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rebuke-me · 9 months

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broadway bmc critiques

this is a list of all my critiques of broadway bmc, in no particular order. this is not a post meant to hate those who are fans of Broadway bmc, because preference is subjective. I did my best to keep personal bias out of it, but some aspects are inextricable. please keep discussions civil. if you think critique will make you upset, I encourage you to skip this post.

- the writing is significantly watered down for the audience. while the original show was not a masterpiece of writing by any means, it only occasionally talks down to the audience. part of my interest in the original show was the open-ended characters. however, in the Broadway version, subtext is made into text, and that really hurts the show. most of the characters in tr had presumed depth, whereas bw wrote sync up: a song telling everyone exactly what was wrong with every character, rather than having the viewers observe it for themselves through dialogue and actions. tr already laid that foundation, it already had the character development. fans had already been analyzing the characters for years, and everyone pretty much got what they meant. bw felt, to me, like it was holding my hand through it and explaining to me every aspect of the characters.

- the writing of the new songs especially is. incredibly contrived. I've listened to the songs as I can bear (I do not like some of the voices in the songs, so I will admit to not listening to all of the songs, but I did make an attempt.) and the writing is significantly worse. while the tr songs weren't masterpieces, by any means, they were at least catchy and fun. the appeal of the bmc music is the earworm of it all, the way that it's fun and memorable. the bw versions new songs have not stuck in my head whatsoever, unlike the previous songs. loser geek whatever is another case of telling the audience rather than showing it: fans of tr already knew Jeremy was upset about being an outcast. we understood that. his decision at the end of upgrade was understandable to audiences, although usually not agreed with. an entire song with the writers literally physically telling the audience how he is feeling, in simple rhyme and a melody that doesn't stick out, wasn't necessary. a new song was intriguing, and could have fleshed out plot holes of the original show, but instead just tried shoving another square peg into a hole we had already been made aware of.

- fan pandering. this is an aspect of every media that has a large internet fan base, especially in the past ten years. while some aspects of the show may have been in the plans all along, the Broadway version feels like they were too engrossed in the fan culture. im a big proponent for creators being divorced from their fans, and the Broadway version is why. the addition of more moments implying a romantic connection between rich and michael at the end, with no discussion of character development, felt shoehorned in for the fans. Michael as a whole shifted closer to the fanon interpretation of him, rather than remaining the character from the original show, becoming more soft spoken and awkward.

- failure to add in diversity in a respectful way. (to preface this, I am a white person. if I say anything out of line in this section, I am more than willing to admit that, and would love to hear from the perspective of poc bmc fans, especially black fans.) a main critique of tr bmc in my opinion is the way it handled a lot of heavy topics, including diversity and the like. bw bmc made strides towards giving roles to non-white actors, which is always a good thing. however, the characters chosen for the diversity were made more stereotypical for being made into poc. jenna rolan became more of a stereotype of a talkative, phone obsessed black woman. Jenna is the less egregious example of this, as she has more depth. however, jake being black makes his character traits of being the child of money launderers, being violent towards others, being unhoused and physically harmed in the fire, not knowing how to "speak properly" at times and being a "player" seem more racially motivated. of course, none of these aspects of a character are bad, per se, but all combined into a character that is now black feels stereotypical.

- failure to fix some issues with tr. I am always willing to critique my own interests. while I have a preference towards tr, and a fixation on it, I will admit it has issues. notably, these include telling rather than showing (an issue that only got worse in bw), the treatment of female characters, and a variety of other issues. female characters in bw still have the same issues, as a whole. brooke is still the stereotypical blonde ditz. she does get a bit of development, but an opportunity for her to stand up for herself could have been needed in bw. christine is still little more than the love interest, and still ends up with the main character at the end, despite being meant to be a feminist, complete with patch on her jacket. the female characters rarely talk to each other about anything other than a man, or gossip, usually about men. none of them form solid friendships with no romantic ties with almost any of the male characters, either. the show costumes the characters in apparel that preaches feminism and writes a message about equality and being yourself, yet bars most character development from the female characters. this could have been rectified in bw, considering an entire song was added and scenes were rewritten, but was not.

I have other issues with the show, but those are more personal critiques with preferences, rather than in depth analysis of why I think the show is not as beloved by the fan base as a whole. those aren't going to be added here, because a lot of them don't lend any credence to my arguments, they're just personal opinions on character choices and actors.

if anything I've said in this post is incorrect, please let me know. I admit I'm not very well versed in the Broadway show, since I very much dislike it, so if any details are incorrect, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

also like. don't be a dick in the replies and tags please, that'd be nice. civil conversation and debate is okay, but attacking people for their interests is not.

#bmc #be more chill #Broadway bmc critique #bmc discourse #< kind of #be more chill musical

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biggestgirlfailure · 8 hours

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”lgw did not change lives” IT CHANGED MINE. OK. IT CHANGED MINE.

