In the days leading up to seeing Escape to Margaritaville at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach (LTVB), I kept accidentally calling it Escape from Margaritaville when mentioning it to my wife, which sounds more like a horror show where something goes terribly wrong on Jimmy Buffett’s cruise ship, the shakers of salt are overaggressive and ruin your cheeseburger in paradise, and that volcano Buffett is so worried about avoiding does in fact blow (and we don’t know where we will go).  As entertaining as that sounds, this version of Escape to Margaritaville, put on by the players of LTVB, was even better than the alternate-universe thriller version I dreamt up.  It was a massively fun romp through a typical two couple plot, with lots of hilarious Jimmy Buffett references and shoehorning in of Buffett’s songs and lyrics into the story. 

LTVB double-cast the two leading lady roles of Rachel and Tammy – the night we saw the play, Pair 1 was on stage, meaning we saw Anna Super and Kat Sinclair Fenter at the helm.  They were both excellent singers, with Super inevitably falling in love with TreVeon Porchia in the role of Tully.  While the plot is mainly there just to push us from one Buffett classic to the next, Super and Porchia navigated it with ease, and were at their best when singing, with Porchia also showing off some pretty slick dance moves for a leading man.  Meanwhile, Sinclair Fenter was having her own relationship blossom with Cody Hall in the role of Brick.  Hall was really funny and committed to the part (leaning into the kitschy-ness of the play, and even leading a tap number), and he did the best Jimmy Buffett impression of the night when singing.  Sinclair Fenter, for her part, was an excellent singer (especially for being in a role which would generally be considered “supporting” rather than “leading”), and I found her to be the most convincing actor in the play.  The ensemble was led by master of comedy De’Vonte Rush, playing the part of Jamal.  He was constantly doing something that was hilarious in the background of scenes, and knew when to ham it up in front of the stage as well. 

This musical seems to be made or broken by the cast and how committed they are to having fun… and how willing they are to put in the fan service to Jimmy Buffett that the audience is there for.  This cast did not disappoint, as it was clear throughout that each member of the cast and crew were just having a great time on stage.  Jennifer Kelly-Cooper, who choreographed the play, absolutely deserves a shout-out for facilitating that stage atmosphere, as there was a TON of choreography, and it was very interesting and fun to watch.  The dancing was extremely well executed by the ensemble, and I think the style of dances they did was a major reason this cast was able to have such a good time, and that good time reached out and pulled the audience right into the good time too (what more could you ask for from a Jimmy Buffett musical where they are selling margaritas in the lobby?).  They even came out on stage during the intermission and did line dances, with audience members dancing in the aisles. 

Nobody was leaving that theater without a smile as the musical ended with a singalong of Buffett’s hits, with beach balls flying around the crowd for good measure.  As we walked out, I turned to my wife and said “you know what, I’d Escape to Margaritaville at LTVB any day”.