Margaret Dudasik and Sam Sherwood Photo by Jonathan Steele

The direction and choreography by Clint Hromsco keep the show moving along, even as the show gets bogged down by too many plot scenes. Indeed, if this musical wants to be a big party, a la Mamma Mia!, it really misses the boat. Still, everyone at Ivoryton Playhouse does their best to camouflage these flaws and this is about as good a production of this musical as possible. For fans of Jimmy Buffett, there are a number of enjoyable songs; just know that there is a lot of story to go through to get to those magic moments.

The production looks great, with a glorious island set by Cully Long and festive costumes designed by K. Duffner. The opening number, "License to Chill," led by the skillful Sam Sherwood as the character of Tully, begins the show on a bright note. Not to get into too much of the story, but it concerns two women going for an island vacation and having a lot of fun before facing their lives back at home. These two characters are played by the delightful Margaret Dudasik as Rachel and Maggie Bera as Tammy. Playing the men Rachel and Tammy meet are Sam Sherwood as Tully and Beau Bradshaw as his friend Brick.

Each of these lead characters gets at least one good song to deliver. Dudasik does extremely well with the song "It's My Job" before sharing a lovely duet with Sherwood, called " Three Chords," which was newly written for the show. Dudasik and Sherwood are the two leads, but the characters of Tammy and Brick, the second leads, tend to steal focus. Playing these parts, Bera and Bradshaw share the terrific number "We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About" in the first half before getting the equally spirited "Cheeseburger in Paradise" in the second act.

Of course, no show with Jimmy Buffett songs would be complete without the full company number, "Margaritaville," which brings a lot of good cheer, and there are laughs to be had with the slightly naughty "Why Don't We Get Drunk," led by the supporting character J.D. (the amusing Don Noble). The character of Marley, played by LaDonna Burns, acts as a sort of narrator throughout the show. Unfortunately, having just seen Burns give a glorious performance in a recent production of Ghost the Musical, it is a real pity that this show fails to give this wonderful actress even one solo of her own.

Which brings one to the other downbeat aspects of Escape to Margaritaville. As mentioned, there are simply too many book scenes separating the big songs and it doesn't help that the dialogue is not particularly interesting. As the production gets to its conclusion, the story becomes downright ludicrous. The actors do their best to make things as entertaining as possible and the show does feature some lively choreography in the song " Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit." The ensemble is extremely talented as is the great onstage band led by conductor Dan Gibson. The lighting design by Marcus Abbott is simply sensational.

Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville at Ivoryton Playhouse proves to be a real mixed bag. When the performers are given the Jimmy Buffett songs to sing, the production shines. But the unfortunate (and lengthy) book scenes really weigh the whole show down. It isn't hard to understand why the original 2017 Broadway production failed to catch on. Still, if one is able to sit through the silly plot, there are treasures to be found, especially for those Jimmy Buffett fans who can sing along to all the songs.

Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville runs through September 15, 2024 at Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton CT. For tickets and information, please visit www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.