Written by Katelyn Norkowski
Staff Writer
“Be More Chill” shows how social media works on Broadway,” said Director of Performing Arts, Jerry Goehring. “And to think, it all started right down the hall from here.”
Goehring runs the theater program, the theater academic major and minor, the choir, band, and dance programs at Sacred Heart. In addition to that, it was announced that “Be More Chill”, a play that Sacred Heart performed back in Feb. of this year, is heading to the Broadway stage at the Lyceum Theatre on Feb. 13, 2019, according to Playbill.
Goehring will be the lead producer of the Broadway show.
According to junior Andrew Patino, “‘Be More Chill’ is about a boy named Jeremy who isn’t one of the ‘cool kids’ at school. Every day, Jeremy goes about his life as practically invisible. One day, a boy at his school tells Jeremy that he can take a pill called S.Q.U.I.P and it will make him the coolest kid in school. The rest of the show follows Jeremy as his life gets turned upside down.”
Sacred Heart first did the show nine months ago.
“We did the show here, and we saw a lot of people come to the show besides the students. It actually sold out before the show opened,” said Goehring.
People came to Sacred Heart wearing “Be More Chill” gear, headphones, and costumes.
“Fans came all the way to Sacred Heart from Toronto, Cincinnati, and France to see the show,” said sophomore Jenna Sheridan, Goehring’s assistant.
According to Marathon Statistics, “Be More Chill” has 1,400 fans on Facebook, 1,100 followers on Twitter, and 5,900 followers on Instagram.
These statistics and the fact that fans came from all over the world to see the show at Sacred Heart helped Goehring make the decision to bring “Be More Chill” to the Broadway stage.
Once Goehring pitched the idea of producing “Be More Chill” on Broadway, the theater owner of The Lyceum Theatre on Broadway reached out to Goehring and offered him a stage to host the show.
“Similar to Sacred Heart, the New York show sold out before it even opened,” said Goehring.
“As of Sept. 20, 2018, the “Be More Chill” (Original Cast Recording) moved up one spot to #7 on the Nielsen Soundscan Top Broadway chart for week ending September 13, with album sales up to 16%,” according to Goehring.
“I do a lot of shows on the outside, including “Be More Chill”, but a lot of the times, we take our students to work in the outside world,” according to Goehring. “Discovering and working with young talent is a great thing to let the students do.”
“I love discovering and working with new talent,” said Goehring. “Joe Iconis, the composer for “Be More Chill” is one of those guys, he is brilliant. He is ready to break through and has a whole different musical voice.”
Matt Windman, from “amNY” said, “Joe Iconis, has written his finest score to date, the superb, catchy songs raise the roof and the high-powered performances are universally excellent. The audience cheered it on as if they were at a rock concert.”
“Between working with young talent on and off Broadway, Goehring is constantly going,” said Patino. “I know that if I want to be in this industry, I will have to work extremely hard.”
“I do a lot, like most people at Sacred Heart,” said Goehring. “I’ve worked with an amazing group of kids, and we pride ourselves on working with new plays, musicals, and programs.”
