WINTER PARK — Route 66, the new musical at Winter Park Playhouse that has charm to spare, marks a milestone for the musical theater. Route 66, which opened on Friday, is the Playhouse’s final production at their longtime home at 711 Orange Ave. in Winter Park, before the building will be closed for extensive renovations.
The Playhouse’s next season will be spent at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park, before the Playhouse returns to Winter Park in August 2026 for productions in a dramatically improved theater space.
In the meantime, Route 66 keeps the Playhouse team in the fast lane and is the ideal show for the start of summer vacation season. Fasten your seat belts for this is a nostalgic salute to highway songs of yesteryear, which monumentally tap into our shared desire to be cruising along the open road, free and easy. The Playhouse doesn’t steer you wrong with their sensational cast of four talent-to-spare singer/actors who will have you leaving the theater ready to zoom along your nearest highway.
So put aside thoughts of your daily work commute or those Thanksgiving weekend traffic jams and remember what you love about summer vacations on the open road. Then head over to the Playhouse to sit back, relax, and enjoy the toe-tapping classics and irresistible humor of Route 66 during its run now through June 8.
What is the Musical Route 66?
Conceived by Roger Bean, this jukebox musical expertly mixes nostalgia, broad humor and some fabulous dance moves. The Playhouse set features an old Texaco gas station, and the radio is turned on, playing the latest hits of the day. This clever musical revue collects classic songs about traveling those old highways, opening the show in the Windy City as we get the sounds of 1950s Chicago (“Let’s Go For A Ride,” “Bring My Cadillac Back,” etc.), before taking our travels along the ‘Main Street of America’ to the California coast and the surfer music of the 1960s (a particularly high-spirited and joyous rendition of two Beach Boys’ classics, “Fun Fun Fun/I Get Around,” becomes a wonderfully spirited way to end the show).
Along the way, we get stops in St. Louis, Joplin Missouri, Oklahoma City, and Amarillo Texas in the first act, followed by Gallop, New Mexico, Flagstaff Arizona, and Pasadena among the cities in act two.
One thing the Playhouse brings to the show is the high energy of the four performers, who seem like they’re on the same high-octane fuel as the cars they drive. One catchy song glides effortlessly into the next as the show becomes a real laugh-out-loud delight. Cruising along the open road has never seemed so inviting.
How is the Winter Park Playhouse Production?
Directed by the Playhouse’s artistic director Roy Alan, Route 66 is a ideal a vehicle for his skill at creative choreography. It becomes a fun-filled ride, with the cast ideally suited to steer this show toward hilarity on more than one occasion.
Brandon Martin, Andrew LeJeune, Adourin Jamelle Owens and Russell Stephens, all veterans of past Playhouse productions, make a welcome return to this one as they provide a traffic jam of laughter along those dusty highways. Each one has their own stand out moments; Stephens gets some of the shows biggest belly laughs as the guys sing “Truck Stop Cutie,” and he gets transformed into the waitress every trucker longs for. And let me tell you, he sure can accommodate some fine dance moves in his high heels!
Martin doubles as the show’s music director, and I love how these familiar highway songs get reinvented. The actors perform and act out each song, as opposed to just singing them. Martin has one of the show’s highlights in “Rolands, Doan’s Pills and Preparation H,” an ode to the miseries of long-distance truck driving, and his gift for deft and comical facial expressions is a true delight.
There are similar comical performances delivered on songs such as “Beep Beep” and “Diesel On My Tail,” about finding yourself on a long drive with an annoying vehicle right behind you. Performed with captivating comedic skill by the cast, I doubt there was a single person in the audience who couldn’t relate.
So take a detour down to this theater and and enjoy this scenic route devoid of potholes! Truly, what a great way for the Winter Park Playhouse to not only close out their season, but also bid a temporary farewell to their longtime home so it can be improved, modernized and made into something even more accommodating to audiences.
The Playhouse will host its annual Florida Festival Of New Musicals in June, then close its doors as it moves the next season to Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St.
Can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store for us when they get back to Winter Park!
Where Can I See Route 66?
Route 66 is being performed at The Winter Park Playhouse, 711 Orange Ave., Winter Park, now through June 8. The show is 2 hours long, with a 15 minute intermission.
Tickets are $47 for evening shows, $45 for seniors during evening shows, $42 for matinees, and $20 for students between the ages of 15-25, active military and theater industry professionals. Student rush “$10@10” offers $10 tickets for students 25 years and younger will be available 10 minutes prior to a performance when seats are available. Call for special group rates for 10 or more people.
To purchase tickets or for more information, call the box office at 407-645-0145 or log onto at www.winterparkplayhouse.org
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright and author of the terrifying book “Bloody Rabbit”. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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