Broadway is a risky business — about three-quarters of all productions fail, and many a show with a strong tailwind has crashed. But angsty adolescents are hot these days, as evidenced by “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Mean Girls” and even “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Mr. Goehring said he had raised the “Be More Chill” capitalization costs — up to $9.5 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission — in just a few days.

“Be More Chill,” adapted from a young-adult novel by Ned Vizzini, is about a high school student who seeks to boost his popularity by swallowing a Japanese pill that turns out to be a computer chip that functions as a de facto life coach.



The central characters, as in much popular culture about high school, are teenagers who feel socially ill-at-ease, and the universality of that experience appears to account for much of the show’s popularity. Its breakout song, “Michael in the Bathroom,” is about a boy who feels so marginalized that he shuts himself away during a Halloween party.

“Even though the story is pretty nuts and there is this crazy sci-fi element, it really is a celebration of misfits and geeks and people who feel like they don’t quite belong, and actual young people relate to the characters,” said Mr. Iconis, who wrote the show’s music and lyrics.