Jimmy Buffett Musical Heading to Broadway in 2018
Escape to Margaritaville, a musical dedicated to the songs of Jimmy Buffett, is heading to Broadway in the spring of 2018, the singer announced Friday.
The musical, which plays on the title of Buffett’s breezy 1977 single and his popular restaurant chain, will premiere in May with a six-week run at La Jolla, California’s La Jolla Playhouse.
Following its premiere run, the production will prepare for its New York debut by setting a course for a pre-Broadway tour to three cities: New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre, Houston’s BBVA Compass Broadway and Chicago’s Oriental Theatre. The Chicago run concludes December 3rd, at which point the production will head to its still-unspecified Broadway theatre.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to make it to Broadway!” Buffett said in a statement. “After our world premiere this May in La Jolla, we’ll set sail from California on a pre-Broadway national tour stopping first in the city that gave me my start-New Orleans, then to some of my other favorites – Houston and Chicago – before arriving at that port of all ports, Broadway and New York City.”
Like jukebox musicals like Mamma Mia! and American Idiot, the musical is based on an original story, with actor/writer Mike O’Malley and My Name Is Earl writer Greg Garcia collaborating on Escape to Margaritaville‘s book. Broadway vet Christopher Ashley will serve as director.
According to Playbill, Escape to Margaritaville synopsis describes the musical as, “Imagine a place where the sun is hot, the ocean’s warm, and the drinks are as cold as they are plentiful. Welcome to Margaritaville, the island paradise where city folk get away from it all and the locals get into the kind of trouble you can almost always sweet talk your way out of. This new musical is the story of a part-time bartender, part-time singer, and full-time charmer named Tully who thinks he’s got life all figured out. Until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything.”
Visit the Escape to Margaritaville site for dates and ticket information.