Joe Iconis' Rock and Roll Haunted Halloween Special

As indicated by last week’s depressingly low Broadway grosses, most people tend not to see a show on Halloween. I am an exception to this rule. I see shows so often out of habit that I can’t help myself. But in order to accommodate the occasion, I managed to find a Halloween-themed show: Joe Iconis’ “Rock and Roll Haunted Halloween Special” at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Though I’ve attended several of Iconis’ concerts and musicals before, I had never actually been to the Beechman before. I found it to be an excellent, intimate cabaret space and hope to see more stuff there soon.

Anyhow, in addition to the catchy, gritty, very humorous nature of Iconis’ songs, he also stands out for being a damn good showman. His popular concerts are fun, engaging and showcase many of his regular performers including Liz Lark Brown, Lance Rubin, Jason Tam and Jason Williams.

Iconis, dressed in a Beetlejuice costume and with green hair, announced that the night would be dedicated to “fun and goofy” songs, including covers of Halloween-themed material as well as selections from his own chest of songs.

Two cut songs were performed from “Blood Song of Love: The Rock and Roll Spaghetti Western,” his newest musical, which he said will be performed at Ars Nova in the spring. In terms of covers, the cast performed “Out for Blood” from “Carrie” (appropriately enough, there was a girl dressed as a blood-covered Carrie in the audience), a sexually aggressive rendition of the title song of “The Phantom of the Opera” with excessive humping, and the “Ghostbusters” song. Not many iconic Iconis songs except for favorites from “Things to Ruin” like “The Whiskey Song” and “Everybody’s at the Bar without Me.”

It was definitely a fun way to spend my Halloween, though I must confess that I was very few people there not in a costume. Clearly, I am lame. Special costume citation to my friend Jennifer Tepper, who dressed as Mary Flynn from "Merrily We Roll Along" - complete with a sweatshirt that read "Best Pal" on the front.