One "Xanadu" line best sums up the play's stereotypical 80s disco beat: "It's like children's theatre for 40-year-old gay men." You don't, however, have to be gay or male to get down with this fantastical production featuring caricature-like, mythological performers who sing, dance and skate their way through this 90-minute intermissionless play.
Douglas Carter Beane’s clever script both pays tribute to and unabashedly satirizes the near-forgettable Olivia Newton-John film of the same name, while taking jabs at both modern culture and the current theatrical trend in juke box musicals. The result is a hilarious, energetic and nostalgic trip back to the days of roller disco, mirror balls, glittering spandex, leg warmers and a synthesizer-heavy ELO score.
Director Christopher Ashley faithfully recreates his hit Broadway production for this staging, rumored to be the first stop in the National Tour. Beane and Ashley streamlined the movie’s lackadaisical plot about a Greek muse who helps a down-on-his-luck artist follow his passion, driving the story quickly toward those familiar musical numbers which that we’re waiting to hear. Hits like the title song, "I’m Alive," "Evil Woman" and "All Over the World" grab the audience with their pulsating beat, belted vocals and sharp harmonies enhanced by blazing concert lighting, metallic confetti and stylized choreography that combines 80’s disco with ancient Greek choral moves. And, to make the experience even more personal, audiences can even choose onstage seating and actually become a part of the show.
The brilliant cast is led by Broadway powerhouse Elizabeth Stanley as the Greek muse Clio/Kira. She is both ethereal and earthy, whether broadly imitating Australian-born Newton-John, trying to resist love or simply observing this silly story unfolding around her. Handsome Max von Essen easily matches Stanley vocally, playing artist Sonny Malone as an Owen Wilson-surfer dude, all denim short shorts and toothy grinned, puppy dog innocence. Together they’re pure "Magic" offering a ridiculously brilliant, almost childlike entertainment that’ll have you leaving the theatre asking yourself, "Have You Never Been Mellow?"
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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