Two River Theater Receives Doris Duke Grant for Iconis & Tracz's New Musical BE MORE CHILL

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, is proud to announce that the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has awarded the theater a generous grant of $125,000 to support its upcoming production of Be More Chill, a new musical written by Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz, with choreography by Chase Brock and direction by Stephen Brackett. The grant will also support an ongoing relationship between Two River Theater and the team of Iconis and Tracz.

Two River is one of only five theaters in the country awarded this honor in the first round of the DDCF's new, two-round Theatre Commissioning and Production Initiative, which supports large-scale work by American playwrights and encourages long-term relationships between theaters and writers. The grant includes $75,000 to support Two River's production of Be More Chill, which will run May 30-June 21, 2015: $25,000 to be awarded to composer/lyricist Joe Iconis and librettist Joe Tracz; and an additional $25,000 to support a commission and development activities for Iconis and Tracz to write a new musical for the theater. The other theaters awarded grants are Denver Center Theatre Company, Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and The Public Theater in New York.

"Two River Theater is deeply grateful to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation," say Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst. "Be More Chill is the largest musical and one of the most ambitious projects in our theater's history. This invaluable new initiative allows nonprofit theaters to produce works of such scale-and supports sustained relationships between institutions and writers, the central generative artists of the American theater. We are proud to have connected songwriter Joe Iconis and playwright Joe Tracz; to be developing and producing their extraordinary new work; and to be launching them as one of the most exciting new teams in the American musical theater."

Two River Theater also acknowledges support from the National Endowment for the Arts, which awarded Be More Chill a $20,000 grant, and from Lead Production Sponsor Durso Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley.

A commissioned world premiere, Be More Chill is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini. Jeremy Heere is just your average dork trying to survive life in his suburban New Jersey high school. When he swallows a pill-sized supercomputer called The Squip that promises to bring him everything he desires most, he is transformed from complete geek to the coolest guy in class. But is being the most popular guy in school worth the risk?

Tickets are available from tworivertheater.org or 732.345.1400. Ticket prices range from $37 to $65, with discounts available for groups, seniors, and U.S. military personnel, their families, and veterans. A limited number of $20 tickets are available for every performance; $20 tickets may be partial view. Tickets for patrons under 30 are $20 and include the best available seats at every performance.

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, the environment, medical research and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties. DDCF's Arts Program focuses its support on contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. For more information, visit www.ddcf.org.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, creates great American theater performed by award-winning artists. We produce American and world masterpieces, and new plays and musicals. Two River Theater offers new-play commissions and artistic development activities that support the most adventurous artists in the American theater; invites its audience to be part of the creative process through readings and open rehearsals; and cultivates students and young people to participate in innovative arts-education programs and become a new generation of theatergoers. Founded in 1994 by Joan and Dr. Robert M. Rechnitz, Two River Theater is easily accessible by car, train, or bus, with great restaurants and shopping within walking distance of the theater.

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