Stage Review - Escape to Margaritaville (Tacoma Musical Playhouse)

Stage Review - Escape to Margaritaville
Presented By: Tacoma Musical Playhouse (TMP), Tacoma, WA
Date Reviewed: Sunday, May 28, 2023
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

When I heard a few years back that there was a new musical coming to Broadway, and that Jimmy Buffett was involved in it, I thought maybe there was finally going to be a version of Don’t Stop the Carnival hitting the Great White Way. If you are a fan of Buffett’s music, and haven’t at least heard his take on the Herman Wouk novel of the same name, you really need to. The story of Norman Paperman quitting his PR job in NY to buy a hotel in the Carribean is both engaging and entertaining. But alas, Escape to Margaritaville is not Don’t Stop the Carnival, and little did I know, it is something that been in the works for over thirty years, well before Don’t Stop the Carnival began its run in Miami, in 1997. Awhile back, Buffett was approached by Broadway impresario James Nederlander about putting up a one man show, featuring the troubadour’s music and using it to tell the story of his life and career, similar to what Bruce Springsteen did a few years back. The ever practical businessman, the numbers didn’t work and nothing became of the project, so he stepped away from this and the idea of anything to do with musical theatre until 2014, when the idea of a musical featuring his songs, around which he can build a story, began ruminating in his mind. Buffett built some guardrails within which writers Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley could work, including a long list of songs to use, all fan favorites, but largely left the story up to the two playwrights. The resulting Escape to Margaritaville opened on Broadway in 2018 for a short run and followed with a national tour in 2019. Once the tour wrapped, and licensing was available for regional and local theaters, Tacoma Musical Playhouse Managing Director Jon Douglas Rake jumped on it, bringing it to the Tacoma stage, which is where it is currently running through June 11.

The story that Garcia and O’Malley developed came to be through a lengthy process of putting together the list of songs Buffett provided as though they were assembling a puzzle. Jimmy told them that it had to take place at a bar, with a live band, and that it had to be about playing in a bar band. What they came up with was the story of a rundown Caribbean resort, the Margaritaville (of course), and its singer named Tully. Tully, known for his one-week relationships with visiting women, is taken by surprise when a visiting workaholic, Rachel, visits with her soon to be married friend Tammy. In fact, the pair’s visit to the resort throws everything and everyone into a tizzy. Add to that the eruption of the local volcano, and the result is a Buffett sized story in the offing. Escape to Margaritaville gives the audience exactly what it promises, access to some of the most popular Jimmy Buffett songs and a story that feels good, one that won’t make anyone a deep thinker, but one that will produce its fair share of smiles. As a jukebox musical, sometimes it does feel like it’s pieced together, an obvious vehicle for the music, and that the plot is just a loose piece of thread sometimes forced to keep it all together, but at other times it works very well, the poignancy and heart of Buffett’s music on full display.

Outside of feeling the ensemble isn’t as sharp as in previous productions at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, it’s performed very well. The ensemble feels subdued in volume, and loose in step when it comes to dancing, missing some of the precision I’m used to seeing at TMP. Outside of that, any criticism I have of this production of Escape to Margaritaville is around the construction of the story itself, not around the production quality or the performing. Some scene transitions feel abrupt and choppy, while others have better flow between them. This is more a matter of how the show is built, though. Consider that “It’s My Job”, with its updated lyrics to reflect Rachel’s piece of the storyline, is followed up immediately with “Why Don’t We Get Drunk”. It’s a 180 degree shift from the poignancy of the former to the silliness of the latter. Aside from one new song, written specifically by Jimmy Buffett for this show, “Three Chords”, there is no shortage of familiar tunes for Parrotheads to get excited about. Many have had their lyrics changed to fit more within the constraints of the plot, but choruses have been largely untouched, and song placement is generally well done. The best examples of this include the closing of Act 1 with “Margaritaville” and “He Went to Paris” in Act 2.

