Joe Iconis

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Joe Iconis
Birth nameJoseph Peter Iconis
Born (1981-09-22) September 22, 1981 (age 39)
Garden City, New York, U.S.
OccupationsComposer, lyricist, playwright, musician
InstrumentsVocals, piano, keyboards
Years active2003–present
Websitewww.mrjoeiconis.com
EducationNew York University (BM, MFA)

Joseph Peter Philip Iconis (born September 22, 1981) is an American composer, lyricist, and playwright. He is best known for writing the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical Be More Chill.

Early life and education[]

Iconis graduated from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 2003 with a B.M. in music composition.[1] He then went on to graduate school at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and in 2005 he received a M.F.A. in musical theater writing.[2]

His song, “Broadway, Here I Come!” was featured several times throughout the second season of the NBC television show Smash.[3]

Career[]

The Black Suits[]

Music and lyrics by Iconis, book by Iconis and Robert Maddock. The show was originally written as Iconis and Maddock's thesis at NYU.[4]

A "rock musical about a Long Island high school garage band."[5] It played SPF at The Public Theater in June 2008. The musical was presented at the Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab in Pittsfield, Massachusetts from August 16, 2012 to September 2, 2012.[5] The musical had its world premiere at the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, California from October 27, 2013 to November 24, 2013.[6]

The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks[]

Music, lyrics, and book by Iconis.

A rock musical about two brothers who learn to respect the differences in each other and the bizarre plants they love. The musical is based on the book of the same name by Nancy McArthur. Produced by TheaterWorksUSA, it opened Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in July through August 2008.[7]

ReWrite, a mini-musical triple feature[]

Music, lyrics, and book by Iconis.

A trio of interconnected musicals about deadlines. The three parts are entitled “Nelson Rocks!”, “Miss Marzipan”, and “The Process”. The piece ran at Ars Nova in New York City in concert in July 2007,[8] and played Urban Stages from December 2008 through January 2009. The musical had a reading at the Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals in January 2010.[9]

Things To Ruin[]

Music and lyrics by Iconis.

A rock concert about young people hell bent on destruction and creation. The show was seen in various incarnations at Ars Nova and Joe’s Pub (in 2007).[10] The final version premiered at the Zipper Factory Theater (now closed) in November 2008 and January 2009.[11][12] The show returned to Off-Broadway in May 2009 at the Second Stage Theatre.[13] A cast recording was released in September 2010 from Sh-K-Boom Records. The New Jersey premiere of the song cycle was on August 6–8, 2015, performed by the Young Adult Drama Group (YADG), in North Brunswick.

Bloodsong of Love: The Rock'N'Roll Spaghetti Western[]

Music, lyrics, and book by Iconis.

In a blood-and-whiskey-soaked world of shoot 'em ups, stolen brides and kazoo-wielding villains, a rogue musician with a killer guitar is out to set things right. Directed by John Simpkins and starring many Iconis regulars, Bloodsong played Off-Broadway at Ars Nova in April - May 2010.[14] In 2010, Bloodsong Of Love was nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Jeremy Morse), Outstanding Music (Joe Iconis), and Outstanding Book of a Musical (Joe Iconis).[15] In 2011, it was presented at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.

Be More Chill[]

Main article: Be More Chill (musical)

Music and lyrics by Iconis, book by (based on the novel by Ned Vizzini).

The musical premiered in June 2015 at Two River Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey.[16]

A limited engagement Off-Broadway production starring Will Roland as the protagonist, Jeremy Heere, opened July 26, 2018 at the Pershing Square Signature Center and was scheduled to run until September 23, 2018. After selling out, it then received a one week extension and ran until September 30, 2018.[17]

The production played on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre from February 13, 2019 to August 11, 2019.[18] Iconis was nominated for Best Original Score at the 73rd Tony Awards.

On October 20, 2018, a film adaptation was announced with Greg Berlanti and Shawn Levy as producers.[19]

On August 11, 2019, Be More Chill gave its final curtain call, ending its Broadway run. After the show ended, Iconis gave a speech thanking the people who had "been playing with me for so many years... and people who have been so supportive" and performed "The Goodbye Song."

Broadway Bounty Hunter[]

Music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, book by Joe Iconis, Jason "Sweettooth" Williams, and Lance Rubin.

The musical premiered in August 2016 at the Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The musical has a book co-written by Iconis, Lance Rubin and Jason "Sweettooth" Williams. The musical stars Annie Golden as a down on her luck Broadway star.[20][21]

An Off-Broadway production occurred in 2019, with previews starting July 9, 2019. The show played from July 23, 2019 to August 18, 2019 at the Greenwich House Theater.[22] On December 12, 2019, it was announced that a cast album featuring the Off-Broadway cast will be released in late 2019.[23] The cast recording's release was delayed and came out on April 24, 2020.[24]

Love in Hate Nation[]

Book, music, and lyrics by Iconis.

The musical made its professional world premiere in 2019 at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey after a developmental performance at Penn State University in 2017. Previews began on November 9, 2019. The show opened on November 15, 2019 and closed on December 1, 2019. It was directed by John Simpkins. Love in Hate Nation is a 1960s-set rock romance between two girls in a juvie hall. The musical was developed at Penn State Centre Stage in 2018 as part of their new musicals program.[25]

Upcoming stage musicals[]

Iconis is currently working on a musical about Hunter S. Thompson for La Jolla Playhouse with playwright Gregory S. Moss, entitled The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.[26][27] He is also developing a new stage jukebox musical with Rob Rokicki called Punk Rock Girl, featuring songs written or made famous by such female musicians or female-fronted bands as Avril Lavigne, Pink, Pat Benatar, and Blondie. The world premiere date for Punk Rock Girl was set for September 10, 2020 at the Argyle Theatre, before being delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]

Personal life[]

Iconis married musical theater actress Lauren Marcus in 2015.[29]

Iconis is a concert performer, often performing with his musical theater family, referred to as Iconis and Family, at various New York City concert venues, such as The Laurie Beechman Theater, Joe’s Pub, and Feinstein's/54 Below.[30][31]

Works[]

Unless otherwise marked, book, music, and lyrics by Iconis.

