Sell out run for Liverpool Be More Chill premiere

IT'S one of the hottest new musicals on Broadway -and now Hope Street, as Liverpool theatre company What We Did Next brings the North West premiere of Be More Chill to the city next week.It's a real coup for the self-styled 'professional amateur' musical theatre specialists, but the bad news for anyone without a ticket is the run is now entirely sold out."If you fed Dear Evan Hansen to the Little Shop of Horrors plant you would get Be More Chill," according to the New Yorker.WWDN's production opens at the Hope Street Theatre this Wednesday (May 8) and runs until Saturday (May 11).The show tells the story of a teenage boy's quest to become popular and talk to the girl of his dreams with the help of a pill-sized supercomputer.Be More Chill is the ‘little musical that could’. It started in a small theatre in New Jersey in 2015 and, thanks to an incredible fan following, opened on Broadway in 2019.Liverpool theatre company, What We Did Next, has the unique opportunity to stage the musical at the same time as its Broadway run, meaning theatre fans in the North West don’t need to look further than Hope Street to see New York’s hottest new show.And it was all thanks to Liverpool-based superfan, and co-director Jess Sutcliffe.“I have loved this show ever since first listening to the soundtrack two years ago. I had never directed a musical before, but I knew I wanted to direct this show and bring it to Liverpool. Being a part of this company has helped bring all my ideas to fruition and it’s so incredible to see the show come to life. I can’t wait for audiences to see it!” Jess says.Jess is co-directing with Andrew Ab, who previously directed Rent and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change for What We Did Next."It's amazing to work on a show that has only been performed a handful of times around the world," he says. "We get to be really creative and put our own stamp on a show that’s going to get bigger and bigger. The music is so addictive and we feel incredibly privileged to be bringing this show to a Liverpool audience who will hopefully leave the theatre humming the tunes.”For What We Did Next it’s an opportunity to perform at The Hope Street Theatre for the first time and to add to the extensive musical theatre repertoire, which it has built up over the last ten years.The company's previous productions include Pippin, Bonnie & Clyde, Bat Boy, Carousel, Rent, Company, and Into the Woods.What We Did Next was founded during Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture Year in 2008, by a group of recent University of Liverpool graduates looking for an outlet for their creativity while starting out in various careers in and around the city. A decade on, they are thriving as a company and very much a part and a product of Liverpool’s vibrant cultural scene.Members include doctors, teachers, photographers and those who are training for a career on the stage, who come together to produce professional-standard theatre that otherwise may not be seen in the city.