Buffett’s requirement of having a live band on stage is handled very well here at TMP under the musical direction of Jeffrey Stvrtecky. Leading the band is the aforementioned Tully, played here by Bruce Haasl. Bruce is excellent in this role, one that calls on him to be the closest thing to Jimmy Buffett as anyone on stage. He’s a womanizer that is swept off his feet by scientist Rachel (Melissa Maañao) while she visits the islands with her friend Tammy (Brynne Geiszler). Bruce is at his best with the Buffett ballads, starting out “Son of a Son of Sailor” accompanied only with his guitar, the playing of which adds a bit of authenticity to his portrayal, and again in “Three Chords”, in which Tully attempts to convince Rachel that there is more to life than just work. The onstage relationship between Tully and Rachel works in large part due to the chemistry between Bruce and Melissa, and their excellent singing, both individually and especially together. They’re an enjoyable pair to watch on stage, but that can honestly be said for all of the leads. Peter Knickerbocker’s portrayal of Brick, the hapless bartender at the Margaritaville, brings much of the humor to bear in the show. This is especially apparent in his version of “Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit” in Act 2, and while Tully and Rachel are navigating their way through increased feelings for each other, Brick becomes quite smitten with bride to be Tammy, played wonderfully by Brynne Geiszler. What I like most about Brynne’s performance here is the natural quality of it, and that same quality in her singing voice. Brynne brings a shyness to the part along with a wistfulness that just feels refreshing. Escape to Margaritaville is chock full of innuendo, the lion’s share of it between Brick and Tammy, as the pair try to fight their feelings as much as they can, the innuendo as much a part of the humor of the show as anything else. Peter and Brynne deliver this with as much quality as any other part of this production.

Aside from the two couples, or prospective couples if you will, there is the resort itself and its cast of characters. Situated next to a volcano, the hotel and bar don’t exactly come as advertised. Most of this falls on owner Marley, played by Chanel Finnie. Chanel is delightful in the role as the captain of this crew of miscreants. First off, the accent she’s developed for this role is as Caribbean as the resort is decrepit. Slightly different than the one she used as Asaka in Once on this Island earlier this season at TMP, she delivers it with command and consistency, as she does with all aspects of her character. When she’s not trying to wrangle her staff or trying to explain why her establishment doesn’t live up to its billing, she’s fighting off the advances of JD, that hanger on at the bar who its clear used to have a much more adventurous life before Marley hid is airplane. Always looking for his lost shaker of salt, Andrew Fry is extremely entertaining in this role. His innuendo isn’t quite as subtle as that between Brick and Tammy, and he’s just as funny. He’s also part of what I consider to be the high water mark of this production, the Act 2 performance of “He Went to Paris”. Rounding out the cast of leads is the odd man out, so to speak, given that the cast of leads is comprised of seven, and that is Jamal, the busboy at Margaritaville. Phil Edwards plays Jamal with the feel and voice of a pirate. It’s a gruff voice, but like Chanel’s he deploys it consistently, including through his version of “Volcano”.

Managing Artistic Director Jon Douglas Rake mentioned before the show that the theatre is working on raising funds to replace its sound system. I didn’t notice any issues with sound during the Sunday matinee, other than perhaps what I mentioned regarding the overall volume of the ensemble. In fact, each creative aspect of this show is done well. Sets from the island resort and those stateside transition well, despite some of the choppiness inherent in the storytelling. The highlight of the set, designed by Jon Douglas Rake, Dennis Kurtz, and Erik Furuheim, is surely the Margaritaville itself, but extremely close to that is the set piece for JD’s airplane, though how well that particular scene (“He Went to Paris”) is done could have a lot to do with that. Sound and light (John Chenault), especially as they relate to the volcano’s behavior are both done well. Another particularly remarkable aspect of this show is the costuming, by Julles M. From the dresses worn by Marley and Tammy, the more practical outfit for Rachel, and the island casual attire for the men, each costume accentuates the personalities of the characters. Additionally, in the “Coconut Telegraph” scene, they had to be changed out very quickly multiple times, the design apt for this agility.

Escape to Margaritaville is a jukebox musical that may be the closest some will get to attending an actual Jimmy Buffett concert, and the way this is performed, that’s ok. This talented cast handles some of Buffett’s best with humor and heart, and while the story itself isn’t something that is going to win a pulitzer, the show is successful in transporting its audience to the islands and takes some of the weight of the world off, if only just for a few hours.

Escape to Margaritaville runs onstage at Tacoma Musical Playhouse through June 11. For more information and tickets, visit https://tmp.org/. Note that there is innuendo and adult references that may make some attendees uncomfortable.

Photo credit: Kat Dollarhide