Chinese Pinyin - One-note "Xanadu" strikes campy pose

ENTERTAINMENT / Theater & Arts






One-note "Xanadu" strikes campy pose

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-12 08:40


NEW YORK - "The theater? They'll just take some stinkeroo movie ... throw
it on a stage, and call it a show."

I wish I could take credit for that astute bit of analysis when it comes
to "Xanadu," the new Broadway musical adaptation of the cult favorite
1980 stinkeroo film, but it comes directly from the show itself. Its
author, Tony-nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane ("The Little Dog
Laughed"), clearly wants to head off at the pass the inevitable
criticism. No doubt that's why a character also declares at one point:
"This is like children's theater for 40-year-old gay people!"

Unfortunately, such self-consciousness is not likely to increase your
enjoyment of this slipshod enterprise, which belongs more in a fringe
festival than on Broadway. Despite running a mere 90 minutes, it quickly
proves wearisome in its one-note camp attitude.

You might recall the plot of the film, if post-traumatic stress hasn't
erased it. It has to do with the efforts of a beautiful muse from ancient
Greece (Kerry Butler, in the role of Kira, originally played by Olivia
Newton-John) to inspire Sonny (Cheyenne Jackson), a down-on-his-luck
artist. Her appearance prompts him to try to restore an old, abandoned
theater named Xanadu and convert it to a roller disco.

Fortunately for Sonny, the building's greedy businessman owner (Tony
Roberts) has a weak spot: He had an encounter with the same gorgeous muse
many years earlier.

The show, like the original film, features a musical score by Jeff Lynne
(Electric Light Orchestra) and John Farrar, with the amusing addition of
Newton-John hits like "Have You Never Been Mellow?"

Although the satirical book has its flashes of wit, it doesn't manage to
transform the horrific source material into anything theatrically viable,
at least not in a way that hasn't already been done countless times
before. (At one point, there's an insulting reference to Andrew Lloyd
Webber, but musicals in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.)

The music, featuring such familiar numbers as "Evil Woman," "Party All
Over the World," "I'm Alive" and the title song, certainly demonstrates
Lynne's trademark pop tunefulness. Unfortunately, it isn't well served
here by the tinny arrangements and lackluster vocals.

Butler, wearing the character's trademark leg warmers, is certainly perky
enough, even if she never seems quite comfortable on her roller skates.
Jackson, a last-minute replacement for original star James Carpinello (he
had a skating malfunction), well displays his hunky attributes in tight
shorts and tank tops. Veteran performer Roberts handles his rather
humiliating chores with the grace and good humor of a true professional,
and Jackie Hoffman and Mary Testa deliver some hilarious moments as
Kira's fellow muses.

But for all their efforts and those of director Christopher Ashley, who
has staged the proceedings with a suitably hokey silliness, "Xanadu"
should have stayed in the DVD bargain bin.

Cast:

Clio/Kira: Kerry Butler

Sonny: Cheyenne Jackson

Danny/Zeus: Tony Roberts

Calliope/Aphrodite: Jackie Hoffman

Melpomene/Medusa: Mary Testa

Thalia/others: Curtis Holbrook

Euterpe/others: Anika Larsen

Erato/others: Kenita Miller

Terpsichore/others: Andre Ward

Book: Douglas Carter Beane; Music-lyrics: Jeff Lynne, John Farrar;
Director: Christopher Ashley; Choreographer: Dan Knechtges; Set designer:
David Gallo; Lighting designer: Howell Binkley; Costume designer: David
Zinn; Sound designers: T. Richard Fitzgerald, Carl Casella.























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