Chanhassen Dinner Theatres to Present XANADU, Opening 6/8

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres today announced its exclusive arrangement to produce the Midwest Premiere of XANADU on the Main Stage. XANADU was named “Outstanding New Musical” for the 2008 Broadway season by the Outer Critics Circle. Chanhassen’s XANADU will open to one week of preview performances from June 1 - 7, with an official Press Opening Night on Friday, June 8.

This will be a very limited engagement by Chanhassen standards, the show will only run from June through September. Artistic Director and President of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Michael Brindisi stated, “XANADU is a great representation of the newer Broadway works we want to produce. It’s fresh, new and at two-hours long, it packs a great entertainment punch. This will be the summertime theatre event not to be missed.”

Based on the 1980 cult film classic by the same title featuring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, XANADU the musical lovingly pokes fun at the film and the audience joyously comes along for the ride. Written by one of Broadway’s master storytellers, Douglas Carter Beane, the hilarious roller-skating, disco-dancing adventure weaves an electrifying tale of endless fun for audiences of all ages. Beane wrote the book of XANADU adding new plot twists and humor to parody the original film. He also won the Drama Desk Award for “Best Original Book of a Musical” for XANADU and received a Tony nomination for the same. His other Broadway projects include Sister Act, Lysistrata Jones and As Bees in Honey Drown. Beane is also the artistic director of the Drama Department Theater Company in New York.

XANADU will appeal to anyone who has ever wanted to feel inspired. Creators took the basic plot of the movie and embraced the Greek mythology theme whole-heartedly, which gives the show a whimsical, timeless quality. The story begins as Kira, a beautiful, magical Greek muse, is sent on a quest to Earth from the heavens of Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, California to inspire a young artist to achieve his greatest dream – to build the first roller disco. (Hey! It’s 1980!) But when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation and chaos abounds.

For tickets or more information, visit www.ChanhassenDT.com.