Xanadu
Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Music and Lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar
Directed by Justin Been
Choreographed by Mike Hodges
Stray Dog Theatre
April 3, 2024
Shannon Lampkin Campbell, Phil Leveling
Photo by John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre
Where were you in 1980? I know a fair amount of my readers probably weren’t even born yet, but I was around. I was a kid, and like many other kids in the neighborhood, I liked to roller skate. The skates, and the iconic soundtrack featuring ELO and Olivia Newton-John, are what I remember most about the notorious cinematic flop-turned-cult-classic Xanadu, which was later turned into a surprisingly successful Broadway musical with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, and a production team that recognized the cheesy appeal of the original and decided to lean into it. At Stray Dog Theatre, an enthusiastic cast directed by Justin Been positively revels in the nostalgic silliness, with a result that’s marvelously entertaining.
The show’s charm is that it doesn’t parody the original source as much recognizing its cult appeal and ramping up the cheesy, campy, nostalgic aspects of it, making for an infectiously hilarious story that celebrates its own silliness while also highlighting the film’s famous soundtrack. It also adds in other hits by ELO’s Jeff Lynne and by Australian composer-producer John Farrar, who wrote many of Olivia Newton-John’s biggest hits. So, in this story of a self-doubting Venice Beach artist, Sonny (Phil Leveling) who meets a literal Greek Muse, Clio/Kira (Shannon Lampkin Campbell) and aims to turn an old theatre into an arts venue and roller disco, we get to hear the film’s hit songs like “All Over the World”, “Magic”, and “Xanadu”, along with ELO classics like “Evil Woman” and “Strange Magic” and Newton-John hits like “Have You Never Been Mellow”. The clever book also features some fun pop-culture jokes and a good deal of meta-humor along with the film’s tale of love, Greek Mythology in the “modern” (1980s) world, music and roller skating.
The show also features a funny villainous subplot involving scheming Muses Melpomene (Chelsie Johnston) and Calliope (Sarah Gene Dowling) who are out to put a curse on Kira/Clio and providing for some hilariously memorable moments. Also, the older, jaded real estate tycoon Danny Maguire (Scott Degitz-Fries)–who owns the dilapidated theatre and was played by Gene Kelly in the film–is on hand, as he’s sure he’s seen Kira before, many years ago, and seeing her now reawakens memories and feelings of the more idealistic goals he once had. The story of music, magic, and mythology highlights the roller skating in inventive ways as well as featuring some comically marvelous production numbers.
The performers are all invested in this cavalcade of colorful, campy nostalgia, led by impressive turns from Campbell as the perky and persistent Kira and Leveling as the self-doubting, not super bright but charmingly idealistic Sonny. Their chemistry is excellent, making the somewhat silly love story work, and Campbell’s vocals have the tone and power to carry the classic Olivia Newton-John songs of the score. There are also fun performances from Johnston and Dowling as gleefully villainous Muses, along with Degitz-Fries in a dual role as Danny and Greek god Zeus. Degitz-Fries, as the skating consultant, is also especially great on wheels, featuring in some impressive skate-tapping along with Campbell as Drew Mizell as a younger version of Danny in one memorable number. The whole ensemble is excellent and full of energy–including cast members Mateo Bleuemel, Lindsey Grojean, Madison Mesiti, Katie Orr, and Lauren Tenenbaum–playing various roles from Muses to musicians to mythological creatures and members of the ancient Greek pantheon, and everyone is reveling in the good-natured goofiness that brings a lot of heart and humor to some of the most wonderfully wacky production numbers I’ve seen from this company, with memorable choreography by Mike Hodges.
The technical aspects of this show add to the fun, with a somewhat minimal set by director Been that provides a versatile and colorful backdrop for the story. There are also suitably nostalgic and inventive costumes by Colleen Michelson and impressive hair and makeup by Dowling. The well-designed and visually striking lighting by Tyler Duenow also adds to the overall tone of the show, as does the great-sounding band led by music director Leah Schultz, adding an upbeat groove to the pop-disco score.
Overall, Xanadu at Stray Dog Theatre is a whole lot of fun. I can’t imagine a better way to adapt the original film, which does have a cult following but was widely panned and is very much tied to its time. Highlighting the nostalgia, humor, and heartfelt silliness is certainly the right way to go here, and SDT has done a great job of bringing all that colorful goofiness to the stage. I found myself unable to stop smiling in some of the more over-the-top moments. I would call this a “feel-good” show in the best sense of that term.
Cast of Xanadu
Photo by John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre
Stray Dog Theatre is presenting Xanadu at the Tower Grove Abbey until April 27, 2024
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