You don't have to be a Jimmy Buffett fan to have a cracking good time at the Wetumpka Depot's production of Escape to Maragritaville.
Thanks to insightful and prolific director Kim Mason, a terrific on-stage band led by Music Director Davis Whitfield, lively choreography by David Grant Harms and Adrian Bush, clever set pieces by Dana Alldredge, colorful costumes coordinated by Jenifer Hollett, and a multi-talented 18-strong acting ensemble, the two-and-a-half-hour production's energy is infectious, and culminates with many audience members singing along to Buffet's familiar tunes.
Plot is not this musical's strongest point. Three entertainingly predictable love stories lay the groundwork for stringing together many songs from the Buffett catalogue. -- A meet-cute between Tammy [Kaitlyn Lawless] who is having a girls trip to a tropical island [in part to escape from Jeff Glass as her demanding chauvinist fiancé Chadd] where she meets the hotel's bartender Brick [Caleb Beard]; a long-term testy relationship between the feisty hotel owner Marley [Taylor Finch] and JD [Jonathan Yarboro], a local drunk who has a few secrets; and one between Tammy's practical friend and scientist/environmentalist Rachel [Maggie Rowe] and the hedonist hotel nightclub singer Tully [Tony Davison].
There's never any doubt that these couples will work out their differences by the end. Opposites often do attract, and the play serves as a gentle reminder that people who resist change might miss out on valuable relationships, that we are frequently too quick to measure people who believe differently by our own standards, and that if we try to understand "others", we might learn about ourselves as well.
All the principles are in good form, and are abetted by a fine-tuned ensemble who dance and sing with gusto.
Escape to Margaritaville is bright and cheerful, a welcome antidote to a chaotic present day, and though the lengthy denouement serves merely to fit in a few more songs, the smiles on audience faces are a clear indication that the messages have been received. Good show!
