Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz, creators of the new musical BE MORE CHILL, have been honored along with Two River Theater by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The show begins its world premiere run May 30 at Two River Theater.Â
Press release from Two River Theater Company
Two River Theater Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, is proud to announce that the Doris Duke Chaitable 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; $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.
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 for the upcoming production of Be More Chill and other events at Two River Theater can be reserved now by going here. 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.