  • The Black Suits (2008)
  • The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks (2008)
  • ReWrite (2007)
  • Things To Ruin (2009)*
  • Bloodsong of Love: The Rock'N'Roll Spaghetti Western (2010)
  • Be More Chill (2018)*
  • Broadway Bounty Hunter (2019)
  • Love in Hate Nation (2019)

*Music and lyrics by Iconis

Awards[]

  • Jonathan Larson Award (2006)[32]
  • Ed Kleban Award (2007)[33]
  • MAC/ASCAP John Wallowitch Award (2010)[34]
  • Daryl Roth Award (2006) for Plastic! The Musical with Robert Maddock
  • Backstage Bistro Award (2007) for Triumphant Baby! with Robert Maddock
  • Nightlife Award (2007) for Triumphant Baby! with Robert Maddock

References[]

  1. ^ "Iconis NYU Alumnus Bio steinhardt.nyu.edu, accessed August 27, 2016
  2. ^ "GMTWP Alum Joe Iconis Heads For Broadway". NYU Tisch. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  3. ^ Snetiker, Marc. "Meet Smash’s New Composers: Pasek & Paul, Joe Iconis and More Rising Talents to Watch" broadway.com, January 25, 2013
  4. ^ Hanks, Stephen. "BWW Interviews: Joe Iconis and THE BLACK SUITS - After Barrington a Future Off-Broadway Musical?". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Marzullo, Joseph. "PHOTO CALL: Joe Iconis and Robert Emmett Maddock's 'The Black Suits' Musical at Barrington" Playbill, August 20, 2012
  6. ^ Levitt, Hayley. "Joe Iconis to Offer World Premiere of 'The Black Suits 'as Part of Center Theatre Group's 2013-14 Season" theatermania.com, June 19, 2013
  7. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "The Joe Iconis musical 'The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks' officially opens at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre July 24" Playbill, July 24, 2008
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Three Iconis Musicals Presented at Ars Nova July 20" Playbill, July 20, 2007
  9. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Musicals 'Hello Out There', 'ReWrite' and 'Lincoln in Love' Get Goodspeed Readings" Playbill, January 15, 2010
  10. ^ "Joe Iconis Finds 'Things to Ruin' at Joe's Pub, 1/29" broadwayworld.com, January 10, 2007
  11. ^ Thielman, Sam. "Review: ‘Things to Ruin: The Songs of Joe Iconis’" Variety, November 3, 2008
  12. ^ Holden, Stephen. "Cynicism, Too, Needs a Laureate to Give It Some Lyrical Moments" The New York Times, November 16, 2008
  13. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Iconis Rock Concert, 'Things to Ruin', Begins Second Stage Run May 4" Playbill, May 4, 2009
  14. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Iconis World Premiere 'Bloodsong of Love' Opens Off-Broadway April 15" Playbill, April 15, 2010
  15. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Drama Desk Award Nominations Announced; 'Ragtime' and 'Scottsboro' Top List" Playbill, May 3, 2010
  16. ^ Isherwood, Charles "Review: In ‘Be More Chill,’ a Nerd Finds Popularity in a Sci-Fi Pill" New York Times, June 9, 2015
  17. ^ McPhee, Ryan (2018-08-10). "Be More Chill Extends Off-Broadway Engagement". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  18. ^ McPhee, Ryan (June 20, 2019). "Broadway's Be More Chill Announces Closing Date". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  19. ^ https://deadline.com/2018/10/be-more-chill-movie-shawn-levy-greg-berlanti-film-auction-broadway-musical-1202486576/
  20. ^ Viagas, Robert. "Annie Golden's New Musical 'Broadway Bounty Hunter' Cancels First Preview" Playbill, August 12, 2016
  21. ^ Verini, Bob. "Regional Theater Review: ‘Broadway Bounty Hunter’" Variety, August 22, 2016
  22. ^ BWW News Desk
  23. ^ BWW News Desk
  24. ^ Meyer, Dan (April 16, 2020). "Broadway Bounty Hunter Off-Broadway Cast Recording Gets Release Date". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  25. ^ "Joe Iconis' Love in Hate Nation to Play New Jersey's Two River Theater".
  26. ^ "The Players Presents A Pipe Night Honoring Joe Iconis On Monday". BroadwayWorld. September 5, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  27. ^ "The Unathorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical". Mr Joe Iconis. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  28. ^ BWW News Desk. "Joe Iconis Musical PUNK ROCK GIRL Will Premiere at the Argyle Theatre; Full 2020-21 Season Announced!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  29. ^ Spaner, Whitney (October 30, 2016). "What Theatre Couple Got Together, Broke Up, and Got Married?". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  30. ^ Gioia, Michael. ""Smash" Star Jeremy Jordan and Tony Winner Adam Guettel Join Lineup for Joe Iconis & Family at 54 Below" Playbill, April 10, 2013
  31. ^ Gioia, Michael. "6th Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular Held Dec. 20-21; Alice Ripley, Michael Cerveris, Annie Golden Among Performers" Playbill, December 20, 2013
  32. ^ "Grants 2006" americantheatrewing.org, accessed August 27, 2016
  33. ^ "Joe Iconis Wins 2007 Kleban Award" ascap.com, June 13, 2007
  34. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "MAC Announces Winners of Wallowitch and Burman Songwriting Awards" Playbill, October 17, 2010

External links[]

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