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Curtain Rising - Index

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

film; that's not quite the right description for
it.
Yes, much of the play's humour, and there
is plenty, comes from gently mocking its
source material, and those who have
seen the movie will be rewarded by being
especially in on the joke. But, Xanadu isn't
just all irony and spoof. Beneath the show's
constant wink and Kira's perma-grin, there's
an element of sincerity along with all the
irony; an honest belief that maybe a good
roller disco really can save the world. Just
as Kira's quirky character serves to inspire
Sonny, the movie version of Xanadu has
served as an uncommon sort of muse to
the musical's creators.
Director Christopher Ashley's show is
not simply the, "most fun you'll have on
Broadway this season,? as Hilton Als said in
The New Yorker, it's probably the most fun
you'll ever have on Broadway.
Early in the show one of the players quips,
"this is like children's theatre for 40-year-old
gay people.? It's not just a funny line, it's
pretty much the truth. The show presents
the simplest of delights of musical theatre in a blinding
rainbow haze: Roller skates! Disco! Shiny things!
Glowsticks!
It also pokes fun at Broadway, having a laugh at the
expense of Andrew Lloyd Webber (whose Starlight
Express was also a roller-skating extravaganza) and
traditional Broadway staging practices.
The process of cast doubling is brilliantly mocked
when not all the characters can be present in a scene
at Mount Olympus. In such moments, there's the
feeling that roller disco might not only be able to save
the world, but also the stale state of musical theatre.
A blend of off-Broadway quirkiness combined with a
patina of Broadway professionalism, Xanadu makes
musical theatre magic look easy.
The magic of the show is due in large part to the
music. Electric Light Orchestra's disco soundtrack to
the film is one of the show's neon-bright spots. John
Farrar and ELO's Jeff Lynne have crafted a perfect
disco soundtrack, much of it from the film but with
some brilliant new additions. Broadway arrangements
of ELO classics "Evil Woman? and "Strange Magic? are
5
Photo by Paul Kolnik
Danny (Tony Roberts) flirts with a memory, Tangerine (Kerry Butler).
especially ingenious, and all of the players tackle the
songs with aplomb.
Cheyenne Jackson, wearing jean cutoff shorts
throughout, is dopily, sexily appealing as Sonny. But,
it is ultimately Kerry Butler's show. She is to Xanadu
as Christine Ebersole was to Grey Gardens. With her
puff of blonde hair, lovely voice, and perfect balance of
naiveté and irony, the show rests on her knobby knees
and sparkly skates.
Tony Roberts, who played Woody Allen's buddy in
Annie Hall, takes on Gene Kelly's role from the film. In
"Dancin?, he morphs from Gene Kelly to Keith Richards
to Tom Waits, and back again, as he blazes across the
stage and through the song.
Like last year's Spring Awakening, Xanadu adapts
the stage seating trend, but with much more levity.
Audience members seated on the stage get glowsticks
to wave about during the final roller disco extravaganza.
But, on or off the stage, everyone's in on the party.
Details +
www.xanaduonbroadway.com
www.xanaduonbroadway.co
Curtain Rising September
11, 2007