Relax, unwind and let yourself drift away into the Caribbean night with the Civic Theatre’s production of “Escape to Margaritaville.”

The production will happen at the Clyde Theatre Friday through Sunday.

The Clyde is outfitted with three separate bars that will provide themed drinks that go with the show.

“Escape to Margaritaville” is a jukebox musical created in 2017 by Mike O’Malley and Greg Garcia. It is inspired by the songs of artist Jimmy Buffett. The plot revolves around a part-time bartender and singer on an island in the Caribbean who falls for a career-focused tourist.

It debuted on Broadway in 2018, followed by a brief national tour.

Though Buffett was not heavily involved in the show’s creation, he was sought out often for advice and feedback regarding the adaptation and interpretation of his songs into a theatrical story.

Due to the renovation of the Arts United Center, the Civic Theatre has had to take their company on the road and get creative with venues this season.

Gavin Drew, the director of the show, said that their volunteers have really stepped up this past year throughout the difficult transition to execute the various aspects of each production.

“We have a staff of nine, so everybody’s working double time, and we’ve relied heavily on our volunteers because we’re a completely volunteer organization,” said Drew.

Despite having a master carpenter and designer on staff to head the creation of the set pieces and costumes, he said the bulk of that work is done by their volunteer stage and wardrobe crews.

With this being the first Civic production taking place at the Clyde Theatre, they have had to navigate the differences in performing a theatrical production within a concert venue, which has proved to be a give-and-take experience.

“The Clyde has amazing acoustics. This show is a bunch of fun. […] It’s really just a theatrical excuse to have a party and sing a bunch of Jimmy Buffett songs, and I think it’s the perfect venue for that,” said Drew.

On the other hand, he said it took some creative thinking when designing the sets and scene changes given that the concert venue doesn’t have fly space, the area above the stage with a theatrical rigging system for equipment, to bring in new set pieces or backdrops.

He said it has been an exciting experience working with the staff at the Clyde and that they’ve been wonderful collaborators, truly incapsulating the mission of Fort Wayne Civic Theatre as a community theater.

“For every single question that we’ve asked them or crazy idea we’ve come up with, they’ve responded with a ‘Yes, let’s figure out how to make that happen,’ instead of shooting it down,” said Drew.

The Civic Theatre, being one of the oldest community theaters in the country, was one of the first to be offered licensing rights to the show around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic once it finished its professional theater run, Drew said.

Due to delays from the Arts United Center renovations, as well as another professional theater in the area being granted a license, it had to be put on hold while they waited for a season to plug it in to.

It’s been a long four years, but the stars finally aligned, and the company is excited to see it come to fruition, Drew said.

“Escape from Margaritaville” — $27.75 to $49.75, 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday, 2 pm Saturday and Sunday, 1808 Bluffton Road, 260.422.8641, fwcivic.org/escapetomargaritaville