Xanadu Workshop Scheduled for January 2007
By Andrew Gans
20 Nov 2006
A workshop of the new musical Xanadu — based on the 1980 film of the same name — will be held in January 2007.
Rehearsals, according to a casting notice, will begin Jan. 2, and four by-invitation-only performances will be presented Jan. 20, 21, 26 and 27. Christopher Ashley directs with musical direction by Eric Stern.
Xanadu features a book by Douglas Carter Beane. Readings of the musical, which utilizes songs from the movie's soundtrack, were held April 21, 2006, and Aug. 3, 2006, in Manhattan. Beane, who is currently represented on Broadway with The Little Dog Laughed, previously told Playbill.com that Rob Ahrens plans to produce a commercial production of Xanadu Off-Broadway this spring.
Xanadu, the casting notice states, centers on "Kira, a Greek muse sent to Earth to inspire mortals and artists in Venice, CA, in the 1980's. While on earth, Kira falls in love with an artist when helping him realize his dreams."
The August 2006 reading of Xanadu featured Jane Krakowski as Kira, the role created on screen by Olivia Newton-John; Ben Vereen as Danny, the role originally played by Gene Kelly; Cheyenne Jackson as Sonny; Mary Testa as Melephone; Annie Golden as Calliope; Asa Somers as Thalia; Leslie Kritzer as Terpsicore; Darius de Haas as Euterpe; and Angela Ai as Erato.
The 1980 film "Xanadu" was written by Richard Christian Danus and Marc Reid Rubel and was directed by Robert Greenwald. Described as "a fantasy, a musical, a place where dreams come true," the film starred Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan, Dimitra Arliss, Katie Hanley, Fred McCarren and Ren Woods. Jeff Lynne and John Farrar composed the film's score.
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