Escape to Margaritaville, at the Marquis Theatre, is a mindless show, but full of country-rock persona
Jimmy Buffett’s music. It provides a fun escape from reality, particularly if you consume the margaritas that are sold at the theatre’s concession stand.
The story is bland, as are the performances and script. The redeeming factor for this lackluster show is the 26 Buffet songs included. It’s certainly not the corny acting, in spite of the volcano eruption in the second act.
The music is wonderfully arranged by Christopher Jahnke, and the direction, by Christopher Ashley (who won a Tony award for Come From Away), is fine. Will Spangler’s designs enliven the backdrop in order to put one into the Hotel Margaritaville mood.
If you are a Jimmy Buffett fan, a “parrothead,” this is certainly the show for you. But if you come to the theatre for a coherent plot, interspersed with toe-tapping song-and-dance numbers, you may not find this musical satisfying. Of course, you could always fly to a tropical island and consume a margarita in a grass hut.
