"Unfortunately, anyone for whom adolescence is a distant and unpleasant memory is unlikely to feel like screaming, not in ecstasy, anyway...'Be More Chill' seems like a members-only club for those caught in the hellish here-and-now of the middle teens...From beginning to end, the score has an 'OMG' urgency that never lets up,...The musical sequences, featuring slapdash choreography by Chase Brock, tend to blend into one another."
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"'Be More Chill' is a delight, a tale of social anxiety whose pop-rock score, written by Joe Iconis, is unfailingly lively and fresh. Stephen Brackett and Chase Brock, the director and choreographer, keep the pace brisk, and the cast, Stephanie Hsu in particular, is engaging without limit. Yes, Joe Tracz’s book is deliberately pitched to an under-35 audience, but you don’t have to be a millennial to get the jokes, much less to revel in the sparky charms of 'Be More Chill.'"
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"Roland’s best musical moment comes early in the show with squeakily and eloquently-rendered lines...For Salazar, his nervous 'Michael in the Bathroom' is a second act tour de force, a rollercoaster ride of anxiety-driven vocal emotionalism and melodic complexity...Stephen Brackett and Beowulf Boritt make the action swift, and the glossy, 80s-like setting sleek and techy without New Wave kitsch. No theater piece has made tech-nerdiness look or sound as modern and warm."
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"Iconis' pop-rock score includes plenty of enjoyably catchy, uptempo numbers...Director Stephen Brackett keeps things moving at a frenetic pace, with Chase Brock's energetic choreography providing plenty of opportunities for the young performers to exhibit their athleticism...Exuberantly performed by its talented ensemble, the musical is definitely not for everyone...But the evening ultimately proves so winning that it's hard to entirely resist."
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"I found 'Be More Chill' to be dopey, shrill and manic, amped to earbleed level. Joe Iconis’ pop-rock score is skillful, but generic and overly camp. It has a few decent songs and a dollop of heart, but doesn’t stand out from the crowd...Still, I can understand why so many young (and not so young) people are drawn to 'Be More Chill.' It’s broad but earnest...I just hope the juniors that flock to this...can grow up and appreciate more demanding stuff."
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"Iconis has written his finest score to date. His catchy songs are neatly integrated into the plotting and provide complete character portraits. Iconis also uses eerie electronic sounds to heighten the mood. The book (by Joe Tracz) is nowhere near as strong as the score, which creates a palpable disunity...Notwithstanding, the production is a raucous good time, with a gleefully silly, hyperkinetic air that invades its every facet...The high-powered performances are universally excellent."
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"A hard-charging score by Iconis and a deliriously funny book by Tracz...Roland leads the tireless cast with authentic dweebiness...Salazar is an instantly appealing wingman and briefly steals the show...Iconis is a musical magpie, incorporating contemporary pop and rock into a classic, almost retro Broadway sound...'Be More Chill' holds a funhouse mirror up to the way we increasingly live our digital lives. That makes it not just ridiculously fun, but positively heroic."
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“Loaded with young talent, even if one sometimes wonders about the uses to which it is being put…Even when 'Be More Chill' does things well, it's hard to forget that others are doing them, too -- sometimes better…Even at its most entertaining, the show never fully dispels the question, Do we really need another safari through the high school jungle?..Still, Roland smoothly graduates to leading man here, and his solid characterization -- and excellent voice -- help hold the evening together.”
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