Stage Review - Xanadu (Tacoma Musical Playhouse)
Stage Review - Xanadu
Presented By: Tacoma Musical Playhouse - Tacoma, WA
Show Run: February 07 - March 02, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, February 07, 2025 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 hours (including a 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Those of us of a certain age will remember the film Xanadu, the one starring Olivia Newton-John and the late in his career Gene Kelly, a tale of a muse who comes down from Olympus to help a struggling artist who has lost his confidence, and ends up falling for him, beginning a relationship that is forbidden by the gods, but ends up in the creation of the Xanadu club after they meet an old big band clarinet player. This was shortly after Olivia Newton-John crossed over out of country music and into pop, and the film was used as a vehicle to get her more entrenched into that new genre, but perhaps the most memorable thing about the film, which is why I only summarized the plot the way I did, is the music. Featuring music from Jeff Lynne and ELO, the soundtrack performed much better than the film did, though the movie has, over time, become a bit of a cult classic. Perhaps as a result of that, Douglas Carter Beane, who was determined to adapt the film into a stage musical, which surprised many, played to its strengths, the music. Featuring new arrangements of the hits from the film, along with the John Farrar written “Have You Never Been Mellow” from Olivia Newton-John’s country catalog, Beane went the parody route, making fun of the film, which some say inspired the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards, while also taking some inspiration from the more successful Clash of the Titans, adding more flesh to the Greek Mythology backstory of Clio/Kira (the Newton-John character) and her sister muses. The musical has been much more successful, as are many such shows that don’t take themselves seriously, and the comedy with a fantastic soundtrack is a combination that has found its way on to the Tacoma Musical Playhouse stage, in a production that is directed by Jon Douglas Rake and runs through March 2.
The musical does deviate a bit from the film, other than in its comedic aspects. In it, the muse Clio has identified Sonny Malone as an artist in need of inspiration. Her plan is to come down to earth, help him find his inspiration, and return to Olympus, simple enough. To do this, since it’s 1980 and she’s trying to fit in, she appears to Sonny as a girl in leg warmers and roller skates with an Australian accent, albeit an over the top Australian accent, named Kira. As Kira and Sonny become closer, two of her sisters become jealous and begin to devise a plan to make them fall in love, one of the cardinal rules that a muse is not allowed to break along with actually creating art themselves. As their relationship grows, Sonny discovers an abandoned theatre, where he and Kira decide to build a roller disco, she is his muse after all, inspiring him to bigger and better things. The current owner of the building thinks Kira looks familiar, like he’s seen her before, and therefore is willing to go into a partnership with Sonny, assuming he can get the theatre fixed up in less than a day. What transpires from there is a musical story of romance, deception, heartbreak, reconciliation, and sacrifice, a story that is not altogether plot heavy, but musically scrumptious.
The Tacoma Musical Playhouse version of the musical Xanadu features Emma DeLoye as Kira (Clio) and Jesse Geray as Sonny. I do like this pair together. Emma switches between Clio and no accent to Kira with accent pretty seamlessly, and she’s mastered the over exaggerated Aussie dialect. Emma gets the humor of the role and delivers it very well. The other component of her persona is the roller skating side, and my first inclination was that I wished she was a little better at it, but honestly, if she’s a muse coming from Olympus, never having skated before, the few struggles she had with her skating on opening night add to her depth of her character, and she does spend a lot of time in skates. Vocally, I enjoyed her versions of some of the classic songs from the movie and musical, especially “Magic”. During opening night, there was a lot of audience “noise”, which prevented me from hearing some of her pieces of “Have You Never Been Mellow”, which is a shame because from the parts I could hear, her part was nicely performed, though