**** Recommended Hey, Parrot Heads, this one’s for you! Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville is just plain fun! Tiki bar, Margaritas, cheeseburgers, Hawaiian shirts, beach balls, bikinis and Jimmy’s music make for an experience – an island escape! Hawaiian shirts weren’t limited to the stage either, as many in the audience decided to embrace their inner Coral Reefer. By the way, I even saw a Reefer license plate in the parking lot! 4 BIG Spotlights
Escape to Margaritaville was written by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley, with music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffet. The show had try-out performances in La Jolla, New Orleans, Houston and Chicago before opening on Broadway in 2018. It was performed in Washington, DC and recorded for the PBS A Capitol Fourth TV special on July 4, 2018.
Tully (Brian Acker) & Brick (Chase Grabowski) serenade Tammy (Khaki Pixley) & Rachel (Kate McQuillan). Photo by Brett Beiner.
Tully (Brian Acker) is a laid-back beach bum who plays guitar and sings at a decrepit resort on an island somewhere in the Caribbean. He hooks up with a new girl every week; loving them (without remembering their names) until he puts them on the ferry to go home; then he’s on to the next. His buddy Brick (Chase Grabowski) is the beach bartender. Although he chases girls, the ones who are nice to him are usually trying to get Tully to notice them.
Marley (Tamara Batiest), the owner of the resort, keeps them working while delivering the most outrageous zingers with a totally straight face. JD (Brian James), an old one-eyed drunk, is forever wandering through the resort looking for his ‘lost shaker of salt’. No one (especially Marley) believes his stories about the places he’s been and the people he’s met.
Marley (Tamara Batiest) in Escape to Margaritaville. Photo by Brett Beiner.
Rachel (Kate McQuillan), an uptight environmental scientist, and her best friend, Tammy (Khaki Pixley), who’s engaged, are leaving Cincinnati for a bachelorette party/vacation in the Caribbean. Before they leave, Tammy’s control-freak fiancé insists she lose weight before the wedding, by staying on a diet of carrot juice and sunflower seeds while she’s gone. As they leave Cincinnati, Rachel and Tammy are circled by ‘land sharks’ singing Fins.
Rachel is waiting for a callback from a venture capitalist, so she freaks out when she finds out there’s no cell phone signal on the island. Meanwhile, Tully decides that Rachel is his girl of the week, so he offers to take her to collect soil samples from the volcano. On the trek up the volcano, Brick runs into the legendary, and very scary, Zombie insurance salesmen, victims of the last time the volcano erupted.
Zombie Insurance Men. Photo by Brett Beiner.
While Tully is trying to convince Rachel to relax and enjoy the now, Tammy is already there. She just wants to have a good time. Although she tries to stick to her diet, she tries Brick’s drink of the day, every day, and of course, they party to Margaritaville. Rachel does get more relaxed and Tully falls for her, but when the week is over, the girls leave.
Soon after the next load of tourists arrive, the volcano starts rumbling and Jamal (Jacob Merschel), the resort’s jack of all trades, belts out his version of Volcano.
JD (Brian James) & Jamal (Jacob Merschel) in Escape to Margaritaville. Photo by Brett Beiner.
As they’re evacuating the tourists, JD goes up the mountain to dig up his treasure and Marley sends Tully and Brick to find him. When they find him, they help him dig up his box of treasures. Meanwhile, Marley sent the boat full of tourists away and there’s no way to get off the island except for JD’s plane, if Marley will tell where she hid it.
As JD is flying the plane, the guys open his reassure box and find his memories – and learn that his stories were all true, singing He Went to Paris. When they got to Cincinnati, JD landed the seaplane on the river, then they crashed the rehearsal dinner.
Tammy (Khaki Pixley) celebrates Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Photo by Brett Beiner.
Tammy’s fiancé steers her away from the cheeseburgers and back to vegetarian delights like carrot juice, sunflower seeds, zucchini and fettuccini while he goes off to watch the hockey game with his pals. Tammy has had it with this jerk, so she hauls off and gives him a bloody nose, then dances off to enjoy a Cheeseburger in Paradise with Brick.
True love doesn't run as smooth for Tully and Rachel. Rachel is way too busy to waste time with Tully and breaks it off. Meanwhile, he sings at the rehearsal dinner and gets discovered by a talent scout. He goes on tour and becomes a star. Rachel got her financing. Marley and JD return to the island.
Tully (Brian Acker) & Rachel (Kate McQuillan). Photo by Brett Beiner.
In addition to the songs I’ve mentioned, the show includes hits like Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, Coconut Telegraph, Come Monday, Grapefruit – Juicy Fruit, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere, Last Mango in Paris, One Particular Harbor, Son of a Son of a Sailor, We Are the People Out Parents Warned Us About, Why Don’t We Get Drunk and many more.
Ensemble: Matt Frye, Lili Galluzzo, Mackenzie Furlett, Andrew Faggion, Mikala Curless, Ivan James, Kelcy Taylor, Kenny Miller, Juliet Lopez-Gutierrez.
The orchestra was located on a balcony above the island – between it and the volcano. They survived! The orchestra includes Linda Madonia (Keyboard/Conductor), Cara Strauss (Reeds), Greg Strauss (Trumpet), Eric von Holst (Bass), Kyle Paul (Guitars), Mike Lockler (Guitars), Tina Laughlin (Percussion), Lindsay Williams (Drums).
The Cast of Escape to Margaritaville. Photo by Brett Beiner.
The Music Theater Works production of Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville runs through November 1st at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie. Parking is free.
Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes, including an intermission. Performances: Wednesdays at 2:00 pm, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 & 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets: $19.50-$106 (tickets for guests 25 & younger available at half-price). FYI (847) 673-6300 or www.musictheaterworks.com.