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The Phenomenon of Joe Iconis – & Family Part I

Jul 18, 2025

By Alix Cohen…

Composer/lyricist Joe Iconis is as well known for his crossover professional/ personal Family of artists as he is for his iconoclastic musicals. Film directors Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson repeatedly work with the same actors. John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote again and again for Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera. Bartlett Sher hires Kelli O’Hara, Jerry Zaks likes Nathan Lane. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail are frequent collaborators Expanding on that penchant, composer/lyricist Joe Iconis has unwittingly become the fearless leader, wrangler, employment source, inspiration and friend to an unusually large and devoted number of theater artists. They call themselves “The Family.” Many have been working with the writer in concerts and musicals well over twenty years. They go to each other’s weddings, babysit, cat sit, shepherd one another through illness and tragedy, offer support and celebrate garnered success.

Joe and Phillip Iconis with their Dad

Iconis doesn’t come from a family in the arts. “They’re supportive, but also terrified,” he notes. The piano was just a piece of passed-down furniture until, at eight, he was “lovingly pushed into lessons.” About the same time the boy became obsessed with musicals. He’d see or hear something, return home, and play it by ear. “Little Shop of Horrors”, “Into the Woods”, and “Anything Goes” were the first musicals Iconis saw. Birthday and holiday presents became tickets. “I really feel those three informed who I became as a writer.” The adolescent outgrew a local piano teacher and was sent for classical training. It was decidedly not what he wanted. “I’d get in trouble for improvising, adding notes. I was orchestrating.” Most teenagers would’ve capitalized on playing an instrument as a way to make friends and meet girls. Iconis was shy. He loved being IN a theater, but preferred to remain backstage. 6th grade teacher, Ms. Backer had everyone fill out a questionnaire including “What do you want to be when you grow up?” She mailed them back to students upon graduation. Joe had written: A Broadway composer.

Adolescent Joe

The artist didn’t start writing lyrics until undergraduate work at NYU. Asked to decide between collaborating with a stranger or learning new craft, his bashfulness put him in the former situation only when necessary. “The more I wrote lyrics, the more I felt I was meant to do it.” Like Stephen Sondheim, Iconis had no interest in writing only lyrics. “Music is too much a part of me; even when I do write lyrics, music is implied.” Lorinda Lisitza met Iconis in 2003 when she performed in one of his thesis shows, Plastic (with lyricist Robert Maddock). The two would subsequently write her a one woman song cycle called Triumphant Baby. “He was 22ish, smart, conscientious, a hard worker, but very laid back. You want to do well to showcase his work, but he doesn’t apply pressure. He’s innately lovable,” she says.

The show poster

“Joe’s a leader. It’s funny to think of someone so much younger than me as parental, but he’s kind of like the good dad on a tv sitcom who doles out great advice and knows you’ll take it because he raised you right..”Lisitza is an early member of the family, what they call an “OG”, or Original Gangster. “When we’re all clicking, you can feel it.” “The Black Suits”, centered on a Garage Band in suburban Long Island was produced at Barrington Stage Company in 2012 and Center Theatre Group in L.A. in 2013. The show was about dreams, blood, Pop Tarts, records, drug runs, blue hair, the St. Anne’s Battle of the Bands, and the undying transformative coolness of rock and roll music. Write what you know.

“The Black Suits”

Eric William Morris auditioned for the musical. He didn’t get the part, but made a good enough connection that Iconis later asked him to appear in the “Things to Ruin”, a rock concert about young people hell bent on destruction and creation. “I wanted to please him, for him to be aware that I was serious about what I was doing,” Morris recalls. “I learned pretty quickly that he’s as curious as anyone else that does what we do. There’s no pretense…” The young men had similar backgrounds. Morris felt “represented” by Iconis’ themes and was drawn to the writer’s sense of humor. “It’s a little dark, incredibly self aware and self deprecating.”

Lance Rubin, Badia Farha, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, Jason SweetTooth Williams, Joe Iconis, Eric William Morris, Sarah Glendening, Nick Blaemire

Jason SweetTooth Williams felt similar affinity when cast in The Black Suits. “It was both humorous and deadly serious. Joe wrote authentically to young people, in their voices. I played the drummer – like me, studious, musical, but kind of the grunt of the band. My character had to decide whether to join another group or stay with his friends. The piece spoke to loyalty, which is really Joe’s MO in life.” “I thought he was cool with a capital “C,” he says sincerely. The men became “Inseparable partners in crime.” Williams also met and became fast friends with Morris performing Things to Ruin. He met his wife-to-be when in Joe’s “Bloodsong of Love” at Ars Nova. “Even connection with my wife leads back to Joe. He was Best Man at my wedding.”

