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 Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Be More Chill ''Be More Chill'' is a teen novel written by American author Ned Vizzini and published on June 1, 2004. It follows unpopular high school student and social outcast Jeremy Heere, who is considered a loser by his peers. Deeply unsatisfied with his ...

''.

Early life and education

Iconis graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development The New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (commonly referred to as Steinhardt) is the secondary liberal arts and education school of New York University. It is one of the only schools in the world of i ...

in 2003 with a B.M. in music composition. 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.

Career

2006–2013: Early projects

The

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

awarded Iconis a

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

Grant in 2006. Iconis wrote the music and lyrics for ''The Black Suits'', with a book by Iconis and Robert Maddock. The show was originally written as Iconis and Maddock's thesis at NYU. It is a "rock musical about a Long Island high school garage band."Marzullo, Joseph
"PHOTO CALL: Joe Iconis and Robert Emmett Maddock's 'The Black Suits' Musical at Barrington"
Playbill, August 20, 2012 It played SPF at

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

in June 2008. The musical was presented at the

Barrington Stage Company Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts. I ...

's Musical Theatre Lab in

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

from August 16, 2012, to September 2, 2012. The musical had its world premiere at the

Center Theatre Group Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and th ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from October 27, 2013, to November 24, 2013. Iconis wrote the music, lyrics, and book for ''The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks'', a rock musical based on the book of the same name by

Nancy McArthur Nancy McArthur (October 30, 1931 – July 15, 2020) was an American children's author. Living in Berea, Ohio, she was a part-time journalism professor at Baldwin-Wallace College. She wrote fourteen books, nine of which form a series called ''The P ...

. Produced by TheaterWorksUSA, it opened

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the

Lucille Lortel Theatre The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior is largely unch ...

in July through August 2008. Iconis wrote the music, lyrics, and book for ''ReWrite'', 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 concert in July 2007, 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. Iconis wrote the music and lyrics for ''Things 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). The final version premiered at the Zipper Factory Theater (now closed) in November 2008 and January 2009. The show returned to Off-Broadway in May 2009 at the

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

. A cast recording was released in September 2010 from

Sh-K-Boom Records Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second ...

. The New Jersey premiere of the theatrical rock concert was on August 6–8, 2015, performed by the Young Adult Drama Group (YADG), in North Brunswick. Iconis wrote the music, lyrics, and book for ''Bloodsong of Love.'' Directed by John Simpkins, the musical played Off-Broadway at Ars Nova in April to May 2010. In 2010, ''Bloodsong of Love'' was nominated for three

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

: Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Jeremy Morse), Outstanding Music (Joe Iconis), and Outstanding Book of a Musical (Joe Iconis). 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 show '' Smash''.

2015–present: Be More Chill and beyond

Based on the novel by

Ned Vizzini Edison Price Vizzini (April 4, 1981 – December 19, 2013) was an American writer. He was the author of four books for young adults including ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'', which NPR named #56 of the "100 Best-Ever Teen Novels" and which is th ...

, Iconis wrote the music and lyrics for ''Be More Chill'', with a book was by

Joe Tracz Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

. The musical premiered in June 2015 at Two River Theatre in Red Bank,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. A limited engagement Off-Broadway production starring

Will Roland William Frederick Roland (born March 5, 1989) better known as Will Roland is an American actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Jared Kleinman in the Broadway musical ''Dear Evan Hansen'', for which he received a Grammy and Da ...

opened July 26, 2018, at the

Pershing Square Signature Center The Pershing Square Signature Center is a complex of three Off-Broadway theatres in the Theatre Row section of West 42nd Street in New York City. It is on the first floors of the 43-floor MiMa Building apartment complex. Pershing Square Signatu ...

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. The production played on

at the Lyceum Theatre from February 13, 2019, to August 11, 2019. Iconis was nominated for Best Original Score at the

73rd Tony Awards The 73rd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 9, 2019, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2018–19 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and was broadcast live by CBS. James Corden served ...

