Video25 Days of Tonys: What Musical Inspired Be More Chill’s Joe Iconis?Watch the Tony-nominated composer-lyricist of the sci-fi smash spill details about his childhood acting, what he’s proudest of with Be More Chill, and more.
By
Ruthie Fierberg
May 16, 2019
Joe Iconis has been all the rage. And when he was nominated for a 2019 Tony Award for his score of Be More Chill—his Broadway debut—the composer-lyricist looked back on where it all began.
“The first thing that inspired me to write was the original production of Little Shop of Horrors at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco,” he says. “I saw it on September 27, 1987, and it changed my life.”
So it should be no surprise that Iconis’ debut is a contemporary take on the sci-fi horror musical genre. But what he’s most proud of with regards to the show is “we were able to get a cast of people who look like normal human beings onstage,” he says, “and we every day see people in the audience who see themselves reflected on the stage. And I can't believe we were able to do that in a great big Broadway musical.”
Iconis also shared the musical theatre song he’ll never get sick of and the first role he ever played as a kid onstage. Watch the full video above.
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Photos: Ready for Their Close-Ups: Playbill’s Official Portraits of the 2019 Tony Award Nominees
Photos: Ready for Their Close-Ups: Playbill’s Official Portraits of the 2019 Tony Award Nominees
