Island Escape?

This weekend, I went to see another touring Broadway production during its stop here in Denver: Escape to Margaritaville. It's a "jukebox musical" made up of Jimmy Buffett songs, lifting tunes from his catalog to flesh out a light, two-hour experience.

For the most part, the show is exactly what I expected -- and I'm pretty sure exactly what you'd expect too. This was no heavy, challenging experience at the theater. The story revolves around an uptight city woman who goes on an island getaway with her soon-to-be-married best friend. The two women meet "beach bums" and get tangled up in island romances that may be built more to last. (It's a fluffy Broadway musical, though, so... yeah, they are.)

Along the way, you hear every Jimmy Buffett song you know (well, unless you're a big "Parrothead"), a few songs you didn't realize were Jimmy Buffett songs (again, unless you're a big Parrothead"), and a few songs you've probably never heard of before (unless... well...). It's all done with a wink and a nod to the audience, encouraging them to participate at times, working lyrics into dialogue for a laugh, and more. It doesn't take itself at all seriously, and it's pretty easy to go with the flow.

If anything, it's perhaps assembled with more care than most jukebox musicals I've seen. In other shows I've seen assembled around other artists, there honestly isn't much craft put into how the songs fit with the created story. The general assumption seems to be that no one will care too much; just get to the songs. This show seems to have been built more like a puzzle. The writers, Greg Garcia and Mike O'Malley, have combed through all the songs and all the lyrics, and spent a lot of effort setting up what's going to happen. Characters are built specifically to justify songs they'll sing later, with the things they do cultivated to fit specific lines in the song. The seams show a bit at times, but the story feels more coherent and natural overall.

Honestly, this isn't a show I probably would have chosen to see if it weren't part of a season-long theater package we'd gone for. But we've certainly seen worse. I'd call Escape to Margaritaville a B-. If you're a fan of Jimmy Buffett, you should definitely check it out if it comes to your town. (If you live in Denver, you have the rest of this week.)