Be More Chill, the musical darling of Tumblr teens everywhere, is ending its 177-performance run on Broadway. August 11 will be the show’s last bow, completing a four-year journey from workshop to fanfic to Broadway. “Be More Chill has never followed a conventional path. It’s a musical that has subverted expectations and caused a ruckus every step of the way,” said composer Joe Iconis onstage after Thursday night’s performance. “I’m beyond proud that our little underdog musical played for the better part of a year in New York City, and that half of that year was spent on Broadway. Having a show I care about play Broadway has been a dream of mine since I was a child.”
Be More Chill debuted at the Two Rivers Theater in 2015. That same year, the cast recording found its way to the internet, where it took off in a major way. The play concerns a swallowable algorithmic pill that turns teen schlub Jeremy into a popular prick. “The musical’s online devotees have rendered the songs, specifically the act-two solo ‘Michael in the Bathroom,’ in myriad styles of animation, including stop-motion Lego,” wrote Vulture’s Jackson McHenry. The creative team behind the show hoped a Broadway run would expand an already large online fandom. “Do I wish we could’ve beaten the odds and played 45th Street for five years?” Iconis asked the audience. “Yes. Am I aware that by making it to Broadway in the first place, we already beat the odds? Oh, hell yes.”
