunge-style trans guy Jake? Now we're talking. Christine a head taller than Jeremy? Awesome.

I will not get too into describing actual real people on here much more than that but in general it was wonderful to see a wide range of character-actor types inhabiting these roles. As someone involved in The Fandom, even though I have frequently expounded upon the mutability of character traits per the text, you do still absorb a general idea of what the characters "look" like; so it was a fun twist to have literally none of the performers fall into those tropes.

I will also say - and this is not a read - that I am no longer going to assume I'm too old to play any of these characters, because I guess that's the magic of community theater lol

On to Thoughts, which I will loosely group by characters:

Rich was fucking awesome. Like I was impressed by the singing skill across the board, but this guy fucking killed it at every turn. I looked at my friend I went with after The Squip Song and we both were like OH OK. Rich also wore mostly KISS T-shirts? Like the shitty glam rock band? But yknow, work. Excellent voice (if casting were a little more 'stereotypical,' he probably would be an excellent Michael). Emotionally, he was on the more explosive side while SQUIPped, melting toward just charmingly cute once in 'real Rich Goranski' mode.

The aforementioned Jake was an interesting take on the character. Definitely leaned more into the kind of douchey side of things, but did at least at one point seem genuinely into Christine (although the actor was very much leaning into the interpretation 'yeah he has multiple interests and he honestly likes them all in the moment but gets bored quickly, and that includes girlfriends'). Is that kind of shitty? Yes. Is that a realistic take on what a rich popular 17 year old might be like? Also yes. Nirvana-fan Jake was not a concept I thought of before but I was down for it (though I discovered later on the cast instagram page that the guy playing Jake said that his version of Jake thinks Nirvana is a clothing brand which, like, galaxy-brain take lol).

THE SQUIP!!!!! Actually cycled through Keanu Reeves costumes, which I loved. Started out in Bill & Ted, then Matrix, then POINT BREAK of all things, before landing on a pretty-impressive-for-the-budget version of the light-up circuitry priest robe thing from the Broadway style. He had the hair and beard pretty close to present-day Keanu too, which made him both line up with the resemblance and seem significantly older than the other characters; voice-wise, this guy was clearly a skilled baritone, which meant his delivery on some of the more rock-style songs was a bit unusual, but not bad. This SQUIP was suave at the right parts but did NOT shy away from being scary: the 'take me inside you' part with Brooke during Upgrade was staged very menacingly with regards to how he was physically moving around/behind Jeremy. The Play was delightfully sinister, leaning HARD into the SQUIP as literally puppeteering everyone: saying their lines and moving his hands like marionnettes throughout, keeping things very creepy and villainous.

On the topic of the play, the fight choreography kicked ass. Mr. Reyes's ALL THE WAY TO BROADWAY rant was delivered while he yanked Jeremy off the ground by his shirtfront and then threw him furiously across the stage, genuinely concerning and upsetting to watch (especially as the SQUIP was miming the same actions and lines behind him, obviously in control of Reyes's body) (I literally said 'oh fuck' out loud when it happened and got a Look from the presumably-grandma in the row ahead lol). The fight choreography during Two Player Game Reprise was also solid: the guy playing Jeremy was FIT and did a lot of impressive acrobatic kicks and such, and the person playing Michael being a lot taller and larger worked well with letting him like bounce off, lift him up for spin kicks, etc.

And in general, I respected how much this production was willing to let certain moments be dark. The Play in general was pretty horror-movie-climax; I also respected that the costuming did indeed look like so-so high school mockups of a modern zombie movie. But the whole number was eerie, SQUIPPED character movements and voices became unnervingly smooth and robotic, and positioning the SQUIP as the puppetmaster in the middle, literally moving the characters around, just sold the whole thing wonderfully. Very appropriately leaning into the horror part of horror-comedy.

Similarly, Do You Wanna Hang? was scary. AS IT SHOULD BE. My friend who came with me compared it favorably to the car scene in the movie 8th Grade, where you're just On Edge the whole time you're watching. The actress playing Chloe did a good job with it, that's an uncomfortable thing to portray but she went for it and it paid off in the moment.

