Escape to Margaritaville
Book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley
Music by Jimmy Buffett
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Imagine a place where the sun is hot, the ocean’s warm, and the drinks are as cold as they are plentiful. Welcome to Margaritaville, the island paradise where city folk get away from it all and the locals get into the kind of trouble you can almost always sweet talk your way out of.
Featuring both original songs and your most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, this new musical is the story of a part-time bartender, part-time singer, and full-time charmer named Tully who thinks he’s got life all figured out. Until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything.
Escape to Margaritaville is a musical about a part-time bartender, part-time singer, and full-time charmer named Tully who thinks he’s got life all figured out – until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything.
The show features music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett and a book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley. The show is directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Kelly Devine.
Both Buffett and O’Malley are members of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
Following try out performances in La Jolla, Chicago, Houston, and New Orleans, the show premiered on Broadway in February 2018.
Escape to Margaritaville
Marquis Theatre
First Preview 16, Feb 2018
Opening Night 15, Mar 2018
Closed 01 July 2018
Video La Jolla Cast
Cast
Creative
Book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Scenic Design by Walt Spangler
General Manager: 101 Productions, Ltd.
Musical Supervisor: Christopher Jahnke
Musical Numbers (La jolla Playhouse)
Fins
The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful
Ragtop Day
Why Don’t We Get Drunk
It’s My Job
We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About/ The Natives Are Restless
Son of a Son of a Salor
My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink and I Don’t Love Jesus
Medley: Coconut Telegraph/Last Mango in Paris/Havana Daydreamin’/Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
ACT TWO
Volcano
Grapefruit – Juicy Fruit
He Went to Paris
Cheeseburger in Paradise
Tin Cup Chalice
Love and Luck
Come Monday
Beautifulness
One Particular Harbor
(Musical Numbers Subject to Change)
Productions
The La Jolla Playhouse presented the musical in a limited engagement from May 9 until July 9, 2017. Following its run at La Jolla, the musical is scheduled to have limited runs in New Orleans, Louisiana from October 20 until October 28, Houston, Texas from October 31 until November 5, and in Chicago, Illinois from November 9 until December 2, 2017.
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on February 16, 2018, prior to a March 15, 2018 opening night.
Synopsis
Act One
Tully works as a singer for the bar at Margaritaville, a run down hotel on a small island in the Caribbean, along with his “island family”: Brick, the bartender, Jamal, the busboy, and Marley, the owner, and J.D., a local beach bum who spends his days at the bar. He regularly has affairs with female guests with no intention of continuing the fling beyond their time at the hotel (“License to Chill”).
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Rachel and Tammy prepare to go on vacation at the Margaritaville before Tammy gets married. Her fiance, Chadd, forces Tammy to go on a diet of carrot juice and sunflower seeds, so she can lose weight for the wedding, which infuriates Rachel. Chadd has Tammy promise not to cheat on him and his friends warn the two women of the land sharks. Tammy and Rachel laugh their warning off and travel to the hotel (“Fins”).
Rachel is disappointed with the condition of the hotel, even though Tammy is just happy to be in paradise. Tully flirts with Rachel, who is more concerned about work, and has Brick bring tequila shots, to which Rachel questions if it’s the appropriate time to start drinking. Tully, Brick, J.D., and the patrons insist that (“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”). Tully and Brick take the women’s bags to their room, along with some margaritas. Rachel insists going up to the volcano in order to obtain a soil sample. Brick offers to drive them up in his run down convertable (“Ragtop Day”).
On the way to the Volcano, the car breaks down, and the four search for another way up. Brick and Tammy hit it off, while Tully continues to flirt with Rachel, where she informs him of her experiment to use potatoes as an alternative energy resource and how it takes up much of her time, leaving her no time to relax (“It’s My Job”).
On the beach, J.D. tells guests stories about his life and his buried treasure, which Marley dismisses as lies. After being ordered to leave the guests alone, J.D. begins to sing a song that she disapproves of and invites the guests sing along (“Why Don’t We Get Drunk”).
Back on the trail to the volcano, Tully tries to get Rachel to relax and enjoy the island by teaching her how to play guitar (“Three Chords”). Tammy and Brick discuss their childhoods and how their parents had very high expectations for them, finding amusement that they had become the people their parents frowned upon (“We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About”). The two almost kiss before Tammy reveals that she is engaged. Later that night, Tully reveals to Rachel that he grew up in Maine, where his father wanted him to continue the family line of fisherman. He arrived at the island to get away from the cold weather, pollution, and irritations of society. Rachel, finding herself charmed by him, kisses him (“Son of Son of a Sailor”).
Back at the hotel, everyone is recovering from the previous night of drinking and partying (“My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I Don’t Love Jesus”). Tully and Rachel prepare to go snorkling and Marley notices something different about Tully. He then admits to her that he thinks he’s in love with Rachel. After swearing that she wouldn’t tell anyone, she tells some guests, and word spreads around the hotel. Tully and Rachel spend the rest of the week in bed and on the beach, causing Tully to miss work. Brick tries to help Tammy from giving into her urge to sleep with him. On her last night on the island, he suggests they do something to distract her and the two decide to get tattoos, with Brick needing to be drunk due to his fear of needles. On the morning they leave, Rachel and Tammy discuss how the past week has changed their views of the future (“Medley: Coconut Telegraph/Last Mango in Paris/Cabana Daydream/Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”).
