James and I went to see the national tour of Xanadu:the Musical playing at the Music Hall at Fair Park through April 18th.
"What!?" Xanadu? The MUSICAL!? Wasn't that a really awful movie back in the early 80's starring Olivia Newton-John? Why, in God's name, would they make a stage musical of THAT!!!???"
Good question but not to fear! Book writer Douglas Carter Beane, Director Christopher Ashley and choreographer Dan Knechtges have retained the songs written by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar and opted for a tongue in cheek, wink, wink, nudge, nudge adaptation. Set in 1980 in Venice, California rather than 1580 in Venice, Italy, the muses, lead by Kira, come together to help mere mortal Sunny Malone realize his dream of owning a space where art, music, theater and dance can be created and performed. In other words, a roller disco! Conflict is introduced when the muses Melpomene and Coliope become, quite frankly, pissed off that Kira seems to be getting all of Zues's attention and they hatch a plan to thwart her plans to help Sonny achieve his dream. (The funniest line in the show is uttered by Coliope during a particularly evil moment: "This is fun! It's like doing children's theater for 40 year-old gay men!" BLACKOUT!!!)
The show is ultimately about holding onto your dreams and working to reach your goals in spite of the obstacles. the message is stated without seeming too earnest. In fact, you may find your self getting a little teary. The set echo's that of a roman temple and the muses wear togas, sandals and more body glitter than you can shake a stick at! And yes, there are roller skates!!! The entire production was conceived on an intimate scale for a cast of only 10 actors who do double and triple duty as muses, mythic monsters and fan dancers to name just a few.
Those of you who know James and me know that we can turn ANYTHING into an adventure and this show is no exception! Not content to just sit out in the audience and watch the show from afar, we opted for the ON STAGE SEATING!!! Yes! Xanadu has about 20 on stage seats that surround the main playing area in two semi-circular rows. We were told to "keep your hands inside the ride at all times and don't activate your glow sticks until the end of the show". (YES!!! They gave us glow sticks to brandish in the finale!) Thus prepared we settled in for a fun ride!
Indeed, Xanadu IS a lot of fun! The hard-working cast was excellent. They were all on stage most of the evening and the four person ensemble worked their mucho talented butts off singing and dancing almost non-stop. The jokes ranged from jabs at Greek mythology, tragedy and comedy to comments on current events. Nothing is sacred but at the same time nothing is taken seriously. The actors are clear that it's all a big joke and we are invited to be in on it.
BUT, the best part of the evening was getting to sit on stage. As a member of the Dallas Opera chorus I have been on stage many times at the Music Hall so for me that was nothing new. What was exciting was getting to see the performers and watch the show up close and personal. Something one NEVER gets to do at he Music Hall! We sat on the stage right side and all the actors' exits and entrances happened just inches from us. It was not unusual for them to make comments to us as they passed by. At one point, Kira grabbed on to my arm for dear life as Sonny tried to drag her to center stage by her be-skated foot!!!!
All told, Xanadu is an intimate, extremely funny show performed by freakishly talented cast. Run, don't walk to see it before it moves on to Sarasota, Florida!!! AND MAKE SURE YOU SIT ON STAGE!!!!
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