BWW Reviews: XANADU at PPAC

 

The 1980 film Xanadu is coyly referenced, tongue-in-cheek, in this musical as "stink-a-roo".  It is, mostly.  Douglas Carter Beane, who wrote the musical (and won a Drama Desk Award for it), shows a keen awareness of schlock.

In Xanadu, Sonny (Max von Essen) is a struggling artist (in the chalk mural genre) in Venice Beach, CA with 20-something ennui.  He is trying to find a reason to go on living as the 1970s become the 1980s.

Clio (ElizaBeth Stanley), a beautiful demi-god muse, hears his lament and journeys from Mount Olympus, disguised a roller skating Aussie named Kira, to inspire him to create something ageless. Together (with a little help from Clio's immortal sisters) they convince a local businessman, Danny Maguire (Larry Marshall) to rent them an abandoned theater which they restore into a roller disco.  All in an afternoon.

Meddling demi-god sisters put a spell on Clio and she commits unpardonable sins, including falling in love with Sonny.   Zeus punishes Clio by taking away her immortality and she is banished to earth to spend the rest of her mortal days with her struggling artist boyfriend; her own personal briar patch.

The changes that Beane incorporated into the musical represent small improvements to the original story. Sonny is now a stoner.  Danny the businessman plays the clarinet and never dons a pair of skates. The demi-god sisters (Kevin Duda, Veronica Kuehn, Chantee' Schuler, Annie Golden and Jesse Nager) are gender-neutral and way-over-the-top, campy.

Most of this 90-minute musical is oh-my-god-awful and it should be.  Everyone is in on the joke and it is embraced; no celebrated. The production does have a few brief moments that outshine the dozens of disco balls on stage.  There are a few numbers in which performer gets stretch vocally or physically. Those moments highlight the strength of individual performers and the catchiness of the original songs, in stark contrast to much of the material they are performing. 

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Xanadu runs at Providence Performing Arts Center through February 21, 2010.  Tickets range from $28 - $58 and can be purchased at the Box Office, located at 220 Weybosset St., Providence, RI, by phone at (401 )421-ARTS or online at www.ppacri.org.

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