Stars in the House continues tonight 8pm ET with Women’s History Month Broadway for Racial Justicewith guest host Laura Benanti, joined by Brandon Michael Nase, Cindy Tsai and Celia Keenan-Bolger.
Following its world premiere at Two River Theater and a subsequent Off-Broadway run at Signature Theatre, Be More Chill opened at the Lyceum Theatre March 10, 2019. The production, directed by Stephen Brackett, played 23 previews and 168 performances before closing August 11, earning a Tony nomination for Best Original Score.
Based on the novel by Ned Vizzini, Be More Chill tells the story of an unpopular teen who takes a supercomputer pill to become cool—only to discover that the A.I. inside wants to take over the world. The musical features a score by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz.
Be More Chill starred Will Roland as Jeremy Heere, George Salazar as Michael Mell, Stephanie Hsu as Christine Canigula, Jason Tam as The Squip, Gerard Canonico as Rich Goranski, Katlyn Carlson as Chloe Valentine, Tiffany Mann as Jenna Rolan, Lauren Marcus as Brooke Lohst, Britton Smith as Jake Dillinger, and Jason “SweetTooth” Williams as Mr. Heere, Mr. Reyes, and Scary Stockboy. Rounding out the company were Cameron Bond, Anthony Chatmon II, Morgan Siobhan Green, Troy Iwata, Talia Suskauer, and Joel Waggoner as understudies.
The production featured choreography by Chase Brock, scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau, sound design by Ryan Rumery, projection design by Alex Basco Koch, musical direction by Emily Marshall, and orchestrations by Charlie Rosen. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
In 2020, Be More Chill made its U.K. premiere at London’s The Other Palace.
The free online event will take place tonight,Monday, March 8 8pm EST, as part of the ‘Studio Tenn Talks Conversations with Patrick Cassidy’ series. Check back right here at BroadwayWorld to watch live
Read on for some more theatre headlines that you may have missed in today’s news, including a few items about former Hamilton stars.
Renée Elise Goldsberry and Javier Muñoz Cast in Disney Junior Animated Series Eureka!
Hamilton original cast members Renée Elise Goldsberry and Javier Muñoz have joined the cast of Eureka!, an upcoming Disney Junior animated series. The show will follow a young inventor living in prehistoric times and is set to debut later this year. Ruth Righi will voice Eureka with Goldsberry and Lil Rel Howery as her parents, Roxy and Rollo, and Muñoz as her teacher, Ohm. Broadway alum Devin Trey Campbell (Kinky Boots) will also voice a character named Barry. The series is produced by animation studio Brown Bag Films in association with Disney Junior.
Broadway at the Critics Choice Awards
After a posthumous Golden Globe Awards win last month, the late Chadwick Boseman won a Critics Choice Award March 7 for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The Netflix adaptation of the August Wilson play also received Best Costume Design for Tony winner Ann Roth and Best Hair and Makeup design. Meanwhile, the Disney+ release of Hamilton won Best Movie Made for Television, while one of its stars, Leslie Odom Jr., won as a co-writer on the song “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami… (also based on a play). Additional winners (from across the pond) included Tony nominee Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman, said film’s director-screenwriter Emerald Fennell (also the book writer of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella), and Olivier nominee Hannah Waddingham for Ted Lasso.
Broadway & Beyond Will Offer Résumé & Interview Workshop
Broadway & Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color, created to provide opportunity and education for stage managers of color, will host its second event, Résumé & Interview Workshop: Always Be Prepared!, March 16 from 6–7:30 PM ET. The evening, facilitated by Patch Schwadron (career counselor supervisor of The Career Center at The Actors Fund) and stage manager Sherry Cohen, will offer tips for creating an effective résumé and cover letter, how to nail a job interview, and presentation skills. The event will also serve as a networking opportunity for stage managers of color from around the country. Attendance is free, and interested candidates must register online at BroadwayBeyondAccess.com by 5 PM ET on March 14. (Those seeking individualized feedback on their résumés at the workshop should include it with the advance registration.)
Patti Smith to Honor Robert Mapplethorpe at Brooklyn Museum
Patti Smith will perform an afternoon of poetry and music March 9 at 12:30 PM ET at The Brooklyn Museum as part of the ongoing statewide NY PopsUp festival. Singer-songwriter, author, and poet Smith will honor the memory of artist Robert Mapplethorpe on the anniversary of his death, March 9, 1989. The performance, a personal thank you to the museum’s workers, can be seen on the festival’s Instagram page at @NYPopsUp.
Dance Lab New York Announces New Documentary First Try
A new film will follow DLNY artists Tilly Evans-Krueger, Ja’ Malik, and Ariel Rivka as they develop a number of dance pieces. First Try premieres on YouTube March 29 at 8 PM ET. “As an organization dedicated to supporting choreographers, it’s a privilege for DLNY to create a film that showcases the passion and fortitude of these artists, and introduce audiences to three special dance makers who have come through our doors this past year,” says Founding Artistic Director Josh Prince. First Try will also feature appearances from Andy Blankenbuehler, Robbie Fairchild, Lorin Latarro, and more. To register for the free premiere event, click here.
Watchas Richard chats with Broadway favorite Eva Noblezada, who will soon join Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, March 73pm and 8pm.
March 12, 2021 marks a year since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped New York, forcing theatres shutdown. While theatres remain dark, the driving force of Broadway is not its stages but rather the people who make it come to life performance after performance. In honor of the many artists who have navigated the pandemic off the stage, the Ensemblist reunited over 90 performers to the theatre district for a portrait with theatre photographer Michaelah Reynolds.
“To mark the anniversary of Broadway’s shutdown, we wanted to create a contemporary take on Langdon Clay’s iconic image of 42nd Street from 1979,” the Ensemblist co-creator Mo Brady explained. “Working with photographer Michaelah Reynolds, more than 90 New York stage actors came together to be photographed along the same block adhering to COVID precautions. Although the images were taken more than 40 years apart, they each show one of the world’s most famous roads in a time of crisis. Our goal was to create a striking visual that simultaneously showed isolation and community.”
Featuring performers from Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Aladdin, Beetlejuice, Caroline, or Change, Chicago, Come From Away, Company, Frozen, Hadestown, Hamilton, Jagged Little Pill, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge!, Mrs. Doubtfire, Once Upon a One More Time, The Book of Mormon, The Inheritance, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, West Side Story, and Wicked.