Be More Chill Off-Broadway Official Thread — Page 5

have not seen the musical, but the book this is based on is one of the most sexist piles of garbage I've ever had the misfortune of reading.

It was insane the whole time. I don't know what you consider "tame" but....this was not tame by any means.

dearalanaaaa said: "-None of the gay ships are Canon, but only in one side."

Say what now?

dearalanaaaa said: "I'm so tired everything is a bit trippy. Each ship the fandom wanted ended up being one-sided (besides all involving Jake or the girls.)"

Not sure that helped. Doesn't a show... exist, and you go see it and that's what happens? The fandom has to rally around the actual show and what actually happens in it, no?

Not too concerned, as I have a friend in the show, so I was going either way. Now I just hope there is a backstage area where they can greet guests and not tell us to wait in the lobby.

I don't know much beyond the basic premise of the show, so I'm just waiting until I see it Labor Day weekend?

S394206H said: "I took a horrifying dive into the Be More Chill tumblr tag last night, and it seems like the vast majority of the fans have fixated on “how gay it is now!!” and seem to be disregarding the whole point of the show. I personally have nothing against fan service, but only if the changes you make service both the overall story and the fans. I have a very basic grasp of the show and it’s plot, and don’t particularly consider myself a fan, but I talked to a friend who was there last night who said that most of the more “fan-servicey” changes felt shoehorned in for audience approval rather than actual plot or character development. I am particularly put off by the fact the Rich kind of now just says, “oh, by the way, I’m bi now!” and the whole thing is treated very flippantly, at least according to my friend. I feel like this show has potential to be even more successful than it already is if changes are made to flesh out the characters more, but instead it feels like they were only concerned with getting cheers from the audience. The whole fanbase is lauding this new production as having fantastic LGBT+ representation now, when really a few very minor changes were made just so that the writers could pat themselves on the back for being “inclusive” and the fans could go wild writing fanfiction now that their “ships are canon.” I wish these changes could have been made in a more tasteful way, since it’s obvious a lot of stuff was just thrown into the script to please the teenagers that would be watching."

iirc, Rich being bisexual is in the show as originally written (the Two River premiere version) and there, that scene in the hospital carries the implication that his SQUIP made him repress his bisexuality in favor of gaining popularity, much in the same way Jeremy's SQUIP pushes Michael away in favor of him gaining popularity, which is a pretty basic but nonetheless interesting parallel between them.

The more I think about it, the bigger and bigger a problem I have with Michael being explicitly gay and pining after Jeremy. I don't care about the fact that Michael is gay in the revised book, just like I wouldn't have cared if the writers went back to Ned Vizzini's novel and added Nicole to the musical (in the novel, Michael's definitely straight, or at the very least attracted to women, and his girlfriend Nicole is a minor character.) In the original musical version, his sexuality was never revealed, and now it is. That's not the problem. I hate-hate-hate the "gay-character-pining-after-their-straight-best-friend" trope and personally, from my position as a probably-straight-and-maybe-slightly-asexual person think it's terrible LGBTQ+ representation and it does a disservice to Michael and Jeremy's platonic relationship in the original musical.

Sorry for the novel, y'all. I know that some of you here probably think the show doesn't deserve that much thought, but I do legitimately enjoy this show and I feel things very passionately.

On a very different note, I think some of you may be interested in this old video (from 2014, before the show even premiered!) of Will Roland singing Michael in the Bathroom. Especially if you think George Salazar over-acts his performance of it. Roland's version is much more... resigned to his fate, I guess? It's interesting comparing the two, since they're now both in the show.

haterobics said: "

Not sure that helped. Doesn't a show... exist, and you go see it and that's what happens? The fandom has to rally around the actual show and what actually happens in it, no?

Not too concerned, as I have a friend in the show, so I was going either way. Now I just hope there is a backstage area where they can greet guests and not tell us to wait in the lobby.

I don't know much beyond the basic premise of the show, so I'm just waiting until I see it Labor Day weekend?"

Basically fandoms ship (have a pair they want in the show, so instead of Jeremy and Christine they want Michael and Jeremy or Rich) and each of these ships are implied on one side. Discord Be More Chill is spreading that both ships happen when that's false.

