Theater Escape To Margaritaville

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More Create Blog Sign In FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018 Theater: "Escape To Margaritaville" ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE ** out of **** MARQUIS THEATRE I can't quite call myself a Parrothead but I definitely boast some Jimmy Buffett bona fides. I grew up in South Florida, I've had margaritas in the Keys, one of my first album purchases was A WhiteSport Coat and A Pink Crustacean (on cassette) and my first concert was Buffett himself. (Or Billy Joel; I can't be sure but they weredefinitely the first two.) So if -- like me -- your ears perk up when a minor character is called "Mr. Utley," I can report that the new musical Escape ToMargaritaville was made for you. That's the bad news since this friendly, innocuous show does not transcend its Buffett fanbase. Like I said, that's the bad news. The sad news, however, is the unexpected and affecting power of certain tunes in this show. When they're anchored to a specific character and a specific moment, songs like "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor" and "He Went To Paris" and even "Margaritaville" -- if you can believe it -- actually pack an emotionalpunch. (That last number is of course a song about a guy realizing thefailed relationship is his own damned fault.) Even as a fan, I really didnot expect any of his songs to register in quite that way on stage. When you see some of his songs really work in a musical, you realize that a better, truer show might have made the most out of Buffett'scatalog. Instead we have a Mamma Mia sort of show, with a plot so paper thin (and slightly out of sync with his ethos) that it's the barest of excuses to shoehorn in one favorite after another. The good news is thatEscape To Margaritaville is certainly amiable enough. While it won't match that ABBA blockbuster, at least it doesn't betray the faithfulMICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK Michael Giltz is a freelance writer based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com FAVORITE LINKS Americablog Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN Radio Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl Chin's Blog Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce Greenspan's Blog BLOG ARCHIVE ▼ 2018 (18) ► June (1) ► May (6)fans, you can buy tropical drinks at the bar (unlike Once On This Island -- they really are leaving money on the table at that hit) and hey, you might snag a free beach ball at the finale! The setting is a Caribbean island (with a volcano, of course) and specifically the bar Margaritaville. The owner is the sharp-tonguedMarley (Rema Webb, making the most out of very little) and the denizens include a schlubby but lovable bartender named Brick (Eric Petersen), the aging J.D. (Don Sparks) who is always looking for hislost shaker of salt and the laid-back bar band singer Tully (PaulAlexander Nolan). He romances the ladies and sends them gently on their way after a little sun and fun. That changes when two best friends show up for a week of escape. Tammy (Lisa Howard) is getting married after this vacation, eventhough her husband-to-be puts this full-figured charmer on a diet and instead of buying her an engagement ring he got her an engagement TV. (No points for guessing her story arc.) Rachel (Alison Luff) is her fetching maid of honor. Rachel wants to help save the planet with alternative energy sources (namely the potato?) and of course she freaks out when there is no cell phone signal or even wifi. Offer her a drink at ten in the morning and say "It'sfive o'clock somewhere" and she just doesn't get it. The bartender woosTammy, Tully finds himself falling hard for Rachel and the show► April (6) ▼ March (4) THEATER: INVITING "LOBBY," COLD "FROZEN," OFF-KEY ... THEATER: "BROADWAY BY THE YEAR(S)" TACKLES1947 AN... The 43rd Annual IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS FOR2017 Theater: "Escape To Margaritaville" ► February (1) ► 2017 (6) ► 2016 (2) ► 2015 (14) ► 2014 (2) ► 2013 (5) ► 2012 (18) ► 2011 (15) ► 2010 (10) ► 2009 (43) ► 2008 (86) ► 2007 (781) ► 2006 (2412) ► 2005 (5)spends the rest of the evening coming up with reasons -- a volcano, the temptation of a cheeseburger, Grammy Awards! -- to delay the inevitable happy ending. Another problem? Rachel's big number "It's My Job" doesn't quite work -- even with altered lyrics to fit her story -- and Buffett's songs in general don't suit Luff's voice. Just as not everyBroadway singer can rap, not all can handle the particular vocaldemands of a pop song. To be fair, "It's My Job" has one of Buffett's more ungainly melodies (the song was actually written by Mac McAnally) and finding a song in his catalog to work for her charactercan't have been easy. Uptight and professionally driven is not Buffett'swheelhouse. It's all directed with perfunctory professionalism by Christopher Ashley, though act two feels drawn out and the costumes, set designand choreography rarely feel inspired. The main problem