The Candlelight Theatre
Wilmington, DE
10 August 2025
Matinee
I honestly was not sure what to expect from Escape to Margaritaville. I am not a big Jimmy Buffet fan and I did not expect there to be much of a plot. I honestly thought this show would be one that people tend to like because of the music. I was pleasantly surprised that there was a much more in depth plot filled with environmentalism and even the concept of not getting everything you want (especially when it comes to love).
The show follows the characters of Tammy (played by Gabrielle Hines) and Rachel (played by Molly Hofstaedter) as they go to the island of Margaritaville to celebrate Tammy’s engagement to her horrible fiancé named Chadd (played by Nathan Fitch). Once on the island, they meet a number of crazy characters, but most notably the characters of Tully (played by Giacomo Fizzano) and his best friend Brick (played by Aaron Shown) who serve as the romantic love interests for the main female leads.
I was especially impressed with the handling of the characters of Rachel and Tammy. Rachel is a good girl who hates her best friend’s loser fiancé and is essentially married to her work. So it was nice to see that the character did not throw away her dreams of making a clean and sustainable energy source for a roughly six day old relationship.
As for the character of Tammy, she is a woman who has been dragged down by her controlling fiancé and doesn’t see her own self worth and beauty. So while it was nice to see her realise how beautiful she is and that she is worthy of a better partner, it was nicer to see her do this while also not compromising her morals and cheating on her fiancé. Tammy’s love interest on the island is the character of Brick.
Brick is the bartender at the hotel that they stay at and despite there being an attraction between the two characters, neither character acts on that attraction until Tammy has ended her relationship with her fiancé. Brick is also a decently innocent character. He does everything with good intentions and he’s instantly trusting. This makes his tap dancing number (a very tongue in cheek song in which everyone else tap dances and he sings about being the star in a tap dance number) seem so pure and adorable. It was heartwarming.
The entire cast was compromised of excellent singers and great dancers. All in all, the show was fun, surprisingly deep, and very enjoyable. It’s clear that the actors are enjoying themselves just as much as the audience is and that is always very nice to see.