Xanadu (musical)

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Broadway poster
Xanadu

Music	Jeff Lynne and John Farrar
Lyrics	Jeff Lynne and John Farrar
Book	Douglas Carter Beane
Based upon	1980 film Xanadu
Productions	2007 Workshop 2007 Broadway

Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 cult classic film of the same name which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth.^[1] The title is a reference to the poem, Kubla Khan, or A Vision in a Dream. A Fragment, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Xanadu is the name of the Chinese province where Khan establishes his pleasure garden in the poem.

The story of the musical focuses on a magical Greek muse, Clio, who descends from Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve the greatest creation of his life - a roller disco. But, when Clio, disguised as an Australian roller girl named Kira, falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation, and Clio risks eternal banishment to the underworld.

1 Production history
2 Synopsis
3 Musical numbers
4 Roles and original Broadway cast
5 Critical reception
6 Original cast recording
7 Cubby Bernstein promotion
8 Awards and nominations
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Production history

[edit] Workshop productions

The musical was first given a workshop production and backers' audition at the Minetta Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, New York City, in January 2007, featuring performances by Jane Krakowski, Tony Roberts, and Cheyenne Jackson. Readings of the stage version had previously been held on April 21 and Aug. 3, 2006 at New World Stages in Manhattan.^[2]

According to Beane, in rewriting the script for the musical, he was influenced not only by the 1980 Xanadu film, but also by the 1981 fantasy film, Clash of the Titans, prompting him to add the subplot "in which Kira’s jealous sister-muses doom her to fall in love with a mortal, incurring the wrath of their father, Zeus."^[1] He has noted that the stage musical focuses more on the Greek mythology plotlines but has "a lot of [parody] references to the movie."^[3] Krakowski and Jackson were cast in their respective leading roles of Clio/Kira and Sonny Malone for the Broadway run, but both eventually dropped out. Jane cited her TV shooting schedule on the NBC show 30 Rock, while Jackson cited post-production commitments for his film Hysteria.^[4]

[edit] Broadway production

Helen Hayes Theatre showing Xanadu, 2007

Xanadu began previews on Broadway on May 23, 2007 at the Helen Hayes Theatre and opened on July 10, 2007. The show is directed by Christopher Ashley (All Shook Up and The Rocky Horror Show), and choreographed by Dan Knechtges (Spelling Bee and 110 in the Shade), with sets by David Gallo, lighting by Howell Binkley, costumes by David Zinn, sound by T. Richard Fitzgerald and Carl Cassella and projections by Zachary Borovay. The key producers are Robert Ahrens, Tara Smith III and Brian Swibel.^[5]

There is a considerable amount of skating for the characters Kira and Sonny, and the set extends over the orchestra pit partly into the audience. The score includes the hits from the film and also includes new arrangements by Eric Stern of "I'm Alive," "Magic," "Suddenly," and "Dancin'," as well as interpolating two classic Electric Light Orchestra songs, "Strange Magic" and "Evil Woman," plus Farrar's "Have You Never Been Mellow." The show is presented partially in the round, with some audience members seated on benches on the stage. Like several other recent Broadway shows, the cast is small and the relatively short show (90-minutes) is played without intermission.

James Carpinello was originally cast as Sonny and played the role during May and June previews. The actor injured his foot rollerskating during a rehearsal on June 12.^[6] Carpinello's understudy, Andre Ward, who usually played the muse Terpsicore (among other roles) played the Sonny role on June 12. Jackson was announced on June 14 as the new male lead. Ward and another cast member, Curtis Holbrook, alternated in the role of Sonny until Jackson went onstage beginning June 21. Jackson became the permanent lead on October 4, 2007, when it was announced that Carpinello would not be returning to the Broadway production.

The opening night cast included Kerry Butler as Kira, Cheyenne Jackson as Sonny Malone, and Tony Roberts as Danny Maguire, with Jackie Hoffman and Mary Testa as "evil" Muse sisters, a new plot twist introduced in the Broadway version.

[edit] US tour and international productions

The musical is scheduled to play at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, from November 11 to December 21, 2008, with a U.S. national tour to follow, beginning in Chicago January 2009.^[7]

The producers of Xanadu licensed to Tin Tin Entertainment the exclusive South Korean-language rights to the show for two years. A production in Seoul is set to open in 2008.^[8]

A West End production is tentatively scheduled for 2009.^[9]

[edit] Synopsis

It is 1980, and chalk artist Sonny Malone is dissatisfied with his sidewalk mural of the Greek Muses (daughters of Zeus) and determines to kill himself. On Mount Olympus, Clio (pronounced "Kleye-o"), the youngest, perkiest Muse, convinces her eight sisters (two of whom are men in drag), to travel to Venice Beach (rising out of the sidewalk mural) to inspire Sonny ("I'm Alive"). Zeus's rules require that Muses must always be disguised from mortals, and all agree that Clio must appear on roller skates, wear legwarmers, sport an Australian accent, and change her name to something contemporary: Kira. Quickly inspired ("Magic"), Sonny decides that he can combine all the arts and "something athletic" all into one spectacular entertainment: a roller disco.

