Paul Nolan to Lead Des McAnuff's YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS at La Jolla Playhouse

La Jolla Playhouse previously announced its final production of the 2012/2013 season: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, a world-premiere musical written and directed by Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff (Jesus Christ Superstar, Jersey Boys), with music and lyrics by The Flaming Lips. According to the Globe and Mail, the musical will be lead by Paul Nolan, who previously played the title role in McAnuff's recent Broadway revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. The show will run in November/December 2012 (dates TBA) in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.

McAnuff told GAM: 'As you know, Paul’s a remarkably talented singer and actor – and he also happens to be a spectacular dancer. We’ll try and get him to strut his stuff.'

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Yoshimi is a young Japanese artist facing the battle of her life: the battle for her life. Adrift from her family and lover, Yoshimi journeys alone into a fantastical robot-world where she wages a war with fate. Will her will to survive be powerful enough to master the evil forces that threaten to destroy her? Inspired by the whimsical and psychedelic music of Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips, this world premiere musical integrates music from several albums (“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” “The Soft Bulletin,” “At War with the Mystics”) with multiple Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff’s poignant, humanistic story about the triumph of love and optimism over the mystery of our own mortality. The result is dazzling, multi-media experience that offers an allegory of our modern battle for progressive thought and individuality in the face of blind acceptance and conformity.

“If he had wanted to be, Des McAnuff could have been a rock and roll star. He lives it, he breathes it, and his greatest artistic successes have been inspired by it,” said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. “Fresh off the unprecedented success of Jesus Christ Superstar, Des joins forces with The Flaming Lips, an iconic, psychedelic rock band whose unfettered, wildly theatrical imagination matches his own. As a dedicated home for adventurous new work, The Playhouse is the perfect place to launch Yoshimi.”

The Playhouse’s complete 2012/2013 season includes the world-premiere, commissioned musical Hands on a Hardbody (April 27 – June 17, Mandell Weiss Theatre); Blood and Gifts (June 12 – July 8, Mandell Weiss Forum); The Nightingale (July 10 – August 5, Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre); An Iliad (August 11 – September 9, Mandell Weiss Forum); Glengarry Glen Ross (September 18 – October 14, Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre) and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (November/December, Mandell Weiss Theatre). Please visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org or call The Playhouse Box Office at (858) 550-1010 for more information on tickets and subscription purchases.