Chloe and Brooke had a fun dynamic: the styles of the costuming/performers did add some interesting dimensions. Chloe was, as usual, pink and perfect and feminine, head-cheerleader vibes; Brooke was short haired and dressed a lot more masculine. Brooke had a very earnest sense of vulnerability to her, and excellent comedic timing during Do You Wanna Ride and The Smartphone Hour, as well as just the minor background-acting moments. They leaned pretty hard into the 'Chloe will take things just because Brooke wanted them, because she likes that Brooke is always a little jealous of her, and thinks that that's friendship' and, like the portrayal of Jake: is that a shitty thing to do? Yes. Is that a realistic thing teenagers might do, especially poisoned by toxic ideas about femininity and power? Also yes.

Which is a good spot to add, the ensemble was small (4) but they were serving it. The band appeared to be octogenarian church volunteers (oh, yeah, this was at a church??? Wesleyan Methodists, so the cool liberal branch of American Christianity) so I will say that with what they had, they were making it work. It would have been served well by a second keyboardist and/or guitarist to do the trumpet parts (it was drums, bass, guitar, and piano). One of the ensemble members, a tall goth-femme person with hot pink hair, played the role of the theremin by doing the melodies in remarkable and ethereal bel canto. And honestly, work.

Jenna Rolan was fun: could belt for the gods, had some pretty-intense Crazy Eyes thing going on that really sold the comedic moments and made her appropriately frightening as the Final Boss in the squipped battle at the end, styled like an early 2000s-lesbian-coded-soft-goth best friend archetype. No notes, 11/10.

The actor playing Mr. Heere/Reyes/Stockboy did a fantastic job of making those three seem separate, and as I mentioned above, really made Mr. Reyes come to life in a dynamic way. Sidenote, this production changed all references to Hobby Lobby to Michaels, which I found both funny and appropriate. Fuck Hobby Lobby, we all hate Hobby Lobby.

Back to characterizations, Christine was sweet and straightforward. Not as quirky or dynamic as Stephanie or a lot of other actresses make her, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Very gentle and smooth voice, she just really likes theater and wants someone to like the real her. They went with ballet-style choreography to introduce her during More Than Survive, which is always a wonderful touch for the way the music swells. There were points where I think a little more creative movement or a wider emotional range might have worked well, but the take on the character was consistent.

I am going to keep that positive thread through the next sections: while I might not have agreed with the interpretation through the text, I do respect going in a starkly different direction to how most productions and fans usually take such things.

I have enormous respect for the performer playing Michael for radically making it their own. The cast bios had pronouns, and Michael's performer was they/she/he, which as a fellow they/she/he who would love to play Michael someday was rad to see. They kept the CREEPS shirt and a hoodie with a lot of patches (albeit a black one with red accents), but that was about it. Michael had light-up cat ear headphones and a huge black fan which he used throughout, alternated between baggy sweatpants or just a floor-length hippy skirt, usually high-heel ankle boots, and some kind of green bathrobe thing for The Pants Song? Characterization, again, respect for making such an iconic character so heavily different. This Michael was not....very emotional. He was usually snippy and sarcastic in a very erudite and matter-of-fact way, at pretty much all points in the show. Not a lot of emotional range going on: this is a Michael who is in some combination of 'doesn't give a shit' and 'not going to let this bother me,' which came off....interesting. The chemistry this created with Jeremy was a starkly different one than we usually see. The original productions - and most since, and the majority of fandom depictions - imagines a Michael and Jeremy who, at their core, love each other a lot. However that manifests of course varies, but you Usually get the impression that (even with a little bit of codependence), these two genuinely love each other and spending time together, which makes moments in the show either heartwarming or devastating to see happen between them.

Not these versions of the characters.

Which didn't make it bad, but it did shake things up. This Michael and Jeremy didn't give deep-love-friendship so much as they gave 'we sat next to each other in 1st grade and don't have other friends. so. I guess we're best friends, huh.'