Two of Clio's sisters, Melpomene (the oldest sister) and Calliope are jealous that Clio (although the youngest) is the leader of the Muses and that Zeus had promised "Xanadu" to Clio, although no one knows exactly what that entails ("Evil Woman"). So they plot to discredit Clio and cause her banishment by tricking her into breaking one of Zeus's rules: a Muse must not fall in love with a mortal, so they will curse "Kira" and Sonny to fall in love.

Meanwhile, Sonny finds a good location for the roller disco, a long-abandoned theater in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles called "Xanadu." "Kira" inspires him to locate the owner in the phone book ("Suddenly"), and they set up a meeting with real estate mogul Danny Maguire, who used to be a big band clarinettist before he started in the real estate game.

Sonny visits hard-hearted Danny in his posh office in downtown Los Angeles and tries to convince him to donate the theater for the roller disco, because it would bring the arts to the Fairfax district and drive up real estate values. But Danny scoffs, even though he had plans to open the theater himself, once upon a time. As Sonny leaves, "Kira" arrives, jogging Danny's memories of an old love and dance partner of his, who looked suspiciously like "Kira," named Tangerine ("Whenever You're Away from Me"). Tangerine tells Danny that although he had let his greed stop him from pursuing his dream to open the theater 35 years ago, he has a chance to redeem himself now by opening the roller disco with Sonny. Danny finds Sonny and tells him that if he can get the disco up and running in one day, he'll give him 25% of the take from the Disco ("Dancin'"). Excited, Sonny readily agrees.

Sonny finds "Kira" and tells her the good news. She is not impressed with the deal that he has cut. It is then that the evil sisters work their curse, and the winged Eros shoots "Kira" and Sonny with the arrows of love ("Strange Magic"). "Kira" is soon overwhelmed with guilt over her loving feelings and of having created her own art (a hand-drawn picture) alongside Sonny – both violations of Zeus's restrictions on the Muses.

With the help of some of the muses, "Kira" and Sonny fix up the old theater ("All Over the World"), and Danny agrees to go ahead with the opening. Clio realizes that she is falling in love with Sonny and tells him that she must leave ("Don't Walk Away"). But the evil sisters are not finished. Now they offer Danny piles of money if he will tear down the theater and build condos. Danny can't resist and tells Sonny that the deal is off.

"Kira" comes back to tell Sonny that she loves him, but the evil sisters tell her that she has broken Zeus's rules, and that she must tell Sonny the truth. So "Kira" reveals all to Sonny, including that her name is Clio, but he does not believe her and is upset. He suggests that she is a crackpot. He also doubts that she really loves him, and she is angry and hurt ("Fool"). The evil sisters have triumphed ("The Fall"), and Kira sets off for Mount Olympus to receive her punishment from Zeus ("Suspended in Time").

Meanwhile, Sonny and Danny discuss "Kira" and after seeing her in the sky - it all makes sense. Danny tells Sonny not to let go of his muse because of foolish pride as he once did back in the 1940s. Sonny, realizing that he really loves "Kira," decides to find her - even if it means climbing Mount Olympus.

Back on Mount Olympus, Zeus's wives ask him to take pity on Clio ("Have You Never Been Mellow"). One of Zeus's wives, Thetis, retells the story of Achilles and his vulnerable heel – all the demi-gods and demi-goddesses are so afflicted. This gives Clio an epiphany: She, too is invulnerable, except for her heels, but when the evil sisters had her shot with the arrows of love, she had been wearing the "mighty legwarmers," and so she must have been completely invulnerable. This means that she really did love Sonny!

Sonny reunites with "Kira" and they tell Zeus of their love for each other. Sonny brashly declares that he would even fight Zeus for the woman he loves. Zeus, impressed with his pluck, decides to pardon Clio. The evil sisters are displeased, but the lovers are reunited, and Zeus reveals what Xanadu is: "True love and the ability to create and share art." Clio and Sonny go back to L.A. and Xanadu ("Xanadu").