#this was a genuine critique of bmc broadway I saw 😭😭#would u believe me if I said it was on tiktok #of course you would #bmc broadway #be more chill #jeremy heere #loser geek whatever

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dykelittlemy · 5 years

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Ugh okay as someone who plans to go into a career of character design and story development, watching Be more chill grow since I got into it spring 2017 is so fucking amazing. I’m lucky I live in north jersey, and have been able to see be more chill at different stages, from just the track from 2014, to seeing exit 82, to off broadway and finally broadway. I know it seeems excessive to see a show several times, but each time I love it. I love seeing how the writers improve the songs, add new ones, add bits of dialogue, add character development, seeing character costume design improve, as well as the set is SO COOL for me. Like when I saw BMC on broadway I kind of felt like I would when I make a piece in a class, get it critiqued, slowly improve and it it just, clicks, comes together. It was always good but adding those little things to the character design, the story their personalities makes it REALLY stand out. Like just little things, like making Christine know about the squip, giving Brooke a little more of personality, her talking about insecurities, giving Chloe the same, Jake more of a personality, those are minor changes that didn’t didn’t change the storyline but made the show so much better, without taking away the focus on the lead and main story. And I got to see that happen with be more chill. I know some people didn’t love all the changes but I honestly did, I think it’s so cool to see them try new things, learn what works and what doesn’t. I love that I got to see this show grow and I really hope it continues to thrive and grow ❤️I could go on and on about character design and their costumes/actors fitting characters but that’s a whole other post lmfaoo

#be more chill #be more chill broadway #bmc

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beccaboosthings · 6 years

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1-35 for the musical asks ❤️

Okay I warn you, I have only seen/listened to Deh, Bmc, Heathers, Newsies, Mean Girls, 21 chump street, The Last Five Years (dose that even count?) and a handful of team star kids musicals. I know I’m basically a fake theater fan. I promise I have been meaning to get into others. Don’t hate me haha. So I’m sorry if i don’t know how to answer some of these lol

1. Best cast recording to listen to during a long car trip

Mean Girls

2. Song you’d blast from the top of a skyscraper?

Either “You will be found” or “Disappear”

3. Song that never fails to make you cry?

“So Big/So Small”, “In the bedroom down the hall”, and “A little bit of light”

4. Off-Broadway or Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet?

Broadway? Idk haha

5. If you were to make a your own production of your favorite musical with complete creative rights, what would you change?

I would change how much stage time Connor Murphy had. I feel like hes a really complex character and i would have loved to see more cannon him. Even if it just was like how he really treats his family/the people around him.

6. Best song to break something while listening to?

“Good for you” or “Someone gets hurt (Reprise)

7. Hamilton or In the Heights?

I have no clue. In the Heights?

8. Top three Broadway actors or actresses?

Mike Faist, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Olivia Puckett

9. Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, or James Corden as the host of the Tonys?

Neil Patrick Harris

10. Best musical theatre breakup song?

“I’d Rather be Me”

11. Stephen Sondheim or James Lapine?

Idk who they are (Don’t kill me lol)

12. Favorite romantic or platonic duo on Broadway?

Platonic Janis/Damian, Jack/Davey, Veronica/Martha, Michel/Jeremy. And for romantic Zoe/Evan, Cady/Arron

13. “Waving Through a Window” or “For Forever” from the cast album of Dear Evan Hansen?

“Waving Through a Window” Got me into DEH which I the started to get into other shows so i have to go with that

14. If you were to write a musical, which composer/writer would you like to team up with?

Pasek and Paul

15. What would you say if you met your Broadway fave?

If I met Mike Faist i would probably thank him for bringing such an important character and story to life. I relate to Connor in so many ways and deh has helped me through so so much. So just thank you.

16. Best musical theatre location? Orlanda, Santa Fe, Chicago, or the Emerald City?

Santa Fe. I wanna be a cowboy baby

17. Sally Bowles or Roxie Heart?

Once again I have no clue who they are sorry

18. Role you could play at this very moment and absolutely nail?

Veronica Sawyer. I know all of her lines in all of her songs. Or Racetrack Higgins. I know basically all of his lines. Although I can’t dance for shit so thats a problem

19. Movie stars on Broadway or Broadway stars in movies?

Both

20. What book, movie, or TV show do you think should be made into a musical?

Can we get a Queer Eye the Musical? I would pay good money to see the fab 5 singing and dancing for two hours. They would just critique the audience wile trying to sing and dance.

21. Tap dance breaks or 10-second costume changes?

10-second costume changes

22. Best Broadway Elder Price?

No clue

23. Best meta moment in a musical?

Idk

24. Top three women-driven musicals?

Mean Girls, Heathers… I have no clue for a third.

25. Are you more excited for Spongebob: The Musical or the Broadway adaption of Frozen?

Spongebob. I used to give it shit but after seeing them preform at the Tonys this year I was completely blown away. I’m sad i didn’t get to see it wile it was running.

26. Best young love song?

“Seventeen” or “What the Heck I Gotta Do” (It gets stuck in my head every time without fail)

27. Matilda or Groundhog Day?

Idk haha

28. Historical event that should be made into a musical?

I have no clue haha.

29. What non-Broadway singer/actor would you love to see in a Broadway show, and which role would you like them to play?

Dodie or Carrie Hope Fletcher as Zoe Murphy.

30. If you read fanfic, what’s your favorite fanfic about characters from musical theatre?

“Hair Dye” by @indigo-streaks-in-her-hair I reread it all the time and it was the first deh fanfic that i had read. Other then that anything i have ever rebloged on my side blog @becca-winchester26

31. Dream cast your favorite musical.

I have no clue. I feel like the Deh cast (Both OBC and not) and the Mean Girls cast are already all of my faves put together. Maybe a mix between the two

32. Set design or lighting design?

Set. I’m pretty sure if I’m ever going to end up on Broadway its in set design because i have no other real talents.

33. Favorite empowerment-themed Broadway song?

“Seize The Day’

34. Which Broadway star, from the past or present, would you love to have dinner with?

Mike Faist. Hmu fam ;) XD

35. Favorite musical theatre trope?

Idk haha

#ask becca #becca speaks

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