Joe Iconis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Peter Iconis (1981-09-22)September 22, 1981 (age 44) Garden City, New York, U.S. |
| Education | New York University(BM,MFA) |
| Occupations | Composer, lyricist, playwright |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | mrjoeiconis |
Joseph Peter Philip Iconis (born September 22, 1981) is an American composer, lyricist, andplaywright. He is best known for writing the music and lyrics to theBroadway musicalBe More Chill, for which he was nominated for theTony Award for Best Original Score at the2019 Tony Awards.
Iconis graduated fromNew York University'sSteinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 2003 with aB.M. in music composition.[1] He then went on to graduate school atNYU's Tisch School of the Arts and in 2005 he received aM.F.A. in musical theater writing.[2]
TheAmerican Theatre Wing awarded Iconis aJonathan Larson Grant in 2006.[3]
Iconis wrote the music and lyrics forThe Black Suits, with a book by Iconis and Robert Maddock. The show was originally written as Iconis and Maddock's thesis at NYU.[4] It is a "rock musical about a Long Island high school garage band."[5] It played SPF atThe Public Theater in June 2008. The musical was presented at theBarrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab inPittsfield,Massachusetts from August 16, 2012, to September 2, 2012.[5] The musical had its world premiere at theCenter Theatre Group in Los Angeles, California from October 27, 2013, to November 24, 2013.[6]
Iconis wrote the music, lyrics, and book forThe Plant That Ate Dirty Socks, a rock musical based onthe book of the same name byNancy McArthur. Produced by TheaterWorksUSA, it openedOff-Broadway at theLucille Lortel Theatre in July through August 2008.[7]
Iconis wrote the music, lyrics, and book forReWrite, trio of interconnected musicals about deadlines: "Nelson Rocks!", "Miss Marzipan", and "The Process". The piece ran atArs Nova in concert in July 2007,[8] and played Urban Stages from December 2008 through January 2009. The musical had a reading at theGoodspeed Festival of New Musicals in January 2010.[9]
Iconis wrote the music and lyrics forThings To Ruin, 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 theSecond Stage Theatre.[13] A cast recording was released in September 2010 fromSh-K-Boom Records. The New Jersey premiere of the theatrical rock concert was on August 6–8, 2015, performed by the Young Adult Drama Group in North Brunswick.
Iconis wrote the music, lyrics, and book forBloodsong of Love. Directed by John Simpkins, the musical played Off-Broadway at Ars Nova in April to May 2010.[14] In 2010,Bloodsong of Love was nominated for threeDrama 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.
In 2013, his song, "Broadway, Here I Come!" was featured several times throughout the second season of the NBC television showSmash.[16]
Based on the novel byNed Vizzini, Iconis wrote the music and lyrics forBe More Chill, with a book byJoe Tracz. The musical premiered in June 2015 atTwo River Theater inRed Bank, New Jersey.[17]
A limited engagement Off-Broadway production starringWill Roland opened July 26, 2018, at thePershing 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.[18] The production played on Broadway at theLyceum Theatre from February 13, 2019, to August 11, 2019.[19] Iconis was nominated forBest Original Score at the73rd Tony Awards. On August 11, 2019,Be More Chill ended its Broadway run. Afterwards, 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". On October 20, 2018, a film adaptation was announced withGreg Berlanti andShawn Levy as producers.[20]
Iconis wrote the music and lyrics forBroadway Bounty Hunter. The book was written by Iconis, Jason "Sweettooth" Williams, and Lance Rubin. The musical premiered in August 2016 at the Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It starredAnnie Golden as a down-on-her-luck Broadway star.[21][22] An Off-Broadway version was produced in 2019 at the Greenwich House Theater, with previews starting July 9, 2019. The show played from July 23, 2019, to August 18, 2019.[23] It was announced that a cast album would be released in late 2019.[24] The cast recording's release was delayed and came out on April 24, 2020.[25]
Iconis wrote the book, music, and lyrics forLove in Hate Nation, which made its professional world premiere in 2019 at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey after a developmental performance atPenn State University in 2017 as part of their new musicals program. 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 ajuvenile hall.[26] The cast recording ofLove in Hate Nation was released on February 11, 2022. It includes B-sides "Jezebel" and an alternate version of "Masochist" by The Smith Twins.[27]
Iconis developedThe Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical aboutHunter S. Thompson for theLa Jolla Playhouse with playwright Gregory S. Moss.[28][29] A second production ran in summer 2025 atSignature Theatre in Arlington, VA,[30] and received positive reviews.[31][32]
With Rob Rokicki, he developed ajukebox musical calledPunk Rock Girl, featuring songs written or made famous by such female musicians or female-fronted bands asAvril Lavigne,Pink,Pat Benatar, andBlondie. The world premiere date forPunk Rock Girl was set for September 10, 2020, at the Argyle Theatre, before being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[33]Punk Rock Girl officially opened on January 20, 2022[34] at the Argyle inBabylon Village, New York. The show is named after a song byThe Dead Milkmen and contains several references to Iconis' previous works.[35] Iconis often jokes with the press that jukebox musicals are putting him out of business, but he agreed to create one because he saw the potential to create characters that high school students would relate to. He wrote one original composition for the musical called "Music and Math".[35]
A record made up of 44 original songs by Iconis, calledAlbum, debuted on June 17, 2022, released byGhostlight Records.[36] Over the course of his career, Iconis has written hundreds of songs, many unproduced and unattached to full musicals, and found selecting only 44 to be challenging.[37] To complement the album, Iconis and frequent collaborator Jennifer Ashley Tepper discuss each song on their weekly podcastALBUM PODCAST. In October 2022, Iconis released 10 tracks fromAlbum as a Halloween compilation titledA(aaagh!)lbum.
Iconis married musical theater actressLauren Marcus in 2015.[38] They frequently work together, including on showsReWrite,Be More Chill,Love In Hate Nation, andPunk Rock Girl, and live concerts. In April 2024, Marcus gave birth to their first child.[39]
Iconis is a concert performer, often performing with his musical theater family, referred to asIconis and Family, at various New York City concert venues, such asThe Laurie Beechman Theater,Joe's Pub, and54 Below.[40][41]
Unless otherwise marked, book, music, and lyrics by Iconis.
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