Curtain Rising - Index

Curtain Rising - Curtain Rising Magazine - Volume 1, Issue 20 - September 11, 2007 - Index

September 11, 2007
NEW YORK
By Hailey Eber
Staff Writer
FOURTH WALL REVIEWS
A funny thing happened when Xanadu, the play
based on the 1980 movie-bomb opened on Broadway
- people liked it, they really liked it. And, not just the
tour groups from South Dakota, but those pretentious
curmudgeons known as New York theatre critics -
Charles Isherwood in The New York Times, Hilton Als
in The New Yorker.
In 90 minutes, with no intermission, the legwarmerlight
show tells the story of a Grecian muse, Clio, who
comes down from the heavens to inspire a chalk artist
named Sonny on the Southern California shore. To do
the inspiring, Clio takes on the name Kira and dons
Photo by Paul Kolnik
Kira (Kerry Butler), Calliope (Jackie Hoffman) and company exclaim, "I'm Alive? as they pursue their quest for Xanadu.
Quest for Xanadu Xanadu Xanadu yields musical theatre magic
legwarmers, roller skates, and an Australian accent. But,
as Kira and Sonny trade disco ballads and pirouettes,
Clio could break the cardinal rule of musedom: falling
in love with a human, even if her evil older sisters make
it happen.
The mash-up of 80s camp and Mount Olympus
provides for some moments of brilliant wit. Achilles, as
it turns out, could have been saved, if only he'd had
some legwarmers on, and the god Hermes is a sassy
diva who exclaims to Clio, "Bitch, I don't know your
life.?
The show doesn't so much base itself on the 1980
movie, which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene
Kelly, as it does find itself inspired by the film, and its 80s
camp aesthetic. Although it's been called a spoof of the
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