The Rep’s musical road trip

Remember these guys?

They’re back, at the Rep’s Stackner Cabaret, in the persons of Danny Calvert, Adam Estes, Zachary Dylan Robbins and Justin Robertson. They’re the stars of writer/director Roger Bean’s Route 66, a tribute to the American open road. The boys who wear the star will sing the music that would have poured out of your radio as you drove from Chicago to California through the Midwest and Southwest in the 1950s or ’60s.

If you’ve made the trip before, take another spin; Bean has freshened his 2001 show. (You might also know him from his other well-traveled nostalgic productions, such as The Marvelous Wonderettes and Life Could Be A Dream.)

The four guys, proficient in song and in tap shoes, switch gears and costumes in a show that speeds along like the little Nash Rambler that goes beep-beep. Bets Malone’s choreography helps push the pedal down.

On Saturday’s opening night, the performance revved the audience from the start. While the original Route 66 was enjoyable, this production moves more quickly with a driving energy, pausing only for one pit stop (OK, an intermission).

Route 66 is clever and comic, and it gives each member of the cast a showcase moment. The feel of is effortless precision. Some unusual roadside attractions pop up among the songs: The Girl on the Billboard, Long Tall Texan, Gallop to Gallup, Highway Patrol and the humorous Diesel On My Tail. The last stop on the map, Los Angeles, is a great reason to celebrate Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys and cruising the Sunset Strip with the top down.

The guys were great. They deserved to be acknowledged on stage by name.

The Stackner, by the way, has some special cocktails for the occasion, including Pink Cadillacs and Kings of the Road. Not that we at TCD encourage drinking and driving.

Route 66 runs through April 25. For tickets: 414,224.9490 or visit The Milwaukee Repertory Theater website.