Tully decides to tell Rachel how he feels, but she and Tammy leave before he can. Brick discovers that his tattoo on his stomach is of Tammy’s face, admitting to Tully that he has feelings for Tammy. The two lament about their failed romances, while J.D. looks for a salt shaker for his shrimp (“Margaritaville”). The island begins to rumble, signaling the volcano is about to erupt, sending Margaritaville into chaos.
Act Two
Jamal wonders where he will go after evacuating the island as the patrons panic, Marley tries to keep everyone calm, Tully and Brick pack the boat with whatever they can, and J.D. grabs a shovel (“Volcano”). After everyone is onboard of the evacuation boat, Marley notices J.D. is missing, and Jamal reveals that he saw him heading into the jungle. Tully and Brick go to find J.D., despite Brick’s objections.
In the jungle, Tully tells Brick to think of things that make him happy in order to control his fear (“Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit”). The two find J.D., who is digging up his buried treasure. The two insist that the treasure isn’t real, as they believe he just makes up his stories. The two are shocked when J.D. digs up a chest as Marley arrives, revealing she had to let the boat leave due to the guests panicking. J.D. has Marley take them to his plane, which she hid due to his pilot license being revoked. At the airport, Tammy and Rachel prepare to take off and Rachel learns that funding for her experiment has been denied, much to her dismay.
Up in the air, J.D. flies Marley, Tully, and Brick to safety. Tully and Brick go through J.D.’s treasure and find pictures and journals, learning that J.D. moved to Europe, married an actress, and had a son. His wife and son where killed when a bomb went off, while J.D. survived, losing an eye. J.D. tells the two that even though he’s been through tragedy, he’s had a good life (“He Went to Paris”). Tully reveals to J.D. that he hoped the treasure would be money that he could give to Rachel to help fund her experiment. J.D. tells Tully that the real treasure is what is in the heart and the memories of all the good times. He insists that Tully tell Rachel that he loves her, to which Tully has J.D. fly them to Cincinnati.
At a bar in Cincinnati, Tammy and Chadd’s rehearsal dinner is underway. She prepares to go eat a cheeseburger, but Chadd has set up a vegetarian buffet for her, due to her diet. She fantasizes about eating a cheeseburger, when Brick enters and urges her to quit her diet (“Cheeseburger in Paradise”). Chadd sees them eating the burgers and tells Tammy that he can’t love her if she’s fat, causing Tammy to punch him and call the wedding off. J.D. and Marley discuss about the time they slept together ten years ago, and admit that they have feelings for each other. Tully enters and tells Rachel that he loves her, to which Rachel isn’t sure how to respond. Tully plays a song to remind her of their time together on the island (Tin Cup Chalise). She admits that she has feelings for Tully, but they are too different and that a relationship probably won’t last. She leaves and Tully is approached by Ted, a talent agent, who insists that Tully can become famous with his mix of country and beach music.
Over the course of three years, Brick and Tammy get married and have a daughter; after being denied by numerous banks, Rachel finally gets funding for her research; J.D. and Marley become a couple, rebuild Margaritaville, and have a daughter; and Tully becomes an international music star (“Love and Luck”). Tully returns to Margaritaville to perform for the hotel’s re-opening and notices Rachel in the crowd. The two catch up and realize they are still in love with each other (“Come Monday”). A year later, Brick and Tammy receive an invitation to Tully and Rachel’s wedding and first class tickets. Tully, Rachel, Tammy, Brick, J.D. and Marley think about how much their lives have changed in the past few years as the wedding is being prepared and the guests arrive (“A Pirate Looks at Forty”). The two are married and everyone celebrates at Margaritaville (“One Particular Harbor”).
Musical Numbers
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Marquis Theatre on Broadway Access and Seat Plan
The Marquis Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1535 Broadway (at 45th St.) in midtown-Manhattan. Situated on the third floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the 1611-seat venue was designed by developer/architect John C. Portman, Jr. Because construction of the hotel involved the demolition of five theaters – the original Helen Hayes, the Morosco, the Bijou, and remnants of the Astor and the Gaiety – New York City officials permitted Portman to construct the new property only if he agreed to include a theater within the structure. It presently is one of nine operated by the Nederlander Organization. The Marquis – with state-of-the-art backstage facilities and a sleekly modern auditorium – opened on July 9, 1986 with a series of concerts by Shirley Bassey.
View Larger Map |
| Address |
| 1535 Broadway (between 45th & 7 Ave) New York, NY 10036 |
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| Transport |
| Subway: A, C, E to 42nd St–Port Authority; N, Q, R, 42nd St S, 1, 2, 3, 7 to 42nd St–Times Square |
| Phone |
| (212) 382-0100 |
| Box Office |
| Monday – Sat: 10 am – 8.30 pm Sun Noon – 6pm |
| Access Information |
| There are designated wheelchair and companion seats in the orchestra section. These locations are the ONLY ones that do not involve steps.
Note – Wheelchairs: Accessible seating available at the Box Office only. Elevator\Escalator: There are both elevators and escalators at this theatre. |
| Theatre representatives are available to meet physically challenged theatergoers in the lobby of the building to escort them to designated wheelchair accessible areas. |
| All restrooms are equipped to accommodate the patrons with disabilities |
