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Xanadu…<br />
A place where<br />
nobody dared<br />
to go!<br />
Xanadu at The Drury lane Theatre<br />
By Kimberly Katz<br />
“To love someone else and create art, THAT is<br />
Xanadu.”<br />
What a great line from the play Xanadu. It<br />
truly describes my idea of a heavenly paradise.<br />
I remember when Xanadu the movie<br />
came out, yes, it was cheesy with roller skates<br />
and leg warmers abounding but it had some<br />
wonderful ideas about love and art and being<br />
free to create the art in your heart!<br />
If you don’t recall the storyline, the nine magical<br />
muse-daughters of Zeus come to earth in<br />
1980 to inspire humans to create truly great<br />
works of art and discover the meaning of the<br />
universe’s greatest secret: the Gift of Xanadu.<br />
Zeus’ most important decree is they can’t fall<br />
in love with any mortals. But all that changes<br />
when the young Kira or Clio (Elizabeth<br />
Stanley) meets the handsome artist Sonny<br />
(Max Von Essen), who needs her help in<br />
achieving his greatest dream. It is when Sonny<br />
teaches Kira the true meaning of inspiration,<br />
that the secret of Xanadu is fulfilled.<br />
Elizabeth Stanley has the really tough assignment<br />
of singing as well as songbird Olivia<br />
Newton John while on roller skates and being<br />
tongue in cheek funny as well, and she pulls it<br />
off like a star. Stanley reminds me of the great<br />
voluptuous grand dames of the past. One part<br />
sassy Mae West and one part sweet Shirley<br />
Jones in Oklahoma as she dances and roller<br />
skates backwards poking fun at the thick<br />
Australian accent Olivia unexplainably had in<br />
the film. Sometimes, a touring company are<br />
not quite as good as the original but Elizabeth<br />
Stanley’s performance and sense of humor are<br />
a real standout in this and, from what I’ve seen<br />
Chicago Theatre<br />
Pictured: Elizabeth Stanley and Max von Essen<br />
Xanadu presented by Broadway in Chicago. Jan 16th <strong>2009</strong> at the Drury Lane Theatre Water<br />
Tower Place (175 E Chestnut St. chicago) Photo Credit:Carol Rosegg<br />
on the Xanadu official website, actually outshine<br />
the original and should not be missed.<br />
I loved that the muses in this are played not by<br />
pretty young things but by a variety of characters<br />
of different ages, sizes and race. The<br />
muses played by Sharon Wilkins, Joanna<br />
Glushak, Tallia Brinson, Jason Michael Snow,<br />
JB Wing all have super solid singing voices<br />
and also pull off the comedy with aplomb.<br />
Julius Thomas II as the tap-dancing<br />
Terpsichore, muse of dance, was a stand out<br />
in his dancing and appears in the final number<br />
in a super hilarious chest baring, centaur costume.<br />
The unsung hero of this production is the<br />
music originally composed by the super<br />
group, Electric Light Orchestra. I have to<br />
share some of their lyrics here from the songs<br />
“Xanadu”, “I’m Alive” and “All Over the<br />
World”, because they really are so inspirational<br />
and innocent to be sung in a movie<br />
soundtrack especially for that time in the 80’s,<br />
which was yielding some of the worst, most<br />
sexist and violent films ever in our history of<br />
cinema.<br />
A place where nobody dared to go, the love<br />
that we came to know - They call it Xanadu<br />
And now, open your eyes and see, what we<br />
have made is real - We are in Xanadu<br />
A million lights are dancing and there you are,<br />
a shooting star. An everlasting world and<br />
you’re here with me, eternally<br />
I’m alive - and the world shines for me today<br />
- I’m alive - suddenly I am here today<br />
Suddenly came the dawn (from the night), suddenly<br />
I was born (into light) - How can it be
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