The Loudest One is Ours

We close our St. Louis production of Be More Chill just as the Broadway production has posted its closing notice for a little over a month from now. It's another reminder, as if we needed one, that this miraculous thing we create, this piece of deeply felt art that we all pour ourselves into, exists only for a while and then it's gone.

I often hear people say that's why theatre is so special. Call me a cynic, but I look forward to the day when we have real-life holodecks and we can literally relive opening night of Company and Show Boat and Hamilton.

Over and over and over again.

Also, I'm going to keep watching bootlegs...

We are all so grateful to The Joes (Iconis and Tracz) for writing Be More Chill, to superstar producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper (the hardest working woman in show biz; did I mention she also writes book?), who shepherded the show along, to Charlie Rosen the show's incredible orchestrator; this incredible team who gave us the greatest gift possible, an exquisite, exciting, surprising piece of musical theatre heaven to work on and share with our audiences.

We will miss the universe of Be More Chill terribly, but it brings me great comfort to know that this beautiful, unusual, thrilling piece of theatre will have a long, healthy life in regional productions, in community theatre and school productions, and through its massive volume of fan art, fan covers, and fan forums (fora?). I can think of only a couple shows that have created that intensity of passion in their fans -- Rent and Hamilton.

A huge part of the fun for me during this process (as always) has been exploring, thinking about, and writing about this show, its structure and form, the show's textual themes, its many surprises and secrets, the opening number, and the relationship between the musical and its source novel. So much there to think about.

I also got to interview four members of the BMC team for my Stage Grok podcast -- composer-lyricist Joe Iconis (nicest guy ever), Jennifer Ashley Tepper (my theatre hero), orchestrator Charlie Rosen (a true genius), and actor Katlyn Carlson (super cool and super talented). I've never been able to get so many perspectives on a single show. It was really fun talking to all of them.

We knew the response to this show would be intense, but we had no idea what was coming... Only a few shows in our 28-year history have been met with enthusiasm like this -- honestly, maybe no other show of ours has reached quite this level...

The critics embraced us completely...

“Productions like this are exactly what contemporary theatre needs.”
– Tanya Seale, BroadwayWorld

“One of New Line’s best productions in recent history.”
– Kevin Brackett, ReviewSTL

“A startlingly fresh musical that avoids cliché to tell an exciting and at times very funny story about modern teenagers with a sci-fi twist.”
– Paul Friswold, The Riverfront Times

“Teen angst has rarely been so entertainingly outrageous.”
– Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“The powerful connection between actors and theatergoers is electric and palpable.”
– Lynn Venhaus, St. Louis Limelight

"This is a perfect New Line show, and how Scott Miller managed to present it so soon after its Broadway opening is a wonder."
– Judith Newmark, All the World’s a Stage

"the regional premiere run at New Line is truly special."
– Jeff Ritter, Critical Blast

“A spectacular production. . . A total blast.”
– Tina Farmer, KDHX

We created a "Who's Your Squip?" wall in our lobby, much like they did in New York. The idea is to decide, if you had a squip, what person/character would the squip take on. At first, I chose Bob Fosse, but then I thought having him in my head all the time might be really oppressive, so I chose John Waters instead. I wasn't sure if people would participate, but our squip wall grew every night of the run. Here's a video documenting our great squip wall on closing night...

And the responses from our audiences on Facebook were overwhelming. Here's a few of them...

"Saw the production of Be More Chill last night. We knew all the songs ahead of time and were so excited to see it performed live. It was over our expectations! Amazing singers, actors, performances. Definitely worth visiting this theatre and group -- we’ve just learned about it and will be back. And for now? We get to spend the next week with all BMC songs stuck in our heads (no complaints)"

"Tonight's performance was fantastic. I taught high school for 31 years and I have a 21 year old son whose life revolves around music and performing -- and finding his way to know himself. Needless to say, I feel like the actors captured the angst/humor/passion/confusion of high school -- with a sci-fi twist. I loved every minute of the show. Kudos."

"After seeing this production at New Line the other week, I'm pretty sure I've listened to the original cast recording about a dozen times. I think I've changed my mind on what song I like best about four or five times. Too many good ones to choose from! Also, I'd love to hear a recording made from your cast, they did such a great job."

"New Line Theatre’s production of Be More Chill was so much fun tonight! We are truly so fortunate to have so much great art in this city."

"Can’t stress this enough. Be More Chill with New Line Theatre is tremendous! The voices. The actors. The music. The musicians. What an absolute joy of a show!"

"It was wonderful. Thank you for bringing it to St. Louis!"

"My son saw it twice! Great show."

I was very surprised that a dozen or more people talked to me during our run who had seen the show off or on Broadway, and preferred our production. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that our actors are literally a few feet from the front row, and our little blackbox theatre has only eight rows when we set it up this way. Just the fact of that intimacy makes any great show funnier, more intense, more powerful, more emotional, more honest.

I did see the off Broadway production, but have not seen it on Broadway. I know it's a terrific production with a really strong cast, but I think maybe this is a story that works better away from the pressures of the commercial theatre. I think the physical circumstances of our production lent us a little extra up-close magic.

It's really wonderful to find a great piece of theatre, put together a great production with a bunch of brilliant theatre artists, and then share it with audiences who fall in love with it. After all, despite all the cool things I found in the text and music, this really is just a story about surviving being Different.

And it's a thriller!

Everyone who helped create our production did extraordinary work -- our designers, tech staff, musicians, actors...  Musical theatre is the most collaborative of all art forms, and that's a big part of why I love it so much. (I'll never understand the companies who hire a computer instead of a band. Sorry, but that's not live musical theatre. The band is performing as much as the actors are!)

I am so grateful to all the New Liners who worked on Be More Chill, but I have to offer a few special thanks -- to Dowdy, who I trust more than anyone else I've ever worked with, and who directed this show with incredible creativity and artistry and confidence; to Jayde Mitchell (Jeremy) who worked his ass off, and who embraced every direction we gave him; and to Kevin Corpuz (Michael) and Grace Langford (Christine), two of our up-and-coming New Line stars, both of whom are wildly talented, super easy to work with, and extraordinary onstage.

Grace will be playing the female lead in both Cry-Baby and Head Over Heels next season, and Kevin will be Bobby Strong in Urinetown! Keep an eye on these two!

This whole cast rocked, the band (ably led by new New Liner Marc Vincent) rocked, and I really could not be prouder or happier. And New Line's bank account is reeeeally happy...

I love my job!

Long Live the Musical!
Scott