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Xanadu Will Tour; London a Possibility
By Andrew Gans
10 Aug 2007
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Kerry Butler and Cheyenne Jackson in Xanadu.
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| photo by Peter Lueders/Paul Kolnik Studio | Xanadu, the surprise critical hit of the summer, will soon spread out to the entire country.
A spokesperson for the musical at the Helen Hayes Theatre told Playbill.com that a national tour is currently being planned to begin in summer 2008. A London production may also be a reality; although no deal has been made, producers will soon cross the Atlantic to discuss the possibility of a West End production of the musical, which is based on the film of the same name.
In related news, another Xanadu cast member has been injured. Marty Thomas, who performs an impressive quick skate across the stage toward the end of the intermissionless show, is currently out of the new musical with a strained ankle. Ryan Watkinson is currently the Featured Skater until Thomas returns.
Xanadu co-stars Kerry Butler as Kira and Cheyenne Jackson as Sonny with Tony Roberts as Danny Maguire/Zeus, Curtis Holbrook as Thalia, Anika Larsen as Euterpe, Kenita Miller as Erato, Mary Testa as Melpomene/Medusa, Jackie Hoffman as Calliope/Aphrodite, André Ward as Terpsicore and Marty Thomas as a Featured Skater.
Directed by Christopher Ashley, Xanadu features choreography by Dan Knechtges and musical direction and arrangements by Eric Stern. The design team includes David Gallo (scenic design), Howell Binkley (lighting design), David Zinn (costume design), T. Richard Fitzgerald and Carl Casella (sound design), Zachary Borovay (projections design) and Charles LePoint (wig and hair design). John Miller is music coordinator.
Xanadu boasts a book by Little Dog Laughed playwright Douglas Carter Beane — a 2007 Tony Award nominee — and utilizes songs from John Farrar and Jeff Lynne's film soundtrack. The musical, according to press notes, "tells the story of one of the nine muses of ancient Greece who comes to earth to inspire the greatest of artistic achievements – a roller disco. Along the way she falls in love, bumps into an old acquaintance and for the first time, feels the desire to create herself."
The Helen Hayes Theatre is located in Manhattan at 240 West 44th Street.
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The Xanadu ensemble.
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| photo by Paul Kolnik |
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