Which is an INTERESTING and somewhat bleaker, but not unrealistic, take on them. That, sadly, summarizes a lot of friendships, especially at that age and with the sort of vacuum of suburbia on your social sphere (nevermind how a lot of society discourages boys from emotional connection with their friends; if anything, the fact that this Michael was definitely queer might suggest that Jeremy even pulled back emotionally because he didn't want to seem gay or give this Michael the wrong idea). It definitely sells Jeremy feeling lonely, even with his best friend hanging around. Two-Player Game came across a LOT better than I was prepared for - I have waxed about how it's a hard number to pull off - not in spite of, but almost because of this. Like, sure, they've played through this game a million times before, they know every beat, they love it like they love each other, right? even though they seem.....kind of bored. Or at least like they're waiting for something else to happen. College? Girlfriend? Different friends? Just wait two years. Whatever.

To get critical, I will say that this dynamic did not really help Michael in the Bathroom. The fight beforehand and the song itself did.....not really lend themselves to a not-very-emotional friendship between them. The singing was perfect, so not faulting that: it's THE big song of the show, so that's a lot of pressure and the performer had a splendid voice, but the snarky-not-caring-that-much attitude didn't quite do it for me - Michael didn't seem sad or upset so much as pissed off, but still fully keeping it together (despite the lyrics saying otherwise). Tonally, the 'wish I'd offed myself instead' just sounded sarcastic ("wow, SORRY I CARED AT ALL, could've just killed myself for all you seem to care" kind of vibes) THAT SAID, it was consistent with the rest of the characterization, so I admire it as a very specific acting choice. There were also characters on stage - presumably outside the bathroom door, listening in - that turned a good portion of MITB into a comedic number; as I have said before, not my personal take on how that should go, but the audience was laughing along with it! So that's the wonderful mutability of theater.

Strangely enough, this actually made Michael and Jeremy's relationship at the end of the story work out just fine? The SQUIP experience kind of sparked a "wow we really do care about each other, huh" realization from both of them. Again, mad respect for taking such a different approach to such a well-worn character relationship.

So, overall, I am very happy I got to see this. Love to support live theater, love to be surprised by a story that I thought I knew pretty well inside and out, came away with plenty to think and talk about. If you can, go support your local community theater!

[insinirate]

Yeah I’m also Jewish and what the initial anon is missing first off is that dogwhistles are intentional. They are intentionally put into things to subtly imply nazi ideals. Second thing is that like. I do not consider something to be nazi imagery unless it is referencing nazis. We know what nazi symbols are. Something CAN be too similar and then should be changed, absolutely, but while nazis did in fact wear military uniforms because they were…. In an army, they are not the only people that wore military uniforms. It’s just a uniform. If you had put other symbols on it that accidentally skated too close while not intended to be similar, sure, that’d be worth updating. Sometimes a symbol can look really similar because those bastards have so many fucking things they’ve co-opted. But a uniform in and of itself is not nazi related. Anyway yeah nazi punks fuck off, gay rights, I hate fascists. Also since other Jewish anon said so, I’ve been following you since like 2018. DONT know when exactly but before BMC got off-broadway revival.

im loving this trend of anons chiming in with incredibly insightful things that i was a little too worried to think about critically at the time and then just subsequently punching me in the nuts by reminding me that people actually perceived the embarrassing shit i did as a teenager

[nyx-bait]

Listen, this is old as fuck, I'm barely interested in BMC anymore, but George's comments were a huge step back in the representation that was in that show. He posted that opinion on the official BMC Twitter, which made it appear to be an official statement on the characters sexuality, and then got pissed and blamed it on just shipping discourse when he got concerned messages about it, instead of just saying it was his opinion. It also invalidated Joe Tracz's own experience as a gay man writing about being gay in high school, and turned the hospital scene with Rich into a bad stereotype of bi people flirting with anything that moves and coming onto straight people. As a bisexual person myself, I'm pointing out that harmful stereotype.

