The Joe Iconis-Joe Tracz musical is set to open at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre in early 2019.
Ghostlight Records has released "Loser Geek Whatever" — the new single from Be More Chill written for its recent off-Broadway run at Signature Theatre and performed by Will Roland — as a three-track release featuring the song plus the instrumental track and a special acoustic version featuring Roland and composer-lyricist Joe Iconis. It is now available to download or stream here, as is a new video for the song, which you can see below:
"‘Loser Geek Whatever' took me three years to write. Or three days. Depending on how you look at it," said Iconis in a statement. "I knew I wanted a big Act 1 closer for our protagonist Jeremy Heere when Be More Chill was at Two River Theater in 2015, but I was never able to crack the moment. When we returned to the show this past summer off-Broadway, being in a rehearsal process with the creative team and our brilliant leading man Will Roland allowed me to finally put pen to paper and write the song. Charlie Rosen created a glorious arrangement that has the swagger of a Golden Age musical theater number reimagined as a maximalist synth-pop fantasia. My longtime collaborator Ian Kagey recorded and mixed this killer single that I cannot wait to unleash on the world."
Inspired by the novel by Ned Vizzini, Be More Chill, featuring music and lyrics by Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, is directed by Stephen Brackett with choreography by Chase Brock. The musical premiered in 2015 at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. After its off-Broadway engagement earlier this year, it will transfer to Broadway's Lyceum Theatre, beginning performances on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, ahead of an opening night on Sunday evening, March 10.
The off-Broadway run starred Will Roland as Jeremy and George Salazar as Michael, joined by Gerard Canonico as Rich, Katlyn Carlson as Chloe, Stephanie Hsu as Christine, Tiffany Mann as Jenna, Lauren Marcus as Brooke, Britton Smith as Jake, Jason Tam as The Squip, and Jason SweetTooth Williams as Jeremy's Dad and Mr. Reyes. Cameron Bond, Troy Iwata, and Talia Suskauer were the company swings.