(RED BANK, NJ) -- Two River Theater is proud to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the World Premiere of Be More Chill, the hit Broadway musical, with two nights of concerts on July 24-25, 2025 at 8:00pm. With music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, book by Joe Tracz, and based on the novel by Ned Vizzini, Be More Chill was originally commissioned and produced by Two River, directed by Stephen Brackett and choreographed by Chase Brock, on their Red Bank stage in 2015, and ran on Broadway in 2019.
Two River will reunite many of Be More Chill’s original Two River and Broadway cast members, for a concert presentation of the beloved musical. Performers scheduled to appear include Gerard Canonico (American Idiot, Groundhog Day), Katlyn Carlson (Bookie, The Neighborhood), Will Connolly (Once, Fly by Night), Lauren Marcus (Company, Tick, Tick…Boom!), Eric William Morris (King Kong, Fleishman Is In Trouble), Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, One Penny), George Salazar (Godspell, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical), and Jason SweetTooth Williams (American Horror Stories, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), with more to be announced at a later date. The concerts will take place in the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater.
“Be More Chill holds a special place in Two River history,” says Artistic Director Justin Waldman. “Beloved by audiences here, on Broadway, and around the world, we are thrilled to mark this special occasion by welcoming the Joes, Iconis and Tracz, back to Red Bank.”
“Be More Chill is a show that changed my life in countless ways,” says writer Joe Iconis. “I don't know where I'd be had Two River not taken a chance on me many years ago and I am so thrilled to celebrate ten years of this misfit musical on the stage where it was first performed. My collaborators and I cannot wait to spend a few days in glorious Red Bank partying with the fans who have supported us on this journey and looking toward the future. There's never been a better time to be a loser.”
Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, May 20 at noon, and will be available for purchase online or by calling the Box Office at 732.345.1400. There are a very limited number of $35 tickets available for patrons under 35.
In addition to the concerts, on July 23 at 8:00pm, Two River will also host an In the Know conversation with Be More Chill creator Joe Iconis and members of the company, hosted by Two River’s Artistic Director, Justin Waldman. This event is FREE to the public and may be reserved here.
Following the performance on Thursday, July 24, there will be a private Meet and Greet with Joe Iconis in their Library for a very limited number of patrons. This post-show event can be purchased for an additional cost.
In addition to the success of Two River’s production, a Be More Chill original cast recording was released in 2015 showcasing the vibrant and exciting songs fans came to know and love. In 2019, Be More Chill opened on Broadway, gaining critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. The show has been seen around the world, including productions in London’s West End and Tokyo, and the cast albums have been streamed well over half a billion times.
Two River Theatre recently announced their 2025-26 season! To learn more about the lineup, click here. Season Subscriptions are now on sale! Subscriptions include a 25% discount off regularly priced tickets, free ticket exchanges, discounts on additional tickets and much more. For more information, click here.
Plays, artists, dates, and ticket prices are subject to change.
BIOS
Joe Iconis is a Tony Award®-nominated musical theater writer and performer. He is the recipient of the Ed Kleban Award, Jonathan Larson Award, and Richard Rodgers Award. His musical The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical plays the Signature Theatre in Washington D.C. this June & July. Be More Chill (with Joe Tracz) played Broadway, London, and Tokyo after originating at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Joe is the author of Love in Hate Nation (directed by John Simpkins), Broadway Bounty Hunter (with Lance Rubin and Jason Sweet Tooth Williams), Bloodsong of Love, Punk Rock Girl! The Black Suits (with Robert Maddock), ReWrite, and many more. His work has been produced by La Jolla Playhouse, Ars Nova, Theaterworks USA, Urban Stages, Barrington Stage Company and his music has been heard on NBC’s Smash and Riverdale. Joe’s annual Christmas Extravaganza (produced by Jennifer Ashley Tepper) is in its fifteenth year, and he frequently performs his concert act at the Laurie Beechman Theater and 54 Below, where he is the Artist-in-Residence.
His albums on Ghostlight Records include the 44-song retrospective Album (Joe Iconis & Family), Two-Player Game (with George Salazar), and many cast recordings. Joe is hugely inspired by Robert Altman, Dolly Parton, The Muppets, and the Family of artists he frequently surrounds himself with.
Joe Tracz is a writer whose work has been seen on Broadway in Be More Chill (with Joe Iconis) and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (with Rob Rokicki; Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Book). Other credits include the musical Poster Boy (with Craig Carnelia, Williamstown Theatre Festival). TV: Netflix’s Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Peabody Award recipient; Emmy, Humanitas Prize, and WGA Award nominee) and Dash & Lily, which premiered on Netflix in 2020.
Joe is an alumnus of the Ars Nova Play Group and a former Playwrights Realm writing fellow. He has an BA from Kalamazoo College and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Tracz was also writer, executive producer and co-showrunner on Netflix’s One Piece and writer on the Disney+ Original series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Two River Theater’s 2025/26 Season Sponsor is Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center.
Two River Theater is funded in part by public support through the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, funding through a grant from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners. Private support includes Citizens Philanthropic Foundation, Courtyard by Marriott, Edgerton Foundation, Grunin Foundation, Merrill G. & Emita E. Hastings Foundation, Investors Foundation, Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Manasquan Bank Charitable Foundation, Molly Pitcher Inn and The Oyster Point Hotel, Monmouth University, MusicWorks Inc., OceanFirst Bank, OceanFirst Foundation, Open Heart Yoga, Senior Living Residences Marlboro, The Shubert Foundation, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Triumph Brewing Company, Visiting Nurse Association of NJ Health Group, Zager Fuchs P.C., and other generous funders.
Two River Theater produces American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we serve over 20,000 students, families and community members through our 4-6 show season, and 85+ events that reflect our diverse community of Monmouth County. Two River produces work on two stages—the 350-seat Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater, and the flexible 110-seat Marion Huber Theater.
In 2020 they expanded their campus to 80,000 square feet with the opening of the Center for New Work, Education and Design. Two River Theater has commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by former Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run), and in June 2019, Two River was nationally recognized by USA TODAY as one of “10 great places to see a play.” Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director Justin Waldman and Managing Director Nora DeVeau-Rosen.
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