Get Your Kicks at the Paramount's Route 66

I’ve always wanted to do a Route 66 road trip.

Established in 1926, the Mother Road, as it’s called, was one of the country’s first highways. It stretched from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in California, and was the route that many farming families took in the 1930s, heading west in search of work.

Route 66 doesn’t exist anymore, exactly – it was removed from the highway system in the ‘80s – but you can still drive it, and many states have designated their stretches of Route 66 as historic roads. It’s just a fascinating part of our country’s history.

But even if you can’t afford the time and gas to take the trip, you can always check out the Paramount Theatre’s new production of the “jukebox musical” that shares the route’s name. I did on Saturday, as a guest of the theater, and I’m happy to report it’s a rollicking good time.

Route 66 is a play without dialogue, concerning eight workers at a Chicago Texaco station who imagine a road trip to California in song. The production is staged in the Copley Theater in North Island Center in Aurora, across the street from the Paramount on Galena Boulevard.

It’s presented without intermission – 32 songs in 85 minutes, performed at a breathless clip by some extremely talented musicians and singers. And if you love the music of the ‘50s and ‘60s, this is right up your street.

These are songs about cars and driving, for the most part, and I knew about half of them. I could tell, looking around the room, that many people in the Copley Theater on Saturday night were much more familiar with these tunes than I was, and they had a great time clapping and singing along. 

The songs? In addition to well-known classics like “King of the Road” and “Hot Rod Queen” and “On the Road Again” and “Dead Man’s Curve,” the Route 66 ensemble dips into novelties like “Girl on the Billboard” and “Rolaids, Doan’s Pills and Preparation H.” The choreography is superb, and the ensemble gets laughs from songs like “Diesel on My Tail” through sheer delivery.

And the musical ends with their arrival in California, to the tune of some Beach Boys classics: “I Get Around” and “Fun Fun Fun.” The harmonies are perfectly in place, and by this time in the show I saw, the audience was having as much fun as the performers.

The actors are all out-of-towners, but regular Paramount theatergoers will recognize Adam Michaels from his turn in Hair earlier this year, and Robert Deason from his role in last year’s great production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The six main actors trade off instruments and lead vocals throughout, while drummer Tom Leddy and bassist Dan Anderson lay down a steady backbeat.

And I can’t fail to mention the spectacular set. I almost didn’t believe it fit on the Copley Theater stage, particularly since it features a pair of working garage doors. It’s something to see.

Route 66 is a fine, fun time, another little triumph for the Paramount Theater. If you have time, you can catch it this afternoon at 1:30 p.m., or hang on for this weekend – shows are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $29. If you miss out this week, don’t worry. Route 66 will be here for a while – it runs until June 10.

For more information, check out the Paramount’s website.