Jesse
Green

March 15, 2018

If ever there were a time to be drunk in the theater, this is it.

And the good news is that “Escape to Margaritaville,” the Jimmy Buffett jukebox musical that opened on Thursday, makes getting sloshed on Broadway easier than ever. The lobby at the Marquis Theater has been kitted out as an island-style thatched-hut alcohol fueling station, complete with margaritas for $12 (on the rocks) or $16 (frozen), as well as bottle openers, koozies and other drink-oriented paraphernalia.

The bad news is that you still have to see the show.

Entertainment Weekly

Nick
Maslow

March 15, 2018

Is it possible to make Jimmy Buffett music both sexy and funny in 2018? That’s apparently the goal of Escape to Margaritaville, a new musical featuring his hits that opens on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on Thursday night. Unless you’ve never been in a dive bar and Instagram accounts for the majority of your cultural exposure, you’ll recognize early on the high degree to which Buffett’s music and lyrics inform the plot, ultimately with humorous and uplifting — but not-so-groundbreaking — results. As Buffett’s real-life story goes, he started a multimillion-dollar empire singing about “wasting away” in sun-drenched locales, feeding a “carnivorous habit” with cheeseburgers, indulging in booze-drenched romance, and recovering from hangover-laden heartbreak in a bucket of beer. His fans — known as Parrotheads — can create their own blurry memories at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, a chain of restaurants, resorts, casinos, and retail shops where the Buffett lifestyle is just an American Express swipe away. All of it is presented with a middle-aged wink: This was designed for Baby Boomers who need a respite from the winter weather down south, who want to sing along to that hit they listened to while getting stoned on the beach in the ’70s. And when a random stay just isn’t enough, they can retire to a Margaritaville-branded senior living facility being developed in — you guessed it! — Florida.

New York Daily News

Joe
Dziemianowicz

March 15, 2018

Of course Jimmy Buffett’s new Broadway jukebox musical “Escape to Margaritaville” comes with a lost shaker of salt. But what’s with the sparkly zombie kickline, fat-shaming fiancé and so-called super potato that can power appliances? Somebody’s had too many margaritas. But so it goes in this musical that may fit the bill if you’re in the mood for a breezy but dopey diversion. A few pre-theater margaritas may enhance things. It doesn’t take a die-hard fan — aka Parrothead— to know why the “gulf and western” singer-songwriter is so popular. Buffett songs tell character-driven stories in laid-back, amusing and randy fashion.

Frank
Scheck

March 15, 2018

Here’s a quick test to determine if you’re the target audience for the new musical based on the songs of Jimmy Buffett. If you’re immediately able to add the words “and screw” to the song title “Why Don’t We Get Drunk” then it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll enjoy Escape to Margaritaville. That a fairly large percentage of the crowd at a recent Wednesday matinee enthusiastically shouted out those lyrics indicates that the show may find its audience, even if New York is probably not the epicenter. But even those unfamiliar with Buffett’s songwriting oeuvre (I know, not a word usually associated with the composer of “Cheeseburger in Paradise”) should find the proceedings relaxedly enjoyable. This jukebox musical is the theatrical equivalent of sipping on a frozen drink while lying on a beach chair in the blazing sun. It’s not good for you, but it feels good.