Escape To Margaritaville Tour

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/15/19 at 5:59pm

Anyone catch the tour yet?  I saw it Wednesday night in Orlando.  I wasn't expecting much, since I read the comments on here from the Broadway run.  Plus I'm not a big fan of Jimmy Buffett.  It was okay, nothing more, nothing less.  I viewed a clip on youtube of the original cast and they greatly differed in appearance of the touring cast.  I always thought tour casting mirrored the Broadway production. I am most curious to know if the tour has changes from the Broadway show.  I don't remember seeing dancing clouds.  It could be my attention was focused away at the moment.  Lucky me, had an obnoxious pair in front of me.  He was drunk and talking and singing in full volume.  Although it was cold in the venue, she fanned herself with her playbill, the entire show.  How she could do that without her arm getting tired, amazed me.

[cryan71]

Posted: 11/15/19 at 8:39pm

This show is doing great on tour, especially with drunk Jimmy Buffet fans.  I still believe its broadway run should have been a limited-stop on a continual tour.  It's great for an audience that normally doesn't see Broadway shows.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 11/15/19 at 9:37pm

A guy I went to school with is in the ensemble, this is his first national tour gig. Super excited for him. I have little interest in the show, but might catch it just to see him.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/15/19 at 10:18pm

Saw a pic via playbill and looks like the set / design is basically the same just smaller and probably doesn’t move.

They need to just put it on a cruise ship. Or into the Buffet hotel?

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 10:12am

"They need to just put it on a cruise ship. Or into the Buffet hotel?"

I agree, this is a perfect show for cruise ship.

 

[ggersten]

Posted: 12/24/19 at 8:53pm

Just saw it in Denver (Xmas Eve).  Very fully house.  Lots of Parrottheads.  It was....okay.  It wasn't horrible - it wasn't actually good either. But, not bad.  First act was a bit raunchier than I expected. Very simple plot - too simple - the songs didn't fit too forced in, but then it seemed like half of them were performed as songs, and not as character pieces. Cast is very very very young looking.  The set was meh. There were very few - ok none? - plot or staging surprises - the tap dance was gratuitous, the costume change mid-song was nice, and it was tap, so I liked it, but it didn't really rise to the heights of a tap number. Guy next to me liked the "silly set" pieces like the upright bed where the actors have to shuffle on and off with and the swimming in the sea - but, neither was "new" to me or done with particular panache. There is no levitating actor for cheeseburgers - she does get lifted by other actors and moved - but, that's just a "dance" move, not an effects moment. The audience was pretty well behaved - only singing when the cast asked them to sing-a-long with "that word". I've seen worse.   But the theatre was very full -and this for a Tuesday matinee, albeit a holiday matinee.

Oh, and there were two ladies in the ensemble who were really going strong in the dance numbers - as in, they had more energy, more dynamic moves and definitely seemed like they were pitching to move up in their next show.  

Updated On: 12/24/19 at 08:53 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 10:40am

Is it actually possible for a Non-equity national tour to be better than the Broadway production? Caught this last night at the newly refurbished State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ. Had such a blast. Now, I enjoyed the Broadway production as well, but the tour just had more energy. Maybe the Broadway cast knew it was a flop after it opened and would quickly close? Also, the dancing clouds are gone. The tour is finishing up it's original run after COVID halted it's first year short. The tour is expected to go out again in 2022 sometime.

 

FYI, the newly refurbished State Theater is beautiful. It just reopened on Wednesday and this tour is its first event. Though a shame as the show on a Saturday night was less than 50% sold.

[Skip23]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 5:37pm

Just saw the matinee in New Brunswick.

Is the set cut down for this tour?

Dancers were very strong. Yay.

Leads were rather bland. Although there’s not much in the script and production to make distinctive.

Don’t know if it was just me, but I couldn’t understand most of the dialogue. Seemed very non-equity - first rule of theatre - ee-nun-see-ate guys and gals.

[Skip23]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 5:37pm

Just saw the matinee in New Brunswick.

Is the set cut down for this tour?

Dancers were very strong. Yay.

Leads were rather bland. Although there’s not much in the script and production to make distinctive.

Don’t know if it was just me, but I couldn’t understand most of the dialogue. Seemed very non-equity - first rule of theatre - ee-nun-see-ate guys and gals.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 7:30pm

I had no issue understanding anybody. Sound could have been turned up and I was in row L in the orchestra. But the State Theater has always had sound & mic issues. Set was clearly scaled down but still looked good.

[Jakeevan942]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 8:28pm

Jersey person here-was also at the matinee at the State Theater today. The renovation is stunning-if you have friends out on the road this year, come join us in New Brunswick to see what $25 million can do to a 100 year old venue. Message me on here and I'll buy first round at one of the restaurants in town.

I agree with ACL, I think I enjoyed this more than I did on Broadway-the script is still God-awful, but they seemed to be playing up the camp in what they were saying and doing more than the New York company did. Is this Shakespeare-absolutely not, but it's certainly a lot of fun. I'm honestly surprised Royal or Norwegian haven't commissioned a 90-minute tab script to throw on a ship-It would play perfectly in that setting. 

A few stray thoughts:

The physical package looked bigger than the 4 trucks they are on the road with, and, thanks to the new rigging, it seemed like more of the show made it in the door than we usually see in New Brunswick.

How often are you going to see live steel drums with a non-equity tour.

Yes, the bar ran out of Margaritas at intermission.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 11:04pm

This all feels like an AD for the State Theater. Now I've got to go. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/10/21 at 11:15pm

Skip23 said: "Just saw the matinee in New Brunswick.

Is the set cut down for this tour?

Dancers were very strong. Yay.

Leads were rather bland. Although there’s not much in the script and production to make distinctive.

Don’t know if it was just me, but I couldn’t understand most of the dialogue. Seemed very non-equity - first rule of theatre - ee-nun-see-ate guys and gals. "

Non-equity doesn't mean amateur. Joining equity doesn't improve your diction if it was bad to begin with. 

[Jakeevan942]

Posted: 10/11/21 at 2:22pm

RippedMan said: "This all feels like an AD for the State Theater. Now I've got to go."

Not an Ad, the State does not pay me to say any of this-I work in New Brunswick, and want the venue to continue selling enough Broadway tour tickets to justify bringing the tours in.