Jason SweetTooth Williams, Eric William Morris, Joe Iconis; Eric William Morris and Lance Rubin in “Bloodsong of Love”

“The last performance of “The Black Suits” I knew I was getting too old to ever do it again. I walked off stage and burst into tears. It was gratitude for having been seen. Joe grabbed me in a really big hug. I get a little teary just thinking about it. He saw me as a rock star. I never felt that way. I think Joe opens people’s worlds to be something they never dreamed of.” Ars Nova also hosted the first Joe Iconis & Family concerts. Inspired by Robert Altman’s work and The Muppets, Iconis imagined an ensemble of like minded, multitalented artists who would braid their professional and personal lives. “The whole Family idea is loose enough to accommodate the lives of working artists — it needed to allow people to come and go…”

An early & Family at Two River Theatre

Jennifer Ashley Tepper, now Creative and Programming Director at 54 Below, was a fan of Iconis’ songs before becoming assistant producer on Things to Ruin. She’s been involved with every show except one since 2009, including the Joe Iconis & Family concerts and Christmas Extravaganzas at 54 Below. “Joe’s passionate about collaboration. Creative decisions I’ve made elsewhere were heavily impacted by my collaboration with him,” she says. “He understands human behavior. A lot of his topics have to do with outsiders. He thinks of himself that way, but writes what might be cliché in an original voice. He’s paternal, a nurturer. Joe will never kick anyone out of the Family.” Despite inherent frustration, Tepper doesn’t think Iconis has a temper –“though his characters do.” Morris remembers fire in the writer’s twenties. “He hated being put in the box of a young musical theater writer. It softened over the years in a really lovely way.” The only evidence of it now is when the writer gets angry for one of his flock who’s not being recognized or properly treated.

Jennifer Ashley Tepper and Joe Iconis -Then and Now

“Oh my God, yeah,” Iconis responds when I ask him if he feels parental. “I could not be more involved in their lives. I take their successes and failures personally. Even though I’m not, I feel responsible for them, especially those who haven’t had an easy go in this business, which is most of them. I feel like my success, if I have success, is gonna lift all those people up, so I feel the weight of them on my shoulders.” Based on the young adult novel by Ned Vizzini, “Be More Chill” was commissioned by Two River Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. It’s a Faustian story of achieving high school popularity when the SQUIP, a Japanese nanocomputer pill, was implanted in your brain instructing how to be cool. There are, of course, consequences. “I love the idea of young people being able to see themselves,” he tells me.

Will Roland and Company in “Be More Chill”- Photo Maria Baranova

The show opened in 2015 but didn’t survive its reviews. Iconis and company nonetheless made a cast album which, miracle of miracles, went viral. Fans created YouTube videos using its music. With help from Jennifer Tepper, it was reborn at Pershing Square Signature Center, then the Lyceum Theater on Broadway. Young people would show up knowing all the lyrics, mouthing along, calling out. Iconis received a nomination for Best Score at the 73rd Tony Awards. “There was a lot of great buzz. People thought this could be the one. All these producers were lined up to see it. Christopher Isherwood (The New York Times) came unexpectedly, gave it a terrible review, and everyone canceled. Every single one. All with different excuses. “I got my first good New York Times review last week.” Iconis sighs. (for “The Untitled, Unauthorized Hunter Thompson Musical” at Signature Theatre, Washington D.C. as I write.)

More Family- Photo Stephanie Wessels

Opening Photo Stephanie Wessels All uncredited photos Courtesy of Joe Iconis Part II tomorrow

The Phenomenon of Joe Iconis- & Family Part II

Jul 18, 2025

By Alix Cohen…

Composer/lyricist Joe Iconis is as well known for his crossover professional/personal Family of artists as he is for iconoclastic musicals. “Broadway Bounty Hunter” (book by Joe with Williams and O.G. Lance Rubin) starred Annie Golden as a down on her luck Broadway star who made ends meet with a very different profession. “Love in Hate Nation” was a 1960s rock romance between two girls in a juvenile hall. Iconis figures he’s authored a dozen produced musicals to date including two song cycles.

“Broadway Bounty Hunter” album; Annie Golden as The Christmas Angel in Iconis’ annual extravaganza

“We’re a family dedicated to helping get his vision on stage. It’s a deep level of trust,” Lorinda Lisitza states in no uncertain terms. “Joe has a talent for finding supportive people who want to hold each other up. We do that on stage and behind the scenes … “When I found out during COVID in 2020 that I had cancer, Joe and Lauren (his wife, writer/performer Lauren Marcus), were the first people I called. They sent a lot of care packages then sat outside with me and visited.” Iconis worked around her when Lisitza later suffered through treatment. She babysits for Jason SweetTooth Williams’ little girls and Joe’s daughter Roxie. “There was one night when I was so upset about a bad review a show of Joe’s got that I threw a glass out a window,” Jennifer Tepper winces.“ The Family is as invested in their leader as much as he is in them. “I have friends I grew up with, but I don’t see them as much as I see these friends. These have been the closest people in my life for decades,” Eric William Morris tells me. “Most of my friends are in the Family. If I’m gonna be hangin’ out, it’s with one of these guys,” Williams says.

