Hi everyone! For the second musical this month, I went to see Escape to Margaritaville! This is a new musical that is set to open on Broadway in February of next year. So far it’s been performed in New Orleans, Houston, and now Chicago!

I saw this musical as the last musical of the season as I’m a subscriber of Broadway in Chicago. I renewed for the current season that started last week and I probably won’t renew again although my mom wants to see Pretty Woman next season so we might just get tickets to that. I’ve never seen the movie and I believe it has some, um, unsavory characters but I also want to see Sweet Charity next year and who am I to judge?

Anyway, back to the review!

I had no idea going into it what to expect. I knew the music was from a musician named Jimmy Buffet but I didn’t know any of the songs. Since it’s new I also didn’t know the story. While I could have easily googled either one, I decided to be surprised instead.

To start, the music was excellent. It’s not what I typically listen to, very Caribbean, but it was so fun and catchy. Most of the crowd was elderly as the music is older I believe but then again, most crowds are. Musicals are not really a younger person’s hobby, although I think certain musicals are drawing a younger crowd. I could hear an older woman a few seats away humming some of the songs, which was mildly annoying but I could barely hear her and that was only at a very few parts so overall it wasn’t too bad. There was one part where the audience was encouraged to join in and I suppose it was for the best because the people who are Jimmy Buffet fans loved joining in to sing “screwed”.

As for the story, I thought it was nice and ended very differently than expected. I won’t spoil the ending but the story essentially revolves around four main characters in Margaritaville. Tully is the musician at the hotel who has flings with the visiting female tourists. Brick is his fellow islander who bartender at the hotel where they work. Rachel is a career oriented young woman who is taking her best friend for a vacation before her wedding. And Tammy is the young bride-to-be who is hoping to get Rachel to enjoy their time before the wedding. The story wove in the music perfectly and it wasn’t glaring obvious that the story was made to fit the music and not necessarily the other way around.

The set was so versatile and fun. The majority of the story took place on the island and those sets were elaborate and bright. Quite a bit of the story also took place in Ohio, where Rachel and Tammy live. The Ohio sets were more drab by comparison and a lot simpler too. It was clear that the island is where everyone wants to be, audience included.

The actors were all amazing, as always. The dancing was so fun and it was hard to pick where to watch with so much going on. The singing was great as well. I especially loved Rachel’s character although all of them were amazing and entertaining.

Overall I loved the musical and had a great time. While I wouldn’t say it’s a favorite or that I’d see it again it was a very fun and light-hearted musical, perfect for an escape from the regular day to day life and a great opportunity to relax and enjoy art.

And that’s my review on the musical! I unfortunately missed the performance Jimmy Buffet gave on the Saturday evening performance with none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yup, the two were together and they saw Hamilton during the matinee performance (that my sister was at!) and then caught Escape to Margaritaville. I’d rather hoped they’d switch it up and attend on Sunday but ah well. It was a great performance even without special guests!

Then at the end of the performance I tried to rush out of the theatre to catch my train but everyone moved way too slow and I arrived at the platform just in time to watch the end of my train disappear. I didn’t really mind too much as I actually used the next two hours at the train station to read my book (look for another Gallagher Girl book review later this week!) and I wasn’t in a hurry anyway. I actually am taking a day off work today so I’m enjoying my long weekend!

Thanks for reading!

Pamela

Follow me on social media!

Instagram | Youtube | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Bloglovin‘ |Pinterest | Email |Snapchat: StarringPamela |