. 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." On October 20, 2018, a film adaptation was announced with

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...

and

Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the ''Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...

as producers. Iconis wrote the music and lyrics for ''Broadway 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 starred

Annie Golden Annie Golden (born October 19, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She first came to prominence as the lead singer of the punk band the Shirts from 1975 to 1981 with whom she recorded three albums. She began her acting career as Mother in ...

as a down on her luck Broadway star. An Off-Broadway production occurred in 2019 at the Greenwich House Theater, with previews starting July 9, 2019. The show played from July 23, 2019, to August 18, 2019. It was announced that a cast album would be released in late 2019. The cast recording's release was delayed and came out on April 24, 2020. Iconis wrote the book, music, and lyrics for ''Love 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 at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

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 a juvie hall. The cast recording of ''Love in Hate Nation'' was released on February 11, 2022. It includes B-sides "Jezebel" and an alternate version of "Masochist" by The Smith Twins. Iconis is currently working on a musical about

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...

for

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

with playwright Gregory S. Moss, entitled ''The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical''. With Rob Rokicki, he developed a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perfo ...

called ''Punk Rock Girl,'' featuring songs written or made famous by such female musicians or female-fronted bands as

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

, and Blondie. The world premiere date for ''Punk Rock Girl'' was set for September 10, 2020, at the Argyle Theatre, before being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ''Punk Rock Girl'' officially opened on January 20, 2022 at the Argyle in Babylon Village, NY, in the same county as his hometown of Garden City. The show is named after a song by

The Dead Milkmen The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist Da ...

and contains several references to Iconis' previous works. 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." A record made up of 44 original songs by Iconis, called ''Album'', debuted on June 17, 2022, released by

Ghostlight Records Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second ...

. 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. To complement the album, Iconis and frequent collaborator Jennifer Ashley Tepper discuss each song on their weekly podcast ''ALBUM PODCAST''. In October 2022, Iconis released 10 tracks from ''Album'' as a Halloween compilation titled ''A(aaagh!)lbum''.

Personal life

Iconis married musical theater actress

Lauren Marcus Lauren Marcus (born November 27, 1985) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Early life and education Marcus was raised in the suburbs of Chicago, and attended New Trier High School for three years before relocating to Garrison, NY, ...

in 2015. They frequently work together, including on shows ''ReWrite'', ''Be More Chill'', ''Love In Hate Nation'', and ''Punk Rock Girl'', and live concerts. 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 Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

, and

Feinstein's/54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

Works

Theatre 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) * ''Punk Rock Girl'' (2022)** *Music and Lyrics by Iconis **Book by Iconis Music * ''Things To Ruin: The Songs Of Joe Iconis (Original Cast Recording)'' (2010) * ''I'm Ready: The Songs of Rob Rokicki'' (2012) – Song: "Footprints" (written and performed by Rob Rokicki and Joe Iconis) *also appears on ''Monstersongs'' (2017) * ''The Joe Iconis Rock & Roll Jamboree'' (2013) * ''Be More Chill (Original Cast Recording)'' (2015) * ''Two Player Game'' (2018) * ''Be More Chill (Original Broadway Cast Recording)'' (2019) * ''Broadway Bounty Hunter (Original Cast Recording)'' (2020) * ''Love in Hate Nation (Original Cast Recording)'' (2022) * ''Album'' (2022) * ''A(aaagh!)lbum (2022)

Awards

Award (2006)"Grants 2006"
americantheatrewing.org, accessed August 27, 2016 *Daryl Roth Award (2006) for ''Plastic! The Musical'' with Robert Maddock *

Ed Kleban Edward "Ed" Kleban (April 30, 1939 – December 28, 1987) was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. Kleban was born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1939 and graduated from New York's High School of Music & Art and Columbia Univers ...

Award (2007)"Joe Iconis Wins 2007 Kleban Award"
ascap.com, June 13, 2007 *Backstage Bistro Award (2007) for ''Triumphant Baby!'' with Robert Maddock *Nightlife Award (2007) for ''Triumphant Baby!'' with Robert Maddock * MAC/

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

John Wallowitch John Wallowitch (February 11, 1926 – August 15, 2007) was an American songwriter and cabaret performer. He wrote over 2,000 songs; his works include "Bruce", "Come a Little Closer", "I See the World Through Your Eyes", "Back on the Town" ...

Award (2010)Hetrick, Adam
"MAC Announces Winners of Wallowitch and Burman Songwriting Awards"
Playbill, October 17, 2010

References

External links

* *
Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iconis, Joe 1981 births Living people Writers from New York (state) Tisch School of the Arts alumni People from Garden City, New York American musical theatre composers