Waco stages this weekend will present stories of love and the outdoors, but in markedly different ways and productions.
At Waco Civic Theatre, it’s love shaped in part by alcohol and good times, found in “Escape to Margaritaville.” On the grounds of the Johnson-Taylor House, where Live Oak Classical School junior high theater students will present Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” it’s a doomed love shadowed by death and heartbreak.
“Escape To Margaritavillle,” a jukebox musical built around the songs of Jimmy Buffett, doesn’t aim to do anything more than provide an excuse for a good time, admitted director Eric Shephard. “The jokes are silly ... and I wouldn’t call it cerebral in any way,” he said.
And to answer what is likely the first question for many potential attendees, “Yes, there will be margaritas. Absolutely,” he said.
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The musical, loaded with such Buffett favorites as “Come Monday,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Volcano” and, of course, “Margaritaville,” aims to tap the popularity of his music and the loyalty of fans who call themselves Parrotheads.
It’s the latest jukebox musical for the community theater, which has staged others such as “Always, Patsy Cline,” “Million Dollar Quartet” and “Ring of Fire.”
The storyline concerns a less-than-ambitious musician Tully (Joey Tamayo) whose career has washed ashore on a small Caribbean island where he plays at a small bar of the Margaritaville hotel and enjoys the beach.
He meets Rachel (Lexie Rains), a more driven and purposeful environmental scientist trying to unwind from the rat race with a tour group. Her best friend Tammy (Lindsay Carney) also is there for her bachelorette party and catches the eye of bartender Brick (Tyler Christensen). Meanwhile, at the bar, longtime patron and beach bum J.D. (John Anderson) nurtures a crush on Marley (Margaret Rast), the bar owner.
Will these couples find romance in different ways? If you need to ask that question, sit down and have another margarita.
Attendees are free to wear their Parrothead regalia and the second weekend may see some sort of boat tailgating activity, Shephard said.
‘Romeo and Juliet’
Romance of a totally different flavor goes on at the Johnson-Taylor House on the Pape Gardens grounds, where Live Oak theater students will stage a condensed version of “Romeo and Juliet,” with Alyssa Cordell and Grant Craig in the title roles.
It’s the first outdoor performance at the newly reopened venue now managed by the nonprofit Historic Waco.
Actor and Live Oak theater director Ric Maddox said the combination of play and setting is doubly advantageous for his students. “For junior high, Shakespeare is the highest form of acting to work on,” Maddox said, involving complex relationships and lines set in iambic pentameter. “Romeo and Juliet’s” story of feuding families whose hostile relationship eventually costs both their children has provided subjects for discussion including suicide, the cost of love and the price paid for peace, he said.
The outdoor setting also gives students a feel for acting in its oldest and essential form. “Outdoors is the purest form of acting,” the director said.
Last year, Live Oak students performed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” outdoors at a private home. This year’s production will involve 20 students with two Saturday performances.
Carl Hoover
Carl Hoover has covered Waco arts and entertainment, and more, for the Tribune-Herald since 1984.
