Live orchestras return to the Springer for Jimmy Buffett’s Broadway party show

Escape to Margaritaville features an on-stage Caribbean big band

Columbus, Georgia - After a three-year pandemic restriction, live orchestras have finally returned at the Springer Opera House.  Producing artistic director Paul Pierce has partnered with the CSU Schwob School of Music for Jimmy Buffett's ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE, the giant Broadway party show which closes the current Springer season May 21.

Public health and safety protocols have prevented musicians - particularly horns and woodwinds - from performing in close proximity indoors for the past three years.  Those restrictions have now been lifted. The last time the Springer had a full orchestra was March of 2020 when the theatre's production of “Singin’ in the Rain” had to be cancelled mid-run because of the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 virus. Since then, the theatre has mostly been using pre-recorded musical tracks for its orchestral accompaniment. 

But this isn't your typical musical theatre pit orchestra. Schwob professor, Dr. Paul Vaillancourt, has assembled an expert Caribbean big band for Buffett's giant Broadway musical that is set on a remote resort island called "Margaritaville."  This ten-piece band performs onstage with the actors and singers and is anchored by a large percussion section with Buffett's signature steel pan drum and marimba.  

A tiny Caribbean resort is the setting for the vacation adventure of a lifetime.  Easy-going beach-bum Tully Mars is an aspiring singer-songwriter making a bare living at the bar of the Margaritaville Hotel.  When a tightly-wound city girl named Rachel arrives on the island for her best friend’s bachelorette getaway, Tully and Rachel clash.  But when the island’s volcano erupts, the inhabitants have to flee taking with them a mysterious treasure chest and a boatload of dreams.  This new Broadway musical features Jimmy Buffett’s most-loved classics including “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Margaritaville,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “He Went to Paris,” “Fins” and “Volcano.”

For tickets, visit springeroperahouse.org or call 706-327-3688.