Photo Flash: BE MORE CHILL Composer Joe Iconis Honored At The Players

By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 10, 2019

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Last night, Monday, September 9, 2019, The Players honored Tony Award-nominated composer and writer Joe Iconis (Be More Chill) with a Pipe Night, a club tradition that has celebrated significant cultural figures for over a century.

The "Pipemasters," or the evening's hosts, were Iconis collaborator and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper (Be More Chill) and producer Michael Barra of Lively McCabe Entertainment (Punk Rock Girl).

The evening will featured performances by "Iconis Family" members Liz Lark Brown, Nate Buccieri, Seth Eliser, Amanda Flynn, Danielle Gimbal, Morgan Siobhan Green, Rachel Lee, Lorinda Lisitza, Lauren Marcus, Eric William Morris, Jeremy Morse, Shakina Nayfack, Rob Rokicki, Will Roland, Mike Rosengarten, Jared Weiss and Jason SweetTooth Williams.

The first Pipe Night was held at The Players in 1905. In the early gas-lit era, the gatherings were held after the theatre at midnight, the Players smoked clay churchwarden pipes during the gathering, and the night's entertainment was informal and unplanned. Pipe Nights are now dinner events (tobacco-free) with a complete program.

Past Pipe Night honorees and entertainers include: Brooks Atkinson, Danny Aiello, John Barrymore, Milton Berle, Sarah Bernhardt, Jack Benny, George Burns, James Cagney, Eddie Cantor, Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Evans, George and Ira Gershwin, John Gielgud, Harry Houdini, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Audra McDonald, Glenn Miller, Eugene O' Neill, Jason Robards, Paul Robeson, Frank Sinatra and Peter Ustinov.

A fan of the Alfred Hitchcock films, Mr. Iconis said that out of all the incredible past honorees, he was perhaps most excited to be in the company of Psycho star Janet Leigh.

Joe Iconis is a writer and performer. As a composer - lyricist - book writer, he has authored the musicals Be More Chill (Broadway, Signature Theater, Two River Theater), Broadway Bounty Hunter (Greenwich House Theatre, Barrington Stage Company), Things to Ruin (Second Stage), Bloodsong of Love (Ars Nova), The Black Suits (Center Theater Group), ReWrite (Urban Stages), Theaterworks USA's The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks and We The People, and the currently in development Hunter S. Thompson Musical (for La Jolla Playhouse) and Love In Hate Nation. Joe has also written the book for the upcoming musical Punk Rock Girl. Albums: Be More Chill (Original Cast Recording), Two-Player Game (with George Salazar), Things To Ruin (Original Cast Recording) and The Joe Iconis Rock and Roll Jamboree all available on Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records. Joe's songs appeared on Season 2 of NBC's "Smash." His concert act, Joe Iconis and Family, frequently plays Feinstein's/54 Below, The Laurie Beechman Theater, Weston Playhouse, and other venues around the country. He has been nominated for a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, a Lucille Lortel Award, and is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, a Jonathan Larson Award, an ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award, a Doris Duke Grant, and a MAC John Wallowitch Songwriting Award. www.MrJoeIconis.com.

The Players is a private social club founded in 1888 by Edwin Booth, America's pre-eminent Shakespearean actor, and 15 other incorporators, including Mark Twain and General William Tecumseh Sherman. Located in Booth's former residence, a Greek Revival townhouse facing historic Gramercy Park, The Players is modeled after London's famed Garrick Club, and it was the first American club of its kind. Its purpose: "The promotion of social intercourse between members of the dramatic profession and the kindred professions of literature, painting, architecture, sculpture and music, law and medicine, and the patrons of the arts." The Players has always been a club where people of the theatre meet and mingle with individuals from a variety of professions and businesses. In addition to the warm camaraderie and convivial atmosphere, The Players Grill has long been recognized as "one of the best bars in New York." The Players offers many different types of events throughout the year from readings and lectures, through musical evenings and theatrical presentations.

The Players is located at 16 Gramercy Park South in New York City. For information about membership, visit theplayersnyc.org or call The Players at 212- 475-6116.

Photo Credit: jillphotography

Photo Flash: BE MORE CHILL Composer Joe Iconis Honored At The Players
Michael Barra and Jennifer Ashley Tepper