“BE MORE CHILL KARAOKE” Now Available Through Ghostlight Records
Ghostlight Records and Two River Theater have announced the release of BE MORE CHILL Karaoke (Original Cast Recording) to celebrate the Broadway-bound musical sensation, is now available. The EP’s seven tracks – based on the show’s Original Cast Recording – include fan favorites “More Than Survive,” “I Love Play Rehearsal,” “The Squip Song,” “Two-Player Game,” “A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into,” “Michael in the Bathroom,” and “The Pitiful Children.” BE MORE CHILL features music and lyrics by Joe Iconis (NBC’s “Smash,” The Black Suits, Broadway Bounty Hunter) and a book by Joe Tracz (The Lightning Thief, Netflix’s “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”) based on the cult sensation novel by Ned Vizzini. Order the Karaoke EP here.
As BE MORE CHILL prepares to launch on Broadway this month, visit bemorechillmusical.com/contest to enter the BE MORE CHILL Karaoke Contest for a chance to perform live at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. Send a creative video of yourself singing “I Love Play Rehearsal,” “The Squip Song,” or “Michael in the Bathroom” – original songs from BE MORE CHILL – using one of the Original Cast Recording karaoke tracks for a chance to win the ultimate cool prize. The grand prize winner will be flown to New York to perform their karaoke cover of a BE MORE CHILL song in a real Broadway theatre in front of a real Broadway audience. Submissions close February 12.
Once all the submission are in, BE MORE CHILL creators Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz will hand pick the top 20 finalists based on musical talent, personality and style, and creativity. Finalists will be announced on March 19, at which time fans can visit bemorechillmusical.com/contest to vote for their favorite video. Voting will close on April 2 at noon. The final winner will be notified by email and officially announced on April 5.
The winner and a guest will be flown to New York and awarded a once in a lifetime experience including a stay at the Night Hotels Times Square, a pair of tickets to see BE MORE CHILL on Broadway, and the opportunity to perform their karaoke rendition at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. Applicants must be 13 years of age or older and a resident of the US. Applicants under the age of 18 must have a parent’s or guardian’s consent to enter.
“From our first readings of BE MORE CHILL, it was clear that these songs were striking a chord with audiences,” says Joe Iconis, the show’s composer and lyricist. “The thing that has been most incredible to me has been watching groups of humans singing along to these show tunes which clearly mean so much to them. It feels only fitting that as our little-show-that-could bops its way to Broadway, we should celebrate with the biggest sing-along party ever! Be More Chill celebrates individuality and personality and all those things that make us different, so I can’t wait to hear our fans give their own distinct interpretations of these Be More Chill jams! I hope they all bring their own, weird, beautiful self to their covers and share it loudly for the world to hear.”
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Following an acclaimed off-Broadway last this summer, BE MORE CHILL will begin performances at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street) on Wednesday, February 13. The official opening night is Sunday evening, March 10. Tickets are now on sale at Telecharge.com. Stephen Brackett (Buyer & Cellar) directs and Chase Brock (HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) choreographs. For more information about BE MORE CHILL, visit www.BeMoreChillMusical.com.
The BE MORE CHILL Original Cast Recording, based on the 2015 Two River Theater production, is available on CD and vinyl, as well as all digital and streaming platforms.
A hit with fans and critics alike, The New York Times calls BE MORE CHILL “one of the most popular new musicals in America.” The Wall Street Journal calls BE MORE CHILL “a delight with a pop rock score, written by Joe Iconis, that is unfailingly lively and fresh. The cast is engaging without limit.” The Guardian praised its “witty, resonant, and often lacerating lyrics” and “hearty, charismatic performances,” with Billboard raving “Joe Iconis is one of Broadway’s next great songwriters.” NY1 TV said “Joe Iconis’ score is quite winning, especially the more tunefully intimate numbers,” with Vox declaring “the second act-showstopper is shaping up to be the ‘On My Own’ of Generation Z.” According to AM New York, “With pop-rock show tunes that raise the roof, and high-powered acting performances, the production is a raucous good time, with a gleefully silly, hyperkinetic air that invades its every facet.”
The original cast album, produced by Kurt Deutsch, Joe Iconis and Charlie Rosen, was one of the driving forces that inspired a passionate community of BE MORE CHILL fans around the world, driving the musical to its New York debut production. Before ever premiering on a New York stage BE MORE CHILL amassed an unprecedented following across various online platforms, with millions of fans from Brazil to Japan to New Jersey sharing fan art, streaming the album, and talking about the show. The cast recording, which has racked up over 200 million streams worldwide, entered the Billboard “Broadway Top Ten” chart in its 97th week of release and is one of the only shows to enter the top 10 prior to a New York run. Tumblr ranks BE MORE CHILL as the #2 most talked-about musical on their platform, following Hamilton.
