BE MORE CHILL Begins Off-Broadway Run Tomorrow

Be More Chill, the original musical with music and lyrics by Joe Iconis (NBC's "Smash," The Black Suits, Broadway Bounty Hunter) and a book by Joe Tracz (The Lightning Thief, Netflix's "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events")launches its long anticipated New York premiere production July 26. Stephen Brackett directs and Chase Brockchoreographs the limited 9-week, off-Broadway engagement, running through September 23 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street, NYC). The official opening night is Thursday, August 9 at 7:30PM. Performances are Tuesday - Friday at 7:30PM; Saturday at 2PM and 8PM; and Sunday at 2PM & 7:30PM. Tickets are $65 - $140 and are now on sale at TicketCentral.com, (212) 279-4200. Premium seating, including exclusive Be More Chill merchandise is available. For more information, visit www.BeMoreChillMusical.com.

A limited number of Be More Chill lottery tickets will be available exclusively through TodayTix for $29 per ticket. The lottery will open for entries at midnight each performance day, and close four-and-a-half hours prior to the selected performance time. If selected, winners will have one hour to claim and pay for their tickets through TodayTix. Tickets may be picked up at the Pershing Square Signature Center Box Office beginning one hour prior to performance time. Visit www.todaytix.com or download TodayTix for iOS or Android

Based on the cult sensation novel by Ned Vizzini, Be More Chill is the story of Jeremy Heere, your average, nothing-special teenager at Middleborough High in nothing-special New Jersey. That is, until the day he finds out about "The Squip." Thus begins a journey that pits Jeremy's desire to be popular against his struggle to remain true to his authentic self. Be More Chill is an honest, edgy, super-hilarious look at coming of age in the digital age, set to some of the most exciting songs in contemporary musical theater. This original musical comedy looks at modern issues like depression, bullying, and anxiety through the lens of sci-fi films of the 50s, horror flicks of the 80s, and teen movies of the 90s. Little Shop of Horrors meets The Breakfast Club in this celebration of outcasts, teenaged or otherwise.

Before arriving in New York, Be More Chill has already amassed an unprecedented following across various online platforms, with millions of fans from Brazil to Japan to New Jersey sharing fan art, streaming the album (over 150 million streams to date), and talking about the show. In 2017, Tumblr ranked Be More Chill as the #2 most talked-about musical on their platform, following Hamilton.

The New York premiere production of Be More Chill features Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening, Groundhog Day) as Rich, Katlyn Carlson (Dirty Dancing, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin) as Chloe, Stephanie Hsu(SpongeBob SquarePants) as Christine, Tiffany Mann (Waitress, Jerry Springer the Opera) as Jenna, Lauren Marcus (The Humans at St. Louis Rep, Company at Barrington Stage) as Brooke, Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, The Black Suits) as Jeremy, George Salazar (tick tick BOOM!, Godspell, The Lightning Thief) as Michael, Britton Smith (Shuffle Along, AfterMidnight) as Jake, Jason Tam (NBC's "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert," KPOP) as The Squip, and Jason SweetTooth Williams (Freaky Friday, Benny and Joon, Bloodsong of Love) as Jeremy's Dad/Mr. Reyes.

Gerald Goehring, Michael F. Mitri, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Marc David Levine, Marlene and Gary Cohen, 42nd.club,The Baruch Frankel Viertel Group, Alisa and Charlie Thorne, Jenny Niederhoffer, Chris Blasting/Simpson & Longthorne, Brad Blume/Gemini Theatrical, Jonathan Demar/Kim Vasquez, Ben Holtzman and Sammy Lopez,Koenigsberg/Federman/Adler, Ashlee Latimer and Jenna Ushkowitz, Jenn Maley and Cori Stolbun, Robert and Joan Rechnitz, Fred and Randi Sternfeld, YesBroadway Productions, in association with Two River Theater, Red Bank, NJ,which originally commissioned and produced the musical.

Be More Chill features scenic design by Tony Award-winner Beowulf Boritt (Come From Away), costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II (Lizzie Borden, Top Girls); lighting design by Tony Award-winner Tyler Micoleau (The Band's Visit); sound design by Ryan Rumery (Fool For Love); projection design by Alex Basco Koch (Buyer & Cellar); musical direction by Emily Marshall; orchestrations by Charlie Rosen (Prince of Broadway, Honeymoon in Vegas); casting by Telsey + Company / Adam Caldwell, CSA & Rebecca Scholl, CSA; production stage management by Amanda Michaels (The Children, The Ballad of Little Jo); general management by Lisa Dozier King; and production management bySenovvA Production Core.

Following up on the success of The 2015 Two River Theater cast recording, available from Ghostlight Records, the special edition Be More Chill original cast recording on vinyl will be released July 27, the day after performances begin at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Pre-order the Be More Chill vinyl edition through PledgeMusic (pledgemusic.com/projects/bemorechill) and be the first to receive the 2-disc package, which features new illustrative designs, green and red colored discs, and a 16-page, 12 x 12 booklet with lyrics, production photos and a new liner note from Joe Iconis. Also available from Ghostlight Records on July 27, the new CD of Two-Player Game featuring Joe Iconis and George Salazar.

Performance rights for Be More Chill are licensed by R&H Theatricals.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski