Jared Zirilli Joins SUMMER: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL at La Jolla Playhouse

As previously announced, La Jolla Playhouse will mount the rousing world-premiere musical SUMMER: THE Donna Summer MUSICAL, directed by Tony Award winner and Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys, The Who's Tommy) and choreographed by Olivier Award-winner Sergio Trujillo (Memphis, Jersey Boys), this fall.

BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Jared Zirilli (Lysistrata Jones, Wicked, We Will Rock You) will star as Summer's husband and bassist 'Bruce Sudano" in the show, which runs November 7 - December 17, 2017. No word yet on casting for the part of Donna, which will be played by three actresses.

SUMMER: THE Donna Summer MUSICAL features book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff, with musical supervision by Ron Melrose.

This vibrant, world-premiere musical charts the incomparable life of Donna Summer, the undisputed Queen of Disco, from her modest Boston childhood to international stardom.

Told through the dramatic lens of her final concert, SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musicalpresents the complexities and conflicts the iconic songwriter and singer faced in her meteoric rise - and descent.

Featuring three actresses in the title role and a score with more than 20 of Summer's classic hits including "Love to Love You, Baby," "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff," this electric experience is a moving tribute to the voice of a generation.

La Jolla Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff is acclaimed for creating unforgettable theatrical events from indelible popular music in such shows as The Who's Tommy and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Now, with SUMMER, Des is joined by his Jersey Boys choreographer Sergio Trujillo as they return to the Playhouse with a production that will combine touching drama with the propulsive, kinetic heart of a rock concert.

Visit www.lajollaplayhouse.org/donna-summer for more about the show.

Des McAnuff (Director, Book Writer) served as La Jolla Playhouse's Artistic Director from 1983 through 1994, and from 2001 through April 2007, where he directed more than 30 productions of classics, new plays, and musicals. Under his leadership, the Playhouse garnered more than 300 awards, including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Broadway: Big River (1985, seven Tony Awards including Best Director and Best Musical); A Walk in the Woods (1988); The Who's Tommy (1993, Tony Award for Best Director; 1997 London Olivier Award for Best Director and for Best Musical); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1995); Dracula the Musical (2004); Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays(2004, Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event); Jersey Boys (2006, four Tony Awards including Best Musical; 2008 London Olivier Award for Best New Musical); Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention (2007); Guys and Dolls(2009); Jesus Christ Superstar (2012); Doctor Zhivago (2015). Many of these productions were launched at the Playhouse, where he is Director Emeritus. Recipient of the Drama League's 2006 Julia Hansen Award for lifetime achievement in directing, Mr. McAnuff served as Artistic Director at Canada's Stratford Festival from 2007 through 2012 where he directed a dozen productions, including The Tempest and Caesar and Cleopatra with Christopher Plummer. Opera: Faust at the Met & ENO, Wozzeck at San Diego Opera. Film: Cousin Bette (director), Rocky and Bullwinkle (director), The Iron Giant(producer, 9 Animation Society Awards), Quills (executive producer).

Sergio Trujillo's (Choreographer) La Jolla Playhouse credits include Freaky Friday, Chasing the Song, Memphis, Zhivago, The Wiz, Jersey Boys, Chasing the Song. Broadway: A Bronx Tale, On Your Feet(Tony Award nominee, Outer Critics Circle/Astaire Award), Best Musical Tony Award Winner Memphis, (Olivier/OCC Award, Drama Desk/Astaire Award nominations), Tony/Olivier Award-winning Jersey Boys (OCC/Greenroom/Dora Awards, Drama Desk nomination), Addams Family, Next to Normal, Hands on a Hardbody (Drama Desk nomination), Leap of Faith, Guys and Dolls (Astaire Awards nomination), All Shook Up. Other theatre: Freaky Friday (Signature Theatre), Invisible Thread (Second Stage), Flashdance (National Tour). International: Tarzan (Disney), Peggy Sue Got Married (West End), The Sound of Music and West Side Story (Stratford Festival). Upcoming: Arrabal (ART), The Detroit Project (Berkeley Repertory Theatre).