Review: THE UNTITLED UNAUTHORIZED HUNTER S. THOMPSON MUSICAL at Signature Theatre

What can one say about Hunter S. Thompson, the infamous “Gonzo” journalist who wrote about the Hell’s Angels, The Kentucky Derby, who wrote prolifically in Rolling Stone Magazine and who plunged into Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (with drug -fueled adrenalin) and who embraced political passions in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail? It seems quite a hell of a lot ---especially if one witnesses the jam-packed minutiae and layers of Hunter S. Thompson’s musically embellished narrative, --where autobiography, history and psychological facets of consciousness collide and converge in the explosive Signature Theatre production of The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.

Directed by Tony -award winner Christopher Ashley with surging moments of pop, spark, and sizzle, ---Mr. Ashley takes control and never lets the momentum flag. I cannot recall a musical where I was so immersed in deliberate stage business –which I assume was utilized to draw distinctive influences and intersections in Thompson’s super-charged life trajectory.

The highly interactive thrust of the production from the complete breaking down of the fourth wall (via the use of no curtain and the actors often directly talking to the audience--) was accented with members of the ensemble often speaking from the aisles and seated on the apron of the stage.

The music and the intelligent yet deliciously straightforward lyrics by Joe Iconis rock the house with a rock and roll score that helps to augment the narrative with pulsating power. The lyrics in particular are often concurrently trenchant, satiric, and plain out hilarious. Orchestrations by Charlie Rosen are rich and tantalizing in musical instrumentation ---compelling musical theatrical motifs are underlined with invigorating complexity.

A superb five-piece orchestra with musical supervision and conducting by Rick Edinger is akin to another character in the ensemble (as the musicians are often highlighted with musical interludes injected with character) with piano, guitar and bass onstage while keyboard and drums are quasi-hidden from view, except in a few surprise moments at the top tier of the scenic upstage back wall. 

The various exciting performance pieces –--are performed in eclectic musical styles with show -stopping performances that continually surprise and take one unawares via the splendid staging. Are we in the recesses of Hunter S. Thompson’s mind or are we watching real people in his life? Like the content of Thompson’s journalistic life (which is a fascinating and often apocalyptic mirror of fact and seeming fictions) this musical mirrors the hard -edged and freewheeling “Gonzo” literary style of Thompson via stage moments that often seem either surreal or more realistic in style.

Each musical number and interlude is organically linked to each aspect of the complicated Thompson’s psychic demons and angels, his conflict with his alter-ego (the persona of Nixon is intermittently positioned throughout to taunt the anti-authoritarian Thompson) and his continual battle with his drug- fueled immersion in cultural celebrity versus the long-lasting type of literary standing that he subconsciously seeks.

All these thematic themes are presented and fleshed out in spades by virtue of the intermingling of the vivid, lucid staging, combined with the twists and turns of the book by Joe Iconis and Gregory S. Moss.

Propulsive and extremely confident and viscerally staged choreography and musical staging by Jon Rua triumphs with a heightened sense of pacing, audacious physicality, and optical depth that this material cries out for. Cast members slowly and purposefully walk to the apron of the stage, cradle and caress a hot tub, and cavort with surreal animals, don masks and embrace the excitement of political spectacle.

Eric William Morris, as the musical’s legendary and pivotal character Hunter S. Thompson, is very rarely offstage and his vocal and physical endurance while keeping totally in character in successive scenes conveys supreme agility and showmanship. Mr. Morris’ has a magnetic physical presence which he deftly undercuts with the character’s droll and intelligent sense of humor.

The electrifying “Kaboom” is an explosive paean to embracing tumult which Mr. Morris sings with spine-tingling effect. “Wavesong” (a song that describes the America he wants to see) is drenched with a persuasive idealism and sensitivity. “I’m in Love with a Man named George McGovern” is a mesmerizing acting -musical performance wherein Mr. Morris maintains an endearing yet dryly satiric interpretation of the various impulses and defense mechanisms of Hunter S. Thompson’s complicated persona.

Lorinda Lisitza possesses a robust and disarmingly eccentric ease whether playing young Hunter S. Thompson’s mother or a Hell’s Angels biker.

George Abud as Nixon is a standout with a slyly captivating performance. Mr. Abud functions as the literal alter -ego of Thompson (this is subtly brought out) while also playing the hated nemesis of Thompson ----Richard Nixon. “Richard Nixon’s Big Number” and the interlude “I Love America” are highly memorable.

Tatiana Wechsler as the ever-patient wife of Thompson, Sandy –is a marvelous actress. A patient and stable presence such as this could be potentially boring but Ms. Wechsler enlivens the part with nuance. Ms. Wechsler’s delivery of the song “Adore” is a knockout. Ms. Wechsler sang of the regrets that have arisen in her relationship with pain and anguish ---after her illusions of love are shattered.

Darlesia as Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone –delivers a powerhouse performance in the song “Jann Wenner”as she manipulates Thompson to write for the influential magazine.

George Salazar “knocks it out of the park” (as Oscar). In his viscerally exciting and electrifying “Song of the Brown Buffalo” there is palpable resonance –- lyrical metaphors abound in the material.