is the bookby Greg Garcia and Mike O'Malley, who spent too much time figuringout cute ways to signal a song, like having Brick name things thatmake him happy, things like...grapefruit! And ten speed bikes! Fans sigh happily, knowing they're about to hear "Grapefruit -- Juicy Fruit." Worse, Garcia and O'Malley get sidetracked into having both Rachel and Tully achieve huge success in their careers. Garcia has created not one but two of the best sitcoms in recent years. Both My Name Is Earl and Raising Hope capture the working class with candor and heart. So he should have been an ideal fit for the Buffett ethos of enjoying lifenow and paying the bills later. Instead, our two leads have it all. But abeach bum winning over a woman with his easy going charm is one thing. A platinum-selling, Grammy winning beach billionaire pairing up with an entrepreneur on her third round of financing is quiteanother story and not one that's nearly as down-to-earth. Honestly, all anyone expects here is a good time and some Buffett numbers delivered with verve. Nolan certainly handles that with charm and casual sex appeal. (The bar Margaritaville clearly has a gymin the back somewhere.) But much more was possible. Want proof?The simple straightforward appeal of "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor" asTully strums his guitar and shares his story with Rachel is a quiet highlight. Instead the musical mixes and matches songs almost interchangeably throughout the show, giving us party tunes and secondary storylines like a slow-burning romance between J.D. and Marley that has no reason for not taking place, a dishwasher with a broken arm (so inexplicable I assumed the actor really had a broken arm and theyworked it into the show...until it healed in the second act) and otherpointless bits like some wire work to reveal our lead couple scuba diving or a jokey scene with Tammy floating towards food. On the plus side, the chorus is happily diverse, right down to a gay couple dancingalongside everyone else without raising an eyebrow. On the down side,that means the four white leads stand out even more as notablymonotone.Suddenly you realize what's wrong: they didn't take Jimmy Buffett's songs seriously enough. Instead of seeing where they workedemotionally, the show just grabs at lyrics and tosses them into the book for fans to discover, like Easter eggs in a video game. Heck, even "Grapefruit -- Juicy Fruit" is a potentially sexy number (as is"Volcano") but in the context of the show it's a tossed-off joke. Insteadof story songs that push the show forward, we watch Brick have a pointless acid flashback (a poor running gag that continues up to the curtain call) and Tully go through the paces of a burgeoning popcareer, including such time filler moments as his first time recordingin a studio. They could have made every song matter. Since Tully is the casual lothario, wouldn't it have been fun to give Rachel the blunt pickup lineof a number "Why Don't We Get Drunk (And Screw)?" The showalready has her switching roles on Tully and seeing their fling as just aone-off bit of fun. They missed the perfect spot for a song that would feel that much fresher being sung by a woman. Similarly, Buffett's wistful "Coast Of Marseilles" (written by Keith Sykes) flits by soquickly in a medley of sorts that it never has the impact it could. Rachel cares about nature, so the delightful sing-along "One Particular Harbor" shouldn't have been a throw-away at the finale. It should have been a song Tully wrote for her, showing Rachel's passion for the planet was his passion as well. What if she were a single mom or he was a single dad and Tully delivered "Little Miss Magic" (a song not inthe show) to demonstrate he'd care for a daughter as much as he'dcare for her? The possibilities are endless if you treat his songs as numbers to build a story around, rather than hits to mine for punchlines. Escape To Margaritaville is a jukebox musical just for Jimmy Buffett fans when they could have created a musical that wouldturn the rest of the world into Jimmy Buffett fans too. Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the founder of BookFilter, a book lover’s to BookFilter! Need a smart and easy gift? Head to BookFilter? Wondering w categories, like cookbooks and mystery and more? Head to BookFilter! It’s a w you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases e personal recommendations every step of the way. It’s like a fall book preview category. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podc of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s avail website. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also iTunes. Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understan are in New York City unless otherwise indicated. POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 1:03 AM NO COMMENTS: Post a Comment Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)Newer Post Older Post Home

Theater Escape To Margaritaville

📄 Theater Escape To Margaritaville

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