Huntington Area Regional Theatre members practice for their upcoming performances of ƵEscape to Margaritaville,Ƶ based loosely on the life of the late musician Jimmy Buffet.
Huntington Area Regional Theatre members practice for their upcoming performances of ƵEscape to Margaritaville,Ƶ based loosely on the life of the late musician Jimmy Buffet. The show will take place at the Ritter Park Amphitheater on July 5-7 and July 12-14.
Huntington Area Regional Theatre members practice for their upcoming performances of ƵEscape to Margaritaville,Ƶ based loosely on the life of the late musician Jimmy Buffet.
Courtesy of Tommy Smirl
Huntington Area Regional Theatre members practice for their upcoming performances of ƵEscape to Margaritaville,Ƶ based loosely on the life of the late musician Jimmy Buffet. The show will take place at the Ritter Park Amphitheater on July 5-7 and July 12-14.
HUNTINGTON Ƶ The Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District and the Huntington Area Regional Theatre organization have joined forces to present the Broadway musical ƵEscape To MargaritavilleƵ at the Ritter Park Amphitheater over the next two weekends.
Happening over six nights beginning on Friday evening, the play was written by Greg Garcia and Mike OƵMalley and the plot is loosely based on the life of the great singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffet, who sadly died last September. To tell the story, over 15 of BuffetƵs classic songs are woven into the play, making it a fun sing-a-long presentation.
The Huntington Area Regional TheatreƵs production of ƵEscape To MargaritavilleƵ will be directed by Mary Smirl.
Escape To Margaritaville will take place at the Ritter Park Amphitheater on July 5-7 and July 12-14, with the gates opening at 7:30 p.m. and show starting at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and kids, and groups of 10 or more only pay $12.
VIP tickets are also available for $30, which offers early access at 6:30 p.m. and a drink ticket, souvenir swag items and exclusive access to the Margaritaville Hotel and Bar.
VIP tickets are available at and regular tickets are available at . For more information, contact Recreation Superintendent Lauren Patrick at lpatrick@ghprd.org, call 304-696-5954, or go to .
While this show is for all ages, there is a slight PG aspect to it simply because of one word that finds its way into BuffetƵs song, ƵWhy DonƵt We Get Drunk.Ƶ It isnƵt the worst noun in the world, and the cast doesnƵt say it onstage, but the audience tends to fill in the blanks, so keep that in mind.
For Smirl, directing ƵEscape To MargaritavilleƵ is a labor of love as her appreciation for the music of Jimmy Buffet goes back many years.
ƵThis show is packed with Jimmy Buffet songs, and just like the title of his greatest hits album, these are all of Ƶthe songs you know by heart,ƵƵ Smirl said. ƵThe songs are woven together with a narrative that some people say is closely-but-loosely-based on Jimmy BuffetƵs life and his travels. The musical starts out with a character that is a young version of Jimmy named Tully Mars who is working in a rundown resort bar and singing for his dinner. There is another character called Brick who is his buddy and the bartender at the resort, and he is the comic relief of the story. Then, in the beginning, you also have the part of J.D., who is the old, salty pirate guy who hangs out at the bar. JimmyƵs beautiful songs are added nicely to this tale, and it is a love story and a story of success.Ƶ
This production will feature a live band onstage, bringing to life the beloved Jimmy Buffet catalog.
According to Smirl, the cast is made up of all Jimmy Buffet fans, so the camaraderie is strong. Ƶ for Smirl herself, she went to many concerts by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer while he was still alive.
ƵMy husband Tommy, who is in the cast of this play, took us to our first Jimmy Buffet concert when our daughter Sydnee was 2 years old and I was expecting our second child,Ƶ said Smirl. ƵThe concert was in Cincinnati in 1985 at the KingƵs Island amusement parkƵs Timberwolf Amphitheater. And a cool bit of history about that show is that it was during that performance that the term ƵParrotheadƵ was coined. Jimmy looked out into the audience that night and was noticing all of the people in the audience that was dressed up in costumes, and he mentioned how they kept coming back to show after show just like Deadheads do, and then his band member Timothy B. Schmidt said, ƵThey arenƵt Deadheads, theyƵre Parrotheads.ƵƵ
The spirit of fun and being connected through BuffetƵs music is why Smirl decided to bring the live band onstage with the actors and dancers, so that the crowd is encouraged to have a good time as well. Smirl is also grateful for the cast she has put together for the show as her long involvement with the arts here in Huntington is paying off with past students and more who are ready to make this musical work.
ƵThis year is a really special year to have the cast that we have assembled for ƵEscape To Margaritaville,Ƶ because some of them have been with me since they were young,Ƶ said Smirl. ƵSo, the cast is full of a lot of family and close friends and kids that have grown up in the theater with me. Huntington and the Tri-State area is very rich with talent. I mean, we truly have some amazingly talented people here and all of the various theatre companies support each other because we share a lot of those same people, actors and dancers and tech folks. There is no such thing as too much theater, music or art in a town, in my mind, and it all makes a community better and richer and we are better off for it.Ƶ
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