What if popularity came in a pill? Would you take it, no questions asked? In BE MORE CHILL, achieving that elusive “perfect life” is now possible thanks to some mysterious new technology-but it comes at a cost that’s not as easy to swallow. What could possibly go wrong? Blending the contemporary with retro sci-fi, this thrillingly exciting, comically subversive, and deeply felt new musical takes on the competing voices in all of our heads. And ultimately proves, there’s never been a better time in history to be yourself-especially if you’re a loser…geek…or whatever.
BE MORE CHILL had its world premiere in an extended run at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. The orchestrator and musical supervisor was Charlie Rosen and the musical director and copyist was Nathan Dame. The show is licensed by R&H Theatricals.
The recording of BE MORE CHILL features original cast members Jake Boyd (Jake), Gerard Canonico (Rich), Katlyn Carlson (Chloe), Will Connolly (Jeremy), Stephanie Hsu (Christine), Katie Ladner (Jenna Rolan), Lauren Marcus (Brooke), Eric William Morris (The Squip), George Salazar (Michael), and Paul Whitty (Jeremy’s Dad/Mr. Reyes/Scary Stockboy). The six-piece orchestra includes Nathan Dame (Conductor and Keyboard), Danny Jonokuchi (Theremin/Trumpet), Dan McMillan (Drums/Percussion), Josh Plotner (Vocoder/Reeds), Mike Rosengarten (Guitar), and Amanda Ruzza (Bass).
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JOE ICONIS (Music & Lyrics) is a writer and performer. As a composer – lyricist – book writer, he has authored the musicals Be More Chill (Two River Theater), Broadway Bounty Hunter (Barrington Stage Company), Bloodsong of Love (Ars Nova), The Black Suits (Center Theater Group), ReWrite (Urban Stages), Theaterworks USA’s The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks and We The People, and the currently in development Hunter S. Thompson Musical (for La Jolla Playhouse) and Love In Hate Nation. Joe’s songs appeared on Season 2 of NBC’s “Smash” and the New York Times called him “the future of musical theater.” His concert act, Joe Iconis and Family, frequently plays Feinstein’s/54 Below, The Laurie Beechman Theater, Weston Playhouse, and other venues around the country. He has been nominated for two Drama Desk Awards, a Lucille Lortel Award, and is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, a Jonathan Larson Award, an ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award, a Doris Duke Grant, and a MAC John Wallowitch Songwriting Award. Joe is deliriously inspired by Robert Altman, Dolly Parton, Martin Scorsese, Sardi’s, The Rolling Stones, whiskey, The Muppets, and The Family of artists he frequently surrounds himself with. www.MrJoeIconis.com
JOE TRACZ (Book) is a playwright and screenwriter. His musical Poster Boy (with composer Craig Carnelia) premiered at Williamstown Theater Festival, and his musical adaptation of the first book in the Percy Jackson series, The Lightning Thief (with composer Rob Rokicki) received Lortel and Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Musical and Book, and will soon be launching a national tour. Joe is currently a writer/producer on Netflix’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” He is an alumnus of the Ars Nova Play Group, a former Playwrights Realm writing fellow, and, with Two River Theater and Joe Iconis, a recipient of a 2015 Doris Duke Foundation Commissioning Grant. He has an BA from Kalamazoo College and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
NED VIZZINI (Original Novel) (1981-2013) was the bestselling author of the acclaimed young-adult books It’s Kind of a Funny Story (also a major motion picture), The Other Normals, Be More Chill, and Teen Angst? Naaah…. He wrote for The New York Times, Salon, and The New Yorker. In television, he wrote for MTV’s “Teen Wolf.” His work has been translated into 25 languages.
BE MORE CHILL KARAOKE – TRACK LIST
- More Than Survive
2. I Love Play Rehearsal
3. The Squip Song
4. Two-Player Game
5. A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into
6. Michael in the Bathroom
7. The Pitiful Children
ABOUT GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS
GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings – building a library of over 200 records over the past 18 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway’s brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Recent notable cast recordings include the 2018 Tony winner for Best Musical, The Band’s Visit, and the blockbuster viral sensation Be More Chill. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theatre composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group
ABOUT TWO RIVER THEATER
Since its founding in 1994, Two River Theater has been committed to creating great American theater by developing and producing work by some of the country’s leading artists. We are proud to be viewed as a vital cultural resource in the community of Red Bank, New Jersey. Through 8+ theatrical productions each year (including world premieres, musicals, classics and theater for young audiences) and 40+ annual events happening around Monmouth County, we produce exceptional theater and cultivate engaged audiences. Two River Theater is under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst. For more information, visit tworivertheater.org.