XANADU National Tour Begins at OCPAC 12/15 - 12/27

COSTA MESA, CA—The national tour of the musical adventure XANADU opens at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on December 15 and runs through December 27. This engagement is the only Southern California appearance scheduled on the national tour. XANADU, described as "Heaven on Wheels" by The New York Times, is based on Universal Pictures' cult classic movie of the same title, which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. XANADU was nominated for the 2008 Tony® Award for Best Musical and is being presented by producers Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Mickey Liddell, Tara Smith/B. Swibel in association with Latitude Link.

This hilarious roller skating musical adventure set in the year 1980 follows the journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse, Kira, who descends from the heavens and lands in Venice, California to inspire the first roller disco! Along the way she falls in forbidden love with a mortal, Sonny, and chaos ensues when her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation.

"I laughed the entire time! It's great fun for the whole family!" exclaimed Olivia Newton-John. XANADU is 90 minutes of family fun and inspiration to follow your dreams despite the limitations.

Douglas Carter Beane has written the book for XANADU based on the film of the same name and was the winner of the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. The original Broadway production earned Tony nods for star Kerry Butler, choreographer Dan Knechtges, and Beane for the book. The score, by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, includes the hits, "Magic," "Xanadu," "Party All Over the World" and "I'm Alive"—all top 20 Billboard hits. Lynne wrote and produced all of the music of Electric Light Orchestra (E.L.O). Farrar was also responsible for most of the hits that were performed by Olivia Newton-John in the 1970s.

Besides Butler, the original Broadway cast included Cheyenne Jackson, Tony Roberts, Mary Testa, Marty Thomas, and Jackie Hoffman. The Broadway production closed on September 28, 2008 after 49 previews and 512 performances.

XANADU is directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Dan Knechtges. XANADU features scenic design by Tony Award winner David Gallo, costume design by David Zinn,
lighting design by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley, sound design by Dan Moses Schreier, projections design by Zachary Borovay, wig and hair design by Charles LePoint and musical direction by Eric Stern.

Photo: ElizaBeth Stanley and company in XANADU by Carol Rosegg

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Tickets to XANADU start at $20 and go on sale Sunday, October 25. To get patrons in the XANADU mood, people purchasing tickets at the Center’s Box Office on October 25 will receive a free CD of the original Broadway cast recording, while supplies last (one CD per order). The Box Office is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa and opens at 10 a.m. Tickets will also be available online at OCPAC.org or by calling 714.556.2787.

For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at 714.755.0236. The TTY number is 714.556.2746. The 2 p.m. performance on Saturday, December 26 will be sign language interpreted.

Cox Communications is the Media Partner of the Center’s 2009-2010 Broadway Series.

For more information, visit www.ocpac.org. For more information on the national tour, please visit  xanaduontour.com.