Escape to Margaritaville, the musical comedy drawing upon the song catalog of Jimmy Buffett hits and an original book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley, has announced that it will close. The musical will play its final performance on Sunday, July 1, 2018, after 29 previews and 124 performances at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre. The musical will have a national tour that commences in October 2019 in Providence, Rhode Island.
“The first stop after Broadway will be Washington, D.C., where Jimmy Buffett and the cast of Escape to Margaritaville will perform on PBS’s A Capitol Fourth, celebrating America’s 242nd birthday, on Wednesday, July 4th from 8:00-9: 30 PM ET. Broadcast live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, “A Capitol Fourth” is the time-honored 38 year-tradition which puts viewers front and center for America’s biggest birthday party with the greatest display of fireworks anywhere in the nation lighting up the iconic D.C. skyline.”
Escape to Margaritaville features Paul Alexander Nolan (Bright Star), Alison Luff (Les Misérables) as Rachel, Lisa Howard (It Shoulda Been You) as Tammy, Eric Petersen (School of Rock) as Brick, Rema Webb (The Color Purple) as Marley, Don Sparks (Take Me Out) as J.D., Andre Ward (Something Rotten!) as Jamal, along with Matt Allen, Tessa Alves, Sara Andreas, Tiffany Adeline Cole, Marjorie Failoni, Samantha Farrow, Steven Good, Angela Grovey, Albert Guerzon, Keely Hutton, Justin Keats, Mike Millan, Justin Mortelliti, Ryann Redmond, Jennifer Rias, Julius Anthony Rubio, Nick Sanchez, Ian Michael Stuart, and Brett Thiele.
Directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Kelly Devine, the creative team for Escape to Margaritaville also includes Walt Spangler (Scenic Designer), Tony Award winner Paul Tazewell (Costume Designer), two-time Tony Award winner Howell Binkley (Lighting Designer), two-time Tony Award winner Brian Ronan (Sound Designer), Leah J. Loukas (Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Design), Flying By Foy (Flying Effects), and Michael Utley (Orchestrations).
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.