Joe Iconis, Lorinda Lisitza, Jason SweetTooth Williams

“Joe smacked me around a little when I was having personal issues and told me I needed to get my shit together. He offered anything I needed, a place to crash, financial help. He’s the shirt-off-his-back kinda guy…When he won the Kleban Award, he gave a big party. When his song “Broadway, Here I Come!” was featured on “Smash” (the tv show), he gave a big party… His parents have that kind of I’ll take care of you mentality too,” Williams continues.” We’ve known them for years and are often at their house on Long Island. Every year at Christmastime, they invite anyone who doesn’t have a place to go. There’s a piano. It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas kind of feel.” In 2006 Iconis was commissioned by Christopher Ashley at La Jolla Playhouse to write what would become “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical”. (Iconis’ concept.) He went through a series of book writers and in 2020 fully took over book-writing duties in addition to music and lyrics. The show played La Jolla in 2023. Ashley is directing its Washington production as well.

Script ; Poster (Courtesy of Signature Theatre) for “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical”

“It’s less about Hunter’s writing and more about him as a person,” Iconis reflects. “ I was so taken with how some stories lived up to the cartoon, renegade, drug-taking wild man and others painted a picture of a serious writer and moralist who had pure beliefs in what America could be.” The New York Times calls it “a frenzied, frothing act of theatrical resurrection,” adding “Thompson is played with feral charisma by Eric William Morris…” Morris did a table read in 2019 but didn’t play the gonzo journalist in La Jolla and never thought he had a shot at the role. “I personally identify with his focus, drive, and obsession to leave a legacy,” he muses. Audience members sometimes dress as Hunter. Lisitza plays his mother. “I think the show uses Hunter’s eye, observations, and behavior as a lens to look at political history and how history repeats itself,” she observes. Williams plays Ralph Steadman known for his illustrations of Thompson’s work; also a peacock, a bat and the book, The Great Gatsby.

Eric William Morris (Hunter S. Thompson) and Giovanny Diaz De Leon (The Kid) with the cast of “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical” – Photo by Christopher Mueller

Iconis is now a father. Wife Lauren Marcus sings to baby Roxie. I ask whether parenthood has changed his creative life. “I never wanna put on my kid that she’s the thing in my life that’s helping me not be crazy or stressed, but she is. When I’m with her, it completely wipes away everything else…” Unsurprising from a man who admits to crying at movies. “I feel Roxie’s influence on Hunter for sure. I think the show got a little bit warmer and more human. There’s always been this family section at the end with Hunter and his adult son. I think it got deeper. Also, I added an infant character played by a puppet that can hoist its fist or finger in the air. It’s a talented baby. I think Roxie would find those moments hilarious.”

Clockwise: Lorinda Lisitza and Eric William Morris as Mr. & Mrs, Santa; Bill Coyne as Sweet Baby Jesus; Liz Lark Brown as Mary Magdalene – with “the boys” Photos by Alix Cohen

The Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Extravaganza was inaugurated 2008 at Ars Nova. It began as a holiday concert with a few scripted moments. There were 10 performers, a few dressed up. Lisitza played drunk Mrs. Claus and Williams played Santa from the beginning. (She bought her own costume.) Morris plays bartender Mr. Macabee who can’t be kept from the stage. Actors slot in and out between other commitments. Even admitted non-performer Tepper appears for the fun of it. The show eventually moved to 54 Below where it sells out successive nights every year. It’s now fully scripted and extravagantly costumed. “We’re up to 60-70 cast members and honestly, if I could, I’d have it be 100. If I ever got Lin-Manuel Miranda famous and money were no longer a consideration, I’d have as many performers as audience members.

The 2024 Christmas Extravaganza cast

One day I’m gonna do it,” Iconis declares with the anticipation of a pilgrim.“I write a new script every year, but certain characters come back. It’s so insane and I’m so proud of it.” That that they have only two weeks rehearsal is astonishing. A unique evening of Hellzapoppin’ fabulosity, the show is described as: …part rock concert, part theater piece, and part theme park attraction… Featuring brand new holiday songs, old favorites, a huge cast of musical theater all-stars, tiny elves, enormous reindeer, an inebriated Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and more whiskey-fueled shenanigans than you can shake a candy cane at, it promises to be the hap-hap-happiest holiday hoedown ever seen on stage. Iconis devotes a considerable amount of his time to hustling. “If I could spend ¾ of the time writing that I spend hustling, I would’ve written twenty musicals. It’s constant, incessant; never gets better only harder. For Hunter, I’ve personally invited hundreds of people. I have a spreadsheet. 90% don’t respond.”

A recent Joe Iconis & Family: Joe Iconis, Lorinda Lisitza, Jared Weiss, Mike Rosengarten, Amirah Joy Lomax, Jason SweetTooth Williams, Sara Al-Bazali, Devon Meddock, Lauren Marcus

“In times like this when things feel so heavy, I immediately want to make something inspiring, invigorating and hopeful. Joy and celebration are a real “fuck you” to things that depress us…I think Hunter Thompson is defiantly optimistic. ‘And refreshingly complex. Ultimately it’s about how art changes the world.” I ask about his bucket list. “I want to be able to sustain a life in the arts. I want it to be a little easier to get my shows up. I want to have to worry a little less about money, to devote myself to the creative side of things. And I want a Sardi’s caricature.” Mr. Joe Iconis: https://mrjoeiconis.com/

Joe Iconis in a film noir moment