Any reports on The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical at La Jolla?

[DaveyG]

Posted: 9/3/23 at 11:34am

n/m

[bruzson]

Posted: 9/3/23 at 10:34pm

We saw the 2pm matinee today (Sunday, Sept 3). It's mostly terrific and perhaps the best original musical not based on another source since Hamilton (Some Like it Hot and Kimberly Akimbo are great but not originally sourced, moreso clever reinventions of their source material).

The lead is wonderful and all of the performers are great and get a chance to shine, particularly the wife and Nixon (the main antagonist, who gets a great second act opening number). The set is a single piece with furniture moved around and the band is just 5 musicians but for a rock musical, it works well. The book of the show is also very clever and erudite. Of course, the musical numbers have to shine and there are many worthy numbers, especially the finale (Kaboom). This was one of the last preview performances I think and since it ran nearly 3 hours, there's some trimming to do, particularly in the second act (the song with the older son, while nice, could easily be cut as could the bit with Hemingway and Fitzgerald -- 'The Greast Gatsby' plays a major role in the show).

They've already extended the run as it's in one of the Playhouse's smaller theaters and today's show was packed, so if you like adventerous, outrageous (in parts) musicals and you're in San Diego this month, hie thee hence to La Jolla.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/3/23 at 11:28pm

Hope this comes to NYC in some capacity, be it Off-Broadway or on. I'm intrigued by the subject matter and have come around to Iconis as a composer over the years. It doesn't seem like a commercial musical - but being La Jolla I'm sure it has a hefty commercial enhancement behind it. 

[cryan71]

Posted: 9/4/23 at 4:51am

It was a mess and dragged.  I think Act 1 clocked in at 1 hour and forty minutes.  And annoyingly, it broke the fourth wall too much. Worst of all, it had no emotional core or payoff.  I didn't move me to care anymore about Hunter S. Thompson by the end of the show.

Most of the songs weren't memorable except the last song.

Though the set was visually interesting and well-lit.

I'm beginning to wonder if San Diego is a good place to try out shows anymore because, apparently, the audiences love everything.  They love Diana and Escape From Margaritaville, but also Come From Away and Jersey Boys.  All of which started at La Jolla Playhouse.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/4/23 at 8:14am

cryan71 said: "I'm beginning to wonder if San Diego is a good place to try out shows anymore because, apparently, the audiences love everything. They love Diana and Escape From Margaritaville, but also Come From Away and Jersey Boys. All of which started at La Jolla Playhouse."

The decision of where to try out shows has less to do with the audience, it’s more about the infrastructure of the theatre and the relationships between the team and the company’s leaders. LJP commissioned this musical, and its artistic director (Chris Ashley) is directing it.

You’ll also notice that very few musicals come out of La Jolla these days that aren’t directed by its Artistic Director. It’s an expensive place to put up a show and there are a lot of places where a musical can be incubated. 

[bruzson]

Posted: 9/4/23 at 11:33am

The show was meant to be wild and perhaps messy at times, which one might expect with a drug-addled protaganist. I thought this was far and away better than Lempika or the Outsiders, both of which needed a lot of work, but The Outsiders will be on Broadway in 6 months.  I also thought Come Fall in Love at the Old Globe would be on Broadway by now, so what do I know.

I think Hunter Thompson would be a good fit for an off-Broadway start, a la Kimberly Akimbo, and if successful there (it needs a bit of trimming in the first act and can easily lose a number or two in the second act), could possibly move to Broadway. Any show that is original and takes chances is worth giving a chance.

[Ke3]

Posted: 9/4/23 at 9:02pm

Hamilton is quite famously based on a book. A nonfiction book sure but a book nonetheless.

[Ensemble1694686014]

Posted: 9/14/23 at 11:09am

I think the show has a ton of potential, but the lead actor was not great. He lacked charisma. Just didn't jump off the stage. On the other hand, the guy who played Nixon was incredible and basically owned the entire musical

[OhHiii]

Posted: 9/14/23 at 2:42pm

bruzson said: "We saw the 2pm matinee today (Sunday, Sept 3). It's mostly terrific and perhaps the best original musical not based on another source since Hamilton (Some Like it Hot and Kimberly Akimbo are great but not originally sourced, moreso clever reinventions of their source material).

The lead is wonderful and all of the performers are great and get a chance to shine, particularly the wife and Nixon (the main antagonist, who gets a great second act opening number). The set is a single piece with furniture moved around and the band is just 5 musicians but for a rock musical, it works well. The book of the show is also very clever and erudite. Of course, the musical numbers have to shine and there are many worthy numbers, especially the finale (Kaboom). This was one of the last preview performances I think and since it ran nearly 3 hours, there's some trimming to do, particularly in the second act (the song with the older son, while nice, could easily be cut as could the bit with Hemingway and Fitzgerald -- 'The Greast Gatsby' plays a major role in the show).

They've already extended the run as it's in one of the Playhouse's smaller theaters and today's show was packed, so if you like adventerous, outrageous (in parts) musicals and you're in San Diego this month, hie thee hence to La Jolla."

Welp now we know Joe Iconis & Family are on here. 

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 9/14/23 at 4:29pm

I hated it. The show is about an alcoholic drug-addicted journalist who played a very peripheral role in the events of the 1960's. To carry such a show, they should have cast a bigger than life Johnny Depp-type (Depp played Thompson in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas movie". Gabriel Ebert, a talented actor, is woefully miscast.

Like Iconis' score for "Be More Chill", the music is repetitive, the lyrics are pedestrian and misrhymed, and subtlety has left the building. 

 



 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 9/15/23 at 4:03pm

Michael in the Bathroom is truly a perfect song. But that's as far as Iconis' catalogue goes. 

Anyone who's seen this show. Is it also misogynistic in its portrayal of female characters like his previous work? How about using homosexuality/bisexuality as a punchline?