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The guilty pleasures of 'Xanadu'

By Matt Windman | amNewYork Theater Critic

4:21 PM EDT, July 10, 2007

How does one even begin to describe "Xanadu"? Is it a musical, a movie parody or merely a roller disco? One character calls it "children¹s theater for forty-year old gay people." In other words, it is a trippy, kitschy, totally guilty pleasure.

The show¹s ad campaign slogan, "Xanadu on Broadway," reminds us how unbelievable it is. After all, this is a stage show of "Xanadu," the notoriously trashed, magnificently bad 1980 cult film fantasy. Its nonsensical plot concerns a hot, roller-skating goddess, originally played by Olivia Newton-John, who jumps out of a neon street mural to befriend a hot, frustrated painter in Venice, CA of 1980. Some say it killed the movie musical genre for a while.

But even if you hated the film, fear not. Douglas Carter Beane¹s new script brims with broad comedy and constant mythology, replacing the film¹s stale dialogue and unmotivated plot. And in place of the film¹s awkward special effects, the show is surprisingly intimate, performed at Broadway¹s smallest theater with only roller ramps and disco balls for scenery. But luckily, all the Electric Light Orchestra songs from the film are still intact, including hits like "I¹m Alive," "Suddenly," "All Over the World" and "Magic." Gliding on roller skates, speaking with a fake Australian accent, Kerry Butler is hilarious and dynamic as Kira. Cheyenne Jackson, who plays Sonny, is a temporary replacement for James Carpinello, one of two cast-members injured in rehearsal. As the role demands, Jackson excels at playing a blissfully ignorant idiot. The small cast is rounded out by a band of background dancers, a five-piece rock band and veteran comedians like Tony Roberts, Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman.

At a jam-packed 90-minutes, "Xanadu" provides the giddiest dose of silliness to be found on Broadway this summer. Like watching "The Rocky Horror," "Xanadu" is proudly theatrical, flamboyant and tongue-in-cheek. Half of the audience may look on in confusion, but it¹s sure to bring the rest into endless bursts of happy hysteria.

Theatergoers will probably gaze at its marquee and wonder why in the world anyone would do a stage version of "Xanadu." It¹s as if its creators smiled back and answered "Why not?" What may been a total trainwreck is instead a perfectly fun, charmingly retro evening of theater.

Xanadu Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 West 44th St, 212-239-6200, $51.25-111.25. Tues 8pm, Wed 2 & 8pm, Thurs-Fri 8pm, Sat 2 & 8pm, Sun 3pm. Open Run.