Saltpillar gets loud, proud and chill on stage

Saltpillar Theatre Company has made a name for itself by putting Jewish voices at the heart of big, entertaining musicals, and its newest production is no exception. Following last year’s energetic staging of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the Melbourne company is back with Be More Chill, a show that blends teenage angst, catchy pop-rock numbers, and a distinctly Jewish flavour.

At first glance, Be More Chill looks like a quirky high school comedy about awkward kids trying to survive adolescence. But beneath the surface, the story runs deeper.

“At its core, Be More Chill is about the tension between fitting in and staying true to yourself. It asks: what would you sacrifice to be accepted? And is it worth it? For our cast, young Jewish adults navigating a world that’s increasingly hostile, those questions feel especially urgent. The show celebrates individuality, friendship, and the courage to be unapologetically you,” co-producers Dani Harrison and Camryn Elbaum told The AJN.

That sense of urgency has carried through rehearsals, where the cast has turned their time together into something more than just a standard production schedule.

“One of our cast members said during a break, ‘This is the first time I’ve felt safe being loud and Jewish in a creative space.’ That stuck with me,” Harrison and Elbaum shared. “We’ve had rehearsals where laughter turned into deep conversations about identity, belonging, and resilience. And then we’d jump into choreography for a song called ‘Michael in the Bathroom’ – which somehow manages to be both hilarious and devastating.”