Ryan Vona as Juan (the son of Hunter) sings the despairing “Hey Dad” with the appropriate melancholia and wistful tone.

Large interactive ensemble numbers are suffused with undercurrents of satiric humor, whimsy, and bite. “The Opening Number is Indulgent and Perverse” quite aptly portends the tone of this very excitable and theatrically jolting show (albeit-- there are undercurrents of dry humor and subtle whimsy).

In the very melodic “Driving through America”, the ensemble joins in as our lead Hunter S. Thompson ((Eric Willaim Morris) drives across America as he goes west to pursue a new project.

“The Derby” is a very specialized piece that fits nicely with the tone of this satiric musical—cast members help to put tiny little miniature toy horses through their paces.

The finale is an ensemble number that crackles with explosive energy-- as the young student that inspires Hunter (an engaging Giovanny Diaz de Leon—who also plays the young Hunter S. Thompson) begins the number and the continually masterful performance of Eric William Morris commands the rest of the number. “Kaboom” exhorts us to embrace the cacophony in our lives rather than acquiescing to the false promises of authoritarian, controlling and repressive societal forces.

An interlude entitled “Drinking with Ghosts” is an interlude into the recesses of Hunter S. Thompson’s mind as he confronts the ghosts of his early literary influences Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I detected various influences on this quite specialized cult musical (which occasionally toggles into more mainstream appeal ---) from quite a variety of interactive shows. Director Christopher Ashley might be –either subliminally or deliberately ---calling on theatrical reference points and allusions to create a special pastiche feel as well as a parodist’s true theatrical sensibility ----for there are many shows that form a sort of theatrical kinship with this musical. The theatrical and interactive influence of Hair and Rent are evident throughout this musical—this is intended as a supreme compliment. There were even moments that had the feel of “The American Dream” motif from Miss Saigon and a whimsical sense of pure fun that reminded me of the Broadway musical The Pee Wee Herman Show and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. There is a brief visual allusion to Angels in America and the raucous, “damn it to hell” audaciousness of the cult musical Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson seemed to be a kindred theatrical spirit.

Lighting Design by Amanda Zieve is creative without being pretentiously showy. Shafts of white light shone down on the stage with a borderline tendency to be longing for a dry ice/ hazy effect (to imply a narcotic haze through some of the proceedings?).

Scenic design by Wilson Chin is worth a ticket alone. Not since the set design for Derek McLane’s Broadway production of Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife or the scenic design by Paige Hathaway for the Signature Theatre’s production of Annie Baker’s John in 2018, have I seen scenic design of such resonance and skill. As the audience enters the theatre, they are able to gaze upon a very expansive and open stage that depicts the rustic home of Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson’s home in Owl Creek Farm in Woody Creek, Colorado is the scenic mooring point of this musical. On an upstage back wall is a massive plethora of various visuals, artifacts, curios, and posters. Clocks, taxidermy deer heads, Georgia O’Keefe prints, lamps and colored holiday lights are only some of the many curiosities to engage the eye.

Costume Design by Toni-Leslie James is extremely colorful and vibrant from evoking a flower child (a beguiling performance by Meghan McLeod as the flower child) to the sunglasses, Hawaiian Shirts, and hat (which were a standard sartorial choice by the legendary Hunter S. Thompson).

Puppet design replete with a prissy peacock, a mangy redneck critter and an assortment of large creatures cavorting around during a drug-induced hallucinogenic fever dream is brilliantly brought to life by Animal Cracker Conspiracy.

The book by Joe Iconis and Gregory S. Moss careens like charging electric voltage through the protagonist’s (Thompson) early days traveling --to build up his resume with each opportunity that arose, to his family issues and celebrity challenges, to his final reckonings (the suicide of Thompson is managed sensitively).

Like writers Susan Sontag, Tom Wolfe and David Sedaris, Hunter S. Thompson is the ultimate contradiction – a man who delighted the urban zeitgeist yet who loved guns and the open country of the west, a literary rebel/”Gonzo” journalist who embraced the sensuous moment yet admired the more academic literary pantheon, and a man who longed for peace in the countryside of his home in Colorado—while, concurrently, riding with the Hell’s Angels and plunging into drugs in Las Vegas.

Hunter S. Thompson remains “an enigma wrapped in a riddle” and this production salutes and embraces those contradictions by melding content and form with stimulating perfection.

This production bodes well for future regional theatre productions as well as Broadway possibilities. Though knowledge of the writing of Hunter S. Thompson might be enriching beforehand, this musical runs on its own juice. Its technical and production values are so superlative that it can be enjoyed solely on these merits as a “musical maniacal ride” through the apocalyptic landscape of this ultimate contrarian’s personal, political, and cultural search for the soul of America.

The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical is a rollicking and rocking clarion call to the miscreants, rebels, outliers, outsiders, outlaws, and free spirits among us.

Running Time: Two Hours and forty-five minutes including one fifteen -minute intermission.

The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical runs through July 13, 2025, at Signature Theatre located at 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Virginia, 22206.

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