Pictured (Left to Right): Allison Arana, Facia Lee, Jack B. Murphy, and Eddie Weaver in On The Road Again. Photo by Annabelle Cuitino.

As summer heats up and a stir-crazy population hits the streets once more, Florida Studio Theatre celebrates the reclaimed spirit with a throwback musical roadshow that pays tribute to those halcyon days of summers past—when every turn on the road meant adventure, those long warm nights lasted forever and even piling into the family minivan looked good.

Titled On The Road Again and currently touring the area, the new family-friendly show takes audiences on a musical roadtrip through the United States, highlighting the cultural and geographical diversity of the nation through song and story. And over the course of the 45-minute show, the four performers lead the audience on this exploration, darting from Florida to the west coast before looping back towards New England and trekking down the eastern seaboard back to Florida, making pitstops and pulling off at various locales along the way.

At each stop, the show stages a mini-concert to highlight the musical identity of the region, with everything from “Country Roads” and “Surfin’ USA” to “Dancing in the Street,” “Uptown Funk” and a whole Motown section. Even the youngest audience members will find tunes to sing along to with American classics like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain.”

And at each stop, members of the cast also share stories about the cities and places they’re visiting. But far from some impersonal tour—some book report recitation of American landmarks or PowerPoint presentation of a focus-grouped American roadtrip—On The Road Again puts the human element front and center through its performers, who play themselves in these moments and share their own memories and stories and reasons for loving the songs they sing and the places they come from. 

“You get to connect to the actors as real people” says Caroline Saldivar, FST’s director of Children’s Theatre who helped create On The Road Again and now directs the show. And this connection only heightens the intimacy and the impact of the performance, driving home the human element that turns a show into a shared experience and makes a roadtrip more than a really long commute.

“Because songs are so much more than just the music,” says Saldivar. 

Currently on the road, On The Road Again will have a free public outdoor performance this Sunday, July 11, at Nathan Benderson Park at 7pm. Pre-registration is requested and preferred, but not required. 

Pictured (Left to Right): Allison Arana, Facia Lee, Jack B. Murphy, and Eddie Weaver in On The Road Again. Photo by Annabelle Cuitino.