Be More Chill

Product Information

Michael reveals he knew what SQUIP really were the entire time after his brother used an early version of the SQUIP to cheat on his SATs, only for it to drive him insane. Vizzini ever heard voices, and if that was how he got the idea for the novel, which features a teenage boy who swallows a pill-size supercomputer that manifests as a disembodied presence in his head. After he wrote an essay that got published by the New York Times Magazine, several of his essays about his young adult life ended up being combined into his first book, Teen Angst? On December 18, 2018, it was announced that the entire Off-Broadway cast would reprise their roles for the Broadway production.

The tie-in edition includes some great extra content, including a foreward about the making of the musical, as well as some lovely images from the show. But since I want to see the show, I’m going to try to see that first and then read the book as to avoid any spoilers, lol. Michael hoped by telling Jeremy a fake name for the SQUIP would dissuade Jeremy from also picking up one. Be More Chill is a story about a “loser” high school teen that swallows a miniature computer to improve his self-image and get the girl he likes. Encouraging Jeremy to use an interested Brooke as a stepping stone to greater popularity, he hooks up with her, while Jake asks Christine to come to his house ("Upgrade").Surrounded by his friends and family, Jeremy realizes that there will always be outside influences, but he needs to learn to make up his own mind instead.

The production later transferred to the West End, resuming performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre on June 30, 2021.

Preview performances at the Lyceum Theatre began on February 13, 2019, and the show officially opened on March 10, 2019. And also if you live in my house you might want to bludgeon me with a Maglite tonight because I can't stop singing this song.

The major themes of the book include what you give up of yourself to become Cool/the cost of popularity and the value of technology- how much you can let it decide your life vs. When the SQUIP activates, it causes Jeremy to have a seizure in front of Christine and Jake ("The Squip Enters"). Vizzini] supplies personal insights and a clever, self-deprecating tone that make the book an entertaining read. The production announced its closing on June 20, 2019, and closed on August 11, 2019, playing 30 previews and 177 performances. Jeremy, however, realizes this is not what he had wanted and makes Christine drink the last of the red Mountain Dew: this causes a chain reaction that destroys the rest of the SQUIPs ("The Play").The SQUIP reveals itself to still be alive, weakly taunting Jeremy from inside his head, but Jeremy ignores it, happily proclaiming that "of all the voices in my head, the loudest one is mine" ("Voices in My Head"). When Jeremy takes the pill, the Squip helps him become cooler, acting as his own, internal life coach (that speaks directly into Jeremy’s brain in the voice of Keanu Reeves).