Also, I think security will stop stage door soon, it got way too bad out there for no reason. You're in good hands.

haterobics said: "dearalanaaaa said: "Basically fandoms ship (have a pair they want in the show, so instead of Jeremy and Christine they want Michael and Jeremy or Rich) and each of these ships are implied on one side. Discord Be More Chill is spreading that both ships happen when that's false."

Oh, so this is just more Tumblr leaking onto BWW..."

If I'm being honest, yes, but this show is basically a human form of Tumblr being acted out on stage. I took time out to learn the Tumblr slangs because it's a lot easier than just saying everything in long form.

"Elegance101 said: "it's a little irresponsible of them to include it in the show. I also think, on a lesser note, Michael's sexuality being explicitly included seems very pandering of them. Does it add something more, or is it because the fans just wanted him to be gay? His crush on Jeremy, which is a harmful trope that perpetuates homophobic ideas ."

The whole show is a small scale fan service now. It almost felt out of character for Michael to do that in retrospect, considering he seems to also have an anxiety disorder. No shade towards Salazar, but he really panders for fans on his story. Last year, it was "Fanart Friday" Where he would repost ship art, but now he straight up put on his story "Ask Gerard and George (we're now dating)!" On his story when they aren't even close to dating and Gerard is straight. In one of the videos, you can hear his call a fan "The best fan," which isn't really cool to say even if you think it. Not to say I'm placing a good chunk of blame on George/Iconis, but I'll place quite a bit on them both.

thealtoslament said: "I think you (global you, not you specifically) also have to put some blame on the bookwriter Joe Tracz"

Isn't the show his to play with until he's done with it?

dearalanaaaa said: "haterobics said: "dearalanaaaa said: "Basically fandoms ship (have a pair they want in the show, so instead of Jeremy and Christine they want Michael and Jeremy or Rich) and each of these ships are implied on one side. Discord Be More Chill is spreading that both ships happen when that's false."

Oh, so this is just more Tumblr leaking onto BWW..."

If I'm being honest, yes, but this show is basically a human form of Tumblrbeing acted out on stage. I took time out to learn the Tumblr slangs because it's a loteasier than just saying everything in long form.

"Elegance101 said: "it's a little irresponsible of them to include it in the show. I also think, on a lesser note, Michael's sexuality being explicitly included seems very pandering of them. Does it add something more, or is it because the fans just wanted him to be gay? His crush on Jeremy, which is a harmful trope that perpetuates homophobic ideas ."

The whole show is a small scale fan service now. It almost felt out of character for Michael to do that in retrospect, considering he seems to also have an anxiety disorder. No shade towards Salazar, but he really panders for fans on his story. Last year, it was "Fanart Friday" Where he would repost ship art, but now he straightup put on his story "Ask Gerard and George (we're now dating)!" On his story when they aren't even close to dating and Gerardis straight. In one of the videos, you can hear his call a fan "The best fan," which isn't really cool to say even if you think it. Not to say I'm placing a good chunk of blame on George/Iconis, but I'll place quite a bit on them both."





Dude, what language are you speaking? None of your posts seem to make any sense to me...is this teen gibberish?

Been on BWW for a while but new to responding!

I saw the first preview last night and I loved it. I was honestly a bit surprised because I am a quite older than the stans. I also read other people's reports of the fans last night and I would have to say I disagree. I don't like the energy of big crowds or fans and was uncomfortable leaving dear evan hansen and going by stage door and I thought this was way calmer. Likely because the amount of seats is so much less. While the crowd at stagedoor was big, it was a much smaller group. If it transfer sto a bigger theater, it could be a problem though. I was sort of nervous after reading this thread about the fans. But I talked to so many teens and adults who very calmly told me what this show meant to them and my heart was warmed.

As for the show itself, I had only heard the soundtrack a little before, but I enjoy it. The actors were wonderful. The person playing Rich has quite a range. Oh and the new song is VERY good! I think they need more runs to tighten up the show a bit, but it was super strong for a first preview. From the quality of the design, I think they are attempting to go to broadway. I just bought a ticket to go again after opening to see how it smooths out and because I was worried it would sell out. Highlight for me was the smartphone hour - funny and fun choreography.