He gatekept Michael as a character for quite a bit, even booing when his understudy performed as Michael at a concert at 54 Below, and he acted a lot like he had ownership of the character. Back in 2019 his comments caused a lot of people to make fun of and insult people who just wanted representation, and felt a bit betrayed when the patch on Michael's jacket, something added by a fan to demonstrate that the character was gay, was taken by BMC and adopted onto the Broadway costume, only for George Salazar to claim it meant something totally different. I felt it wasn't helpful and was borderline queerbaiting to do that, and I stand by what I've said. I brought this up politely in a letter to him and never got a response, and my comments were not rude to him on this post. I simply am criticizing his stance and illustrating why it's harmful for lgbtq fans.

George Salazar: Says something incredibly hurtful about LGBT fans and never apologizes

Y'all: omg stop yelling at him so meeeeeean!

Gerard Canonico: misreads someone’s tone and tries to defend US FANS, apologizes for overreacting

Y'all: lmaooooo Gerard is cancelled he’s the worst

[dizzybevvie]

I love you analysis I love you awareness of negative tropes I love you recognising that media isnt perfect I love you not being able to handle negativity I love you different interests I have different relationships with I love you the way that changes my perspective on criticism

[reallyray]

BMC Characters: Sexuality/Gender Headcanons!

Jeremy: Bisexual / Cis-Guy

Michael: Gay / Trans-Guy

Christine: Asexual-Panromantic / Cis-Girl

Rich: Bisexual / Trans-Guy

Jake: Pansexual / Cis-Guy

Chloe: Lesbian / Cis-Girl

Jenna: Demisexual-Lesbian / Cis-Girl

Brooke: Asexual-Panromantic / Demi-Girl 

The SQUIP: Asexual-Aromantic / Agender (They’re All 3 A’s!)

[jewishraypalmer]

Broadway show: Has teens

Theatre critics: SO IT’S LIKE THAT OTHER SHOW WITH TEENS?????

[winstonthequant]

Will Roland on his career so far...

To go from this sort of the experience that was Dear Evan Hansen and to have that be my Broadway debut...and then to be able to truly just skip the stone into [Be More Chill] with some of my dearest friends that I care so passionately about...

I am very much on cloud nine.

[crunchie-morris]

Unpopular opinion but people are allowed to enjoy stories that aren’t works of art. You are in no way required to enjoy it, but there’s no need to publicly bash it if it isn’t hurting anybody.

[glumby]

this is random and dont read if you dont give a shit about the tony’s and musicals lol buuut

honestly as someone who thoroughly enjoyed be more chill: the musical I understand why it didn’t get many Tony nominations. As much as I like it, it’s really just a tropey high school awkward guy wants girl story aside from like the supercomputer stuff, lol. And thats part of the reason why I liked it so much because it was just a fun little teenage adventure, and as much as it wanted to be this social commentary on youth and high school.. nothin it really said was that game-changing, story-wise and  in the theatre scene overall. The characters were kind of flat- especially the portrayal of women!!! As they were often put into competitive, objectifying and slut-shamy roles. thats not to say no one can enjoy it or appreciate the talent put into it! And tony’s don’t define what you can enjoy! But I think its important recognize its faults and why it was short of more tony nominations.

[annabelle--cane]

the thing about "teen musical oversaturation" discourse is that there's a very wide gulf between how people online think of it and how people in the broadway establishment think of it. when people online talk about hating teen musicals, they mean a large group of shows that include bmc, deh, tlt, mean girls, heathers, beetlejuice, the prom, and six. that is not what broadway establishment people mean when they talk about hating teen musicals.

you see, most of the aforementioned shows got favorable reviews from big nyc papers and a smattering of tony nominations, the only teen musicals critics have really made a big deal about hating are are be more chill, the lightning thief, we are the tigers, and love in hate nation, all of which were small productions featuring a lot of people new to the industry. what critics and the american theater wing are actually doing by aggressively snubbing those shows is making an example of impertinent outsiders who try to encroach on their territory, and 19-year-old socialists online who are desperate not be seen as immature and are still mad about the 2017 tony awards cheer right along and think it's a kind of revolutionary praxis. babes, when the same critics who slammed be more chill also lavish beetlejuice and mean girls with praise, that may be a sign that it's not that straight forward.