"Be More Chill" by UoN Musicality

Trent Building, University of Nottingham

“More than survive.” That’s all Jeremy Heere wants out of high school. But looking up from the bottom of the social ladder, there’s little hope for the uncool Jeremy. But what if there was an easy way to change all that? Enter the SQUIP, a Japanese nanocomputer in the form of an easy-to-swallow pill. The SQUIP will implant itself in your brain and tell you what to wear, what to say, and how to act to achieve ultimate coolness. Seems like an easy choice, right? But when things with the SQUIP take an unexpected, darker turn, is Jeremy willing to lose his best friend, his crush, his classmates, and the whole world, all in an effort to be more chill?

This is the second time that I've seen this musical, and it's one of those musicals that sometimes flies under the radar, and that's a shame because it's such a fun story, relatable characters and there are some wonderfully catchy tunes.

"Be More Chill" is the perfect choice for Musicality, not just because the age range of the characters are the same as in the musical, but the actors will find it easier to associate themselves with the issues affecting the characters in "Chill", therefore making everything relatable for the audience. An inspired choice by the Musicality committee.

Ewan Waddell plays the main man, Jeremy Heere, who makes the upgrade from zero to hero plain to see, so we follow Jeremy's journey and can sympathise with his plight. What I also liked was that Ewan has the ability to sing well with an accent. He has experience from all aspects of the theatre; producing, directing as well as acting, so he knows what is needed to present a character to the audience. If the increase in the audience's applause this afternoon is anything to go by, Ewan's popularity stakes are pretty high. 

Joe Straw plays Michael Mell, best friend of Jeremy; backing his buddy all the way. Another seasoned actor with Musicality who brought an excitable and animated Michael to the stage. As well as this side of the character we also saw the human side of Michael with, in my opinion, one of the best songs in this musical "Michael In The Bathroom", showing a powerful vocal performance.

Ciara Lurshay plays Christine Caligula, probably the female equivalent of Jeremy, who catches the eye of Jake, the coolest guy in school. Jeremy though has a crush on Christine, and she is the main reason for buying into The Squib. Ciara brings a lovely sense of excitable to the character, and you can see the chemistry between Christine and Jeremy which is missing from Christine and Jake, and that is due to the acting talents of Ciara.

The SQUIP is played by Riley Halls Backler, and what Riley brings to this role is a sense of cool, but also some lovely flashes of comedy. Riley stepped into the breach for playing the Squib due to cast illness, so his rehearsal for this character has been less than the other actors for their roles; you would not have guessed. A very smooth, cool role played by a smooth and cool young actor.

Harri Evans plays Rich Goranski, who initiates the interest in The Squib with Jeremy. Rich is the terror of the uncool kids and goes out of his way to make their lives difficult. Despite his meanness and almost certain criminal future, he has a secret, which we discover as the musical progresses. An interesting character who is not as black and white as first painted. Yet again, another brilliant character actor in Harri, and as i watched him, I wondered if he had ever played Orin, the Dentist, in "Little Shop Of Horrors", as I think he'd be great in that part. Future directors, take note!

Chloe Valentine is played by Katie Dart, the most popular girl in school. Confident, crass, sexy and manipulative, she's the undisputed queen of the social scene and rules over everyone with unquestioned power. She's a total diva and the perfect part for Chloe to get her teeth into. 

Brooke Lohst is played by Jenna Hancock. Brooke is the second most popular girl in school, behind Chloe, and also becomes the first, albeit short-lived girlfriend of Jeremy's. A lovely role for Jenna as there's a softness in the character, which Jenna brings out well.

Isabel Holt plays Jenna Rolan. Not one of the cool kids (although she desperately wants to be), she's the school gossip who always has the dirt and is more than happy to tell anyone and everyone about it. The main thing about this musical is the quality of the characteristics per role; each one different to the next one. This, I think, is another reason why this musical is such a great choice to perform. Every actor is different and they get to highlight these differences with their very own talents. Isabel has quite a CV in musical theatre and this role is up there with her previous successes.

Craig Youngman is Jake Dillinger as well as Jeremy's dad. In his past roles he has always played very strong characters, and here is no different. Both roles are very different and Craig manages to differentiate between the two really well, both believable. Normally I have a favourite role when one actor plays two separate characters but I couldn't choose between the two. A testament to Craig's acting skills.

Hattie Rothwell-Inch doubles up on roles as Miss Reyes and the Scary Stockperson. I had to check my memory with this character as the original drama teacher was male, Mr Reyes, but I think I prefer Hattie's version of the character. Just slightly over the top drama teacher persona which brought credibility to the character. In contrast to the Scary Stockperson from whom you can buy more than just footwear!!

The Be More Chill ensemble consists of Megan Longhurst, Ethea Lee, Liv Reid and Arfaa Butt. All four bringing the choreography to the scenes and fleshing out the busier scenes wonderfully.

 

Directed by Amy Plunkett, who is also the choreographer. Fast-moving and fun with both the direction and the choreography. With a piece of theatre like this, you need to keep that impetus up and Amy definitely instilled this in her cast to get the excellent results we saw this afternoon.

Musical Director is Georgia McKenzie along with the Assistant Musical Director, AJ Hill. Very clear sound, if not sometimes a little louder than needed in parts. The songs in this show are really very good, as well as catchy and were all delivered with power and emotion. The comedy lyrics were delivered as sharply as a well-honed comedy routine. Nineteen songs (including reprises) mean that at the pace of the musical, you were never too far away from another well written song.

The show's producer is Vicky Parker, assisted by Erica Bassford, and I think that it's safe to say that they have produced a popular and entertaining musical, well received by this afternoon's audience.

Evie Mace is responsible for the costumes, which also helped to define the individual characters, while Carla Davison is responsible for the hair and make-up, most evident for The Squip.

One group of people who rarely get a mention are the stage managers and for this show they are Lucy Middleton, assisted by Ella Gray. they helped keep that pace up and got the props on stage when required. In charge of the props is Bella Crowne.

You can really tell what a team effort this presentation has been, and you can also tell how much everyone involved have enjoyed this production. When that joy spills out from the stage, it's almost like osmosis. there were lots of happy faces after the final bows, with many of them being proud parents and friends of the cast, as well as one very entertained reviewer.

"Be More Chill" is performed at the University of Nottingham Trent Building until Sunday 18 June.