The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical at La Jolla Playhouse

Anarchy. Ambition. Peacocks. Who was Hunter S. Thompson? He changed journalism. He defined counterculture. Equal parts philosopher, clown and genius, he was armed and dangerous with a typewriter as his preferred weapon.

Careening from the 1940s to his death in 2005, this gonzo musical blasts into the life of one of America’s most influential and destructive icons. In relentless pursuit of the meaning of the American Dream during an era of political and social upheaval, Hunter S. Thompson cultivated a new form of journalism that for better or worse injected his subjective view into the heart of the story. Now, in another, even more severe moment of fake news, propaganda and polarization, Hunter’s story helps explore how we got here, and how to keep fighting.

Set to Joe Iconis’ anarchic and tuneful score, this musical is a rock ‘n’ roll portrait of an artist seeking greatness and coming to terms with his own legacy. It’s a heartfelt trumpet call to the moral idealists, the outraged, the outlaws and the outsiders.