Parker Arts/Give 5 Productions serves up a jukebox musical in paradise
Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville is yet another example of a jukebox musical that has peppered the theatrical landscape during the last decade or so. Many of us have sat through jukebox versions of Cher, Tina, and Donna — among others. How many more must we endure?
I strongly encourage you to try one more, this time with the music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett. And it is not a requirement to be a Parrot Head to thoroughly enjoy Escape to Margaritaville currently being staged by Parker Arts/Give 5 Productions at PACE in Parker.
When I first saw Escape to Margaritaville at a much larger venue in Denver in 2019, I left at intermission. For some reason, the touring production that I saw made my skin crawl. Granted I was not familiar with Buffett’s music, but I found the production to be insipid and extremely corny. This is not the case for the delightful staging at PACE. It is a bright, shiny production with a great cast and wonderful direction by Kelly Van Oosbree.
Written by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley, Escape to Margaritaville is the story of Tully (Jake Bell), an up-and-coming singer at an island resort where the sun always shines and the alcohol flows freely. On the island, along with Tully, is Brick (Nick Rigg Johnson) a bartender and overall loveable goofball. In come the American tourists, Rachel (Jamie Molina) and Tammy (Brekken Baker) who are escaping a harsh Ohio winter, and Tammy’s abusive fiancé Chad (Damon Guerassio) just days before their wedding. We are also introduced to island locals, J.D. (Rick Long) and Marley (Sonsharae Tull) who have a hidden past percolating beneath the surface.
Throughout the performance are woven classic Buffett songs that advance the storyline and are sung mostly with a straight face and true genuineness. This commitment to believability brings out a story that is plausible and at times even relatable. Because of this directorial approach by Van Oosbree, the corny jokes are still cringe-worthy but not overly offensive or out of place, and the songs are classic Buffett that delight the audience upon the very first note.
The music is really the star of the show, offering such classics as “Margaritaville,” “Volcano” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” People might say that Buffett’s music is an acquired taste, but at my performance, the audience was eating it up. Many were dressed in brightly colored shirts and wearing something festive around their necks. I even saw one man sporting a baseball cap with protruding shark fins in honor of the song “Fins,” I imagine.
The entire cast is worth mentioning, however, there were a handful of performances that truly rocked the auditorium. Starting with Bell as Tully and Molina as Rachel, the central figures in the “boy meets girl” storyline, both performers raise the roof with their vocals offering up solid characterizations and providing a firm base for the entire storyline.
Of special note are the duo of Johnson as Brick and Brekken Baker as Tammy offering tremendous comic performances, especially during the song “We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About.” Their comedic timing is impeccable, and they contribute to the overall silliness of this production with first-rate performances.
A special shout-out goes to Rick Long as J.D., an island inhabitant who is often looking for his lost shaker of salt. Long has worked extensively in the Denver theatre community, most recently in Memphis at Town Hall Arts Center. He is an actor with all the right moves in every role he takes on.
The seven-piece band is especially hot with Andrew Fischer as the conductor and on piano. Fischer even makes his way into the action on several occasions lending his vocals to the classic Buffett songs.
Now is a great time to Escape to Margaritaville. This first-rate production at PACE doesn’t play simply as a formulaic jukebox musical, instead, it leaves the audience with a tropical high as the curtain closes on an excellent production.
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