Theatre Review: 'Escape to Margaritaville' Tour at the Bushnell

Hartford - The Bushnell is bringing Broadway back to Connecticut audiences after a long 20-month absence with the Troika Entertainment tour of “Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville.” I wish that I could say that the musical with a book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley (who was nominated for an Emmy for his role of Burt Hummell on “Glee”) and the music of Buffett was worth the wait, but the show was less than memorable. Nevertheless, it felt so good to be sitting in the beautiful Mortensen Hall once again for a live performance.

The story is essentially a romantic comedy and there were certainly a few funny (if bawdy) lines. The Jimmy Buffett fans loved singing along with the songwriters' hits included in the score and I did recognize a few of them. “Cheeseburger in Paradise” is squeezed into the plot in the second act, and because of the name of the bar in the Caribbean, the titular “Margaritaville” is included. I liked a few of the new songs written for the musical because they had a musical theatre feel, but the JB fans, affectionately known as Parrot Heads, would probably disagree.

I found the story pretty thin, even the slightly cute arc of the bride to be who is the reason for a vacation in paradise. The big production numbers were well-produced and performed, but they were not really able to make this a better musical comedy. Despite the tropical and colorful look of the stage, the script itself was somewhat lackluster.

The cast does their best to bring energy to the story. On opening night, Kyle Southern filled in for the lead role of Tully; this was communicated via a posting on a sign in the lobby. If there was an announcement made during the recorded curtain speech, I missed it. But then, I missed a bunch of the lyrics and lines that got a laugh due to the sound execution, or lack thereof.

Southern made the most of the role that is usually played by Chris Clark. The singing actor has a great singing voice and plays guitar often, as is required for the role.

Sarah Hinrichsen is lovely as Tully’s love interest, the brainy scientist on vacation with her best friend Tammy. The best friend is played adorably by Emily Qualmann, a Hartt School graduate, in her National Tour debut.

Peter Michael Jordan polishes off his time on the 2019/2020 tour of the show in the role of Brick. Rachel Lyn Fobbs takes on an accent to play Marley and Patrick Cogan wore an eye patch to play J.D. quite well.

Lauren Celentano, a member of the 2019-2020 National Tour of “A Bronx Tale,” dances in the ensemble, along with Jake Pedersen, who was part of the 2017 Jimmy Awards.

The choreography by Kelly Devine (“Come From Away”) is very easy to watch and adds much to the production numbers. However, there is a tap number that is added because one of the characters has always wanted to be a part of one, making it just silly.

Amy Anders Corcoran directed the tour. The costumes designed by Paul Tazewell (“Hamilton,” “In the Heights”) are tropical without being too revealing and include some clever onstage reversals. The wigs, hair and makeup designed by Leah J. Loukas (“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”) were all well done.

The lighting designed by Howell Binkley (‘Come From Away,” “Hamilton”) and Amanda Zieve had some really strong points, but the sound design by Brian Ronan (“If/Then”) and Craig Cassidy had plenty of low points.

Gary Adler is credited with arranging the dance music. Adler wrote music and lyrics for “Altar Boyz” and wrote for Disney Channel’s “Johnny and the Sprites” which featured Broadway’s John Tartaglia. Wendell Vaughn is “thrilled to be driving the Margaritaville bus” as the music director and the onstage orchestra sounded great throughout.

Masks are required at the Bushnell, unless actively eating or drinking and most patrons complied. Click for tickets.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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