Robbie Dacosta captures the singer-songwriter’s voice, charm and laid-back vibe but the show could use some tightening up

By Lucie K. Scheuer for Ashland.news

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes/nothing remains quite the same/through all of the islands and all of the highlands/if we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.

When you listen to the retrospective of Jimmy Buffett’s life, now playing as “Spotlight on Jimmy Buffett” at the Camelot Theatre, you are reminded of several things: the number of compositions the singer-songwriter created over his 50-year career, his sense of humor and easygoing persona and the wonderful, relatable lyrics and melodies that became spring break anthems in so many people’s lives.

Celebrating a seductive lifestyle

Any American adult who went to high school or college in the ’70s and beyond or spent a summer trying to blow off the stress of college, roommates, finals and awkward dating scenes, probably “wasted away in Margaritaville” at one time or another. Why, in this country, it’s almost a rite of passage. Yes, Jimmy had a way of reminding us that tropical living was everything it was cracked up to be. In our 20s, a lot of us wanted to embrace the image of the freewheeling, catamaran-sailing adventurer, if only for a two weeks in March or April, or for a summer, sitting under a tiki hut, sipping mai tais and watching the boats sailing out of Key West.

Robbie Dacosta, a talented musician in his own right, was a great pick to recreate Buffett’s sound. He captures Buffett’s voice with the boyish charm, lyrical smoothness and tropical shirted sincerity of the man himself. For two hours Dacosta and several fine musicians (some who have formed Camelot’s superb house band), re-create 28 of Buffett’s hits and not as well-known ballads. It is a gallant effort, but not all of it works.

So many songs

So let’s lean in for a minute and explore what might have worked better. The production would have been more interesting if the number of songs had been cut to, let’s say, 20, and Dacosta, as Buffett, had told his own story instead of having it narrated. Backup singers Chalise Kadin (who also plays a mean harmonica) and Autumn Smith (slapping those congas) are both fine singers, but storytellers they’re not. Dacosta also had to read the lyrics, which he managed in a well-coordinated way, but the intimacy that might have been created between him and the audience got lost.

There seemed to be a problem with the sound as well. The band was clear and as in sync as they always are, but Decosta’s voice was not amped correctly. It was difficult to understand Buffett’s lyrics and, let’s face it, most of Buffett’s songs are stories. If you miss the words, you miss the stories. The band was too loud, and Decosta’s voice was too soft. Calling sound engineer Nick Chandler: Time for some sound checks here.

As usual, the band, Karl Iverson, on keyboard, Will Lowry on guitar, Scott McGuire on pedal steel and mallets, Larry David Smith on bass, and Steve Sutfin on drums, were synced and produced a great tropical rock sound.  

Director Brian O’Connor would do well to see all he has to work with here, stand back, and try to reframe it.

What a life!

Buffett created a fascinating life. He may have projected the persona of a laid-back, beachcomber, but in reality he was not only a prolific songwriter and performer, he was a shrewd businessman who even won the admiration of his last-namesake, Warren Buffett. Jimmy franchised himself and the Margaritaville trademark. He owned hotels, casinos, restaurants, sports clubs and sold everything from albums to T-shirts. Jimmy Buffett was also a philanthropist. He died a billionaire.

Buffett had some harrowing adventures. For instance, the time he landed his plane in Jamaica, with U2 front man Bono and Bono’s family on board, only to have the Jamaican authorities, who mistook them for drug smugglers, shoot his plane full of holes. He wrote a song about that too.

Executive Director Dann Hauser explained before the show started that the Buffett pick was a replacement program. The problem is — it feels like one. With a little more attention to detail, fewer songs and better narration, this show could return to the kind of high-caliber production we’re so used to experiencing at the Camelot.

Reach Ashland-based writer Lucie K. Scheuer at [email protected].