Out of the Box Theatre Company will open its 2024-25 season with Joe Iconis’ “Family Album,” a one-night-only concert, Oct. 27 at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club in Santa Barbara.
“Family Album” is a collection of character songs from the point of view of artists, eccentrics, and monsters of both the fantastical and real life variety. Think of it as an anthology of short stories set to music.
“Family Album” was written by Iconis, composer/lyricist of the Broadway performances “Be More Chill,” “Things To Ruin,” “Bloodsong of Love,” “Punk Rock Girl,” and “The Untitled and Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.”
Originally released as a recorded collection of 44 songs by Iconis in 2022, “Family Album” transitioned into a live concert after being commissioned by Concord Theatricals for the Educational Theatre Association, premiering in a staged reading at the 2023 International Thespian Festival in Bloomington, Indiana.
Samantha Eve, the artistic director of Out of the Box Theatre Company, saw the concert staged at the Bourbon Room in Los Angeles last year.
“Out of the Box’s mission has always been to bring innovative new musical theater to Santa Barbara, and Joe Iconis is the perfect example of what musical theater is evolving into and where it can go from here,” Eve said.
“With a very conversational style that genre-hops, ‘Family Album’ explores the wicked and weird parts of what makes us tick as human beings and artists. The ambitious parts. The vulnerable parts. The monstrous parts,” she said.
The cast features Will Breman, Eve, Aubree Facio, Bella Garcia Holland, Tyler Gilbert, Felicia Hall, Michelle Hernandez, Lana Kanen, Emily Libera, Marisol Miller-Wave, Will Muse, Seth Andrey Oster, Timo Reese, Nicholis Shelley, CJ Smith, and Nik Valinsky.
Led by music director Jezreel Real, the show will also feature a live rock band.
Tickets can be purchased at https://www.sohosb.com/ or at the door. Halloween costumes are encouraged.