Be More Chill Tickets

High school would be a lot easier if you had someone else monitoring your every move. At least that’s what video game nerd Jeremy thought when he swallowed a mysterious Japanese pill said to grant him his very own Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor. The “Squip,” as it’s known around the halls of his New Jersey high school, implants itself in its host’s brain — guiding him or her through angst-ridden adolescence and transforming an everyday outcast into the coolest cat in class. However, when Jeremy’s Squip has taken hold over his entire existence, with plans to conquer the school, the troubled teen must figure out how to shut down the inner demon — for good.

After a 2015 world-premiere engagement at New Jersey’s Two River Theater, “Be More Chill,” which features music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, makes its long-awaited Off-Broadway debut.

What to watch for

After the New Jersey engagement of “Be More Chill,” the creators thought the commercial life of the show had come to an end. However, its cast album garnered a solid digital fan base, with over 100 million streams, and became Tumblr’s second most talked-about musical — prompting its resurgence off Broadway.

When the show’s songwriter, Joe Iconis, and actor, George Salazar, played Feinstein’s/54 Below, “Be More Chill” fans came from all over the world. Audience members flew in from Paris, Berlin, and London.

Songwriter Joe Iconis says this is the most attention any of his shows has received. “We needed security for a talkback at a community theater,” he said. “Security!”

Joe Iconis’s wife, Lauren Marcus, originated the role of Brooke.

Audience members can participate, too! Outside the theater hangs a “Who’s Your Squip?” board, in which fans can write on a Post-It who their Squip would be inspired by.

“Be More Chill” is based off of the novel of the same name by author Ned Vizzini, who died of an apparent suicide at age 32 in 2013.