[edit] Musical numbers

"I'm Alive" – Kira and the Muses
"Magic" – Kira
"Evil Woman"– Melpomene, Calliope and the Sirens
"Suddenly" – Kira and Sonny
"Whenever You're Away From Me" – Danny and Kira
"Dancin’" – Danny, Sonny and the Muses
"Strange Magic" – Melpomene, Calliope and Kira
"All Over the World" – Sonny, Danny and the Muses
"Don't Walk Away" – Sonny and the Muses
"Fool" – Kira and the Muses
"The Fall" – Sonny and the Muses
"Suspended in Time" – Kira and Sonny
"Have You Never Been Mellow" – Kira and the Greek gods
"Xanadu" – Kira, Sonny, Danny and the Muses

[edit] Roles and original Broadway cast

Clio / Kira – Kerry Butler
Sonny Malone – Cheyenne Jackson
Danny Maguire, Zeus – Tony Roberts
Calliope, Aphrodite – Jackie Hoffman
Melpomene, Medusa – Mary Testa
Thalia, Siren, Young Danny, '80s Singer, Cyclops – Curtis Holbrook
Euterpe, Siren, '40s Singer, Thetis – Anika Larsen
Erato, Siren, '40s Singer, Eros, Hera – Kenita R. Miller
Terpsichore, Siren, '80s Singer, Hermes, Centaur – Andre Ward

[edit] Critical reception

Xanadu's opening night reviews from the New York critics were mostly positive. The musical broke the Helen Hayes one-day box office record the day after the reviews came out.^[10]

Charles Isherwood, in The New York Times, wrote that the show is "simultaneously indefensible and irresistible... there’s so much silly bliss to be had... there is enough first-rate stage talent rolling around in Xanadu to power a season of wholly new, old-school, non-jukebox musicals, if someone would get around to writing a few good ones... the show’s winking attitude toward its own aesthetic abjectness can be summed up thus: If you can’t beat ’em, slap on some roller skates and join ’em." Although Isherwood praised most of the cast, he noted that the musical "does have a few dead spots in its brisk 90-minute running time.... Mr. Beane’s inspiration seems to have failed him when it came to minting fresh fun from the subplot involving flashbacks to Danny’s 1940s romance. The stage "Xanadu" can’t really muster much in the way of an extravaganza, either.... The production is skimpy on both the casting and design fronts."^[11]

Hilton Als' review in The New Yorker called Xanadu "probably the most fun you’ll have on Broadway this season, one reason being that everything about it is so resolutely anti-Broadway. In its wildness and ecstasy, Xanadu is a welcome relief from the synthetic creations that some Broadway producers have been peddling for years. Here you can’t count the disco balls fast enough—not to mention the roller skates, the frosted-pink lips, and the glittering spandex that the director, Christopher Ashley, hurls at you like a PCP flashback. Xanadu is far sleazier and cheesier than conventional musical theatre, and it points out just how tame most other musicals are."^[12]

[edit] Original cast recording

PS Classics recorded the original cast recording of the musical on October 29, 2007 and released it to stores on January 8, 2008. The recording is also available from the PSClassics.com website, the XanaduonBroadway.com website, iTunes or at the Helen Hayes Theatre lobby.^[13]

[edit] Cubby Bernstein promotion

On May 10, 2008 a video introducing "Tony Campaign Manager Cubby Bernstein" was released on YouTube. The video features past Tony Award winners like Duncan Sheik, Julie White, Beth Leavel, John Cullum, Martin Richards and Carole Shelley introducing Cubby Bersntein, "the best kept secret on Broadway", and his assistant Dyllun Von Ritter. Pre-pubescent Cubby claims to have been behind 63 Tony wins for musicals, including Sweeney Todd and La Cage aux Folles, and has now decided to "go viral".^[14] After the introductory video, additional videos were released every few days. On the second episode of the series, the producers of Xanadu ask Cubby if he would campaign for their show, but Cubby refuses, saying that it is a show for "the gay boys". However, the producers convince Cubby to go and see the show, which "bowls him over".^[15] He then says that Xanadu can win the Tony, creating the campaign's slogan "Yes It Can!" Subsequent episodes feature more Tony Award winners like Adriane Lenox, John Lloyd Young and John Gallagher Jr., and follow Cubby while he shows the cast of Xanadu the "Cubby steps to the Tony". Cubby makes them sell "Cub-Cakes" to benefit the charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS during the one-year anniversary of Xanadu on Broadway,^[16] teaches them "the art of the shmooze" and helps them build up their confidence. The sixth and most popular video to date is the only one in which Cubby doesn't appear. It features Tony winner Nathan Lane and most of the Xanadu male cast.

Xanadu producers have yet to acknowledge that Cubby Bernstein is a publicity stunt, although when Douglas Carter Beane was asked about Cubby on May 15 (before Cubby "officially" endorsed Xanadu), he said that he believed this year"[Cubby] is going to go with Xanadu".^[17] Cubby Bernstein has been identified by Variety as child actor Adam Riegler, who appeared in the 2007 revival of I and Albert and will appear in the upcoming Shrek: The Musical.^[18]^[19]^[20]