In the spring of 1998, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg introduced a new show called American Jukebox. It was a musical presentation of songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. The dancers were excellent, the choreography was fun and lively, the singers were top notch, and the music featured the best from the past 30 years. It was an immediate success and ran, basically unchanged, for 10 years through the end of the 2007 season. In fact, I have been attending Busch Gardens, Williamsburg since it opened in 1975, and this is my favorite of all their shows, and I know I am not alone in that assessment.

Now, 25 years since American Jukebox premiered, Busch Gardens has reintroduced the show as American Jukebox Summer Remix. The new show uses most of the same music, the Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody being the glaring exception, and like the original, it features excellent dancers and singers. If you never saw the original, you will probably enjoy the Remix. But if you were a fan of the first American Jukebox, you are going to have to put that show out of your mind while watching the Remix. The two shows could not be any different. Tthe original had an intimacy about it. It was performed on a small stage, in an open-air pavilion, with straight forward stage lighting and bench seating for about 75-100 people. Every seat was close to the stage and you felt like the performers were performing for you.

By contrast, the Remix performance takes place in very large, dark, theatre that seats 1000 or more. The stage lighting is constantly changing and at times, a bit bizarre. With the original, you felt like the dancers were performing for you. Here you are watching a group of dancers perform on a stage, and unless you can get a seat in one of the first couple of rows, the action will be difficult to follow. But if you liked the music from the 60's thru 90's, and you can set aside any preconceived notions, the show is worth seeing at least once.