Review: THE UNTITLED UNAUTHORIZED HUNTER S. THOMPSON MUSICAL at La Jolla Playhouse

It is fitting that a show about writer Hunter S. Thompson would be a musical and an “unauthorized” one.  It puts him in the center of the story, turns a writer’s life into a musical, and has a heavy hand in blurring fact and fiction.  In all, it checks a lot of the boxes for the kind of writing that Thompson pioneered.  THE UNTITLED UNAUTHORIZED HUNTER S. THOMPSON MUSICAL brings the rebellious, idealistic, and often intoxicated writer to life with a talented cast at the La Jolla Playhouse through October 8th.

Have no fear, if you have no idea who Thompson is, or if you are a Thompson enthusiast, all are welcome at this show.  Exploring his life, from his boyhood in Kentucky to his death in his Colorado home, the show gives a broad overview of his trials, his triumphs, and how he and his work impacted those around him.

The show opens with a typewriter crashing through the ceiling and landing at the feet of Thompson (Gabriel Ebert).  He’s at home, surrounded by the demons in his head which keep him “inebriated, instigated, and forever ready to rumble.”  His living room is a creatively designed maximalist dream by scenic designer Wilson Chin, with guns, cubby holes, clocks, and more on the wall, and multiple mismatched couches and chairs scattered around.

Thompson immediately breaks the fourth wall to address the audience with a message of affirmation for the weirdos and the freaks, and how he is a “major figure in American history.” He is then immediately challenged by someone who muses whether even half the modern audience knows who he is.  Thompson, who never shied away from proclaiming his own genius, starts to tell his story by singing “I was a hero.”

Thompson started as a sports writer and a journalist, but soon his writing took a much less objective approach.  His signature “gonzo” style ended up centering himself in the action, taking out any objectivity, and fueled by an endless supply of drugs and alcohol delivered powerful and unique stories to his publications.  This style made him a star, and whether he was riding with the Hell’s Angels, at the Kentucky Derby, or in Las Vegas, his gift made the man into myth and larger than life.  

Ebert as Thompson is quirky, funny, and grandiose as each occasion calls for.  Wearing signature items like his sunglasses and Hawaiian shirts, deep down there are still glimpses of the vulnerability that is covered up by his bravado and bluster.  He is an ego-driven anti-hero, who is always looking for freedom to be himself but becomes trapped by the character of himself that he created in his writing.

The ensemble is incredibly talented, and all have their moments to shine. The cast features George Abud, Jeannette Bayardelle, Giovanny Diaz de Leon,  Marcy Harriell, Lorinda Lisitza, Lauren Marcus, George Salazar, Ryan Vona, Jason SweetTooth Williams, and understudies Summer Broyhill, Josiah Cajudo, and Kürt Norby. 

Standouts include Harriell as his long-suffering and patient wife Sandy, Bayardello as Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, and Vona brings gentleness and sensitivity as both politician George McGovern, and with a touching ballad “Hey Dad” as Thopmpson’s adult son Juan. 

Giovanny Diaz De Leon is excellent as “The Kid”, who plays a younger version of Thomspn as well as a variety of other characters.  It is wonderful to see him perform with a great voice, poised performance, and well-deserved confidence after seeing him excel in multiple roles on the San Diego stages over the past year and a half.

George Salazar is dynamic as Oscar Acosta, the attorney and Chicano movement activist who was a friend of Thompson, who then found himself painted as a caricature and not being credited for his words and ideas that found themselves in Thompson's novel ‘Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas.”  His song “Song of the Brown Buffalo” is a showstopper.

Thompson’s most constant antagonist is played by George Abud, who is nothing short of fantastic as the personification of all the politics and society rules that Thompson loathed, or by mocking his self-importance and signature style by pointing out that when people ”hear the word gonzo they think of the muppets.” As President Nixon, Abud is especially entertaining as he deals with Thompson’s repeated attempts to take him down with a smug delight.  Abud achieves the impossible by making me utterly smitten with Richard Nixon (truly something I never thought I’d say).

With music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, book by Iconis and Gregory S. Moss, and direction by Christopher Ashley this show isn't afraid to look not just at his gift as a writer, but also at his behavior and his tendency to be so focused inside his head, that he doesn’t realize who he’s hurting along the way.  The pacing moves quickly, and the energy is high, with choreography by Jon Rua that is playful and creative.

Costumes by Toni-Leslie James, lighting by Amanda Zieve, and puppets designed by Animal Cracker Conspiracy (for when the drugs hit extra hard), add to the dizzying chaos that was this man's life and inside his head.  Conductor Rick Edinger leads the live music team, and sound design by Justin Stasiw, and the orchestrations by Charlie Rosen help bring it all to life.

The production and the performances are strong, the only variable is how each audience member reacts to the character of Thompson himself.  Anarchist? Genius? Self-absorbed, destructive, and unlikable?  Did he ever reach the heights of his beloved F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway? 

All is up for debate, but the show does drive home two important and surefire lessons; no one can escape the ticking of the clock of consequences, and you shouldn’t give Dexedrine to a peacock.

How To Get Tickets

THE UNTITLED UNAUTHORIZED HUNTER S. Thompson MUSICAL is playing at the La Jolla Playhouse through October 8th.  For ticket and show time information go to www.lajollaplayhouse.org 

Photo Credit: Gabriel Ebert  as Hunter and the cast of THE UNTITLED UNAUTHORIZED HUNTER S. Thompson MUSICAL  ( Photo Courtesy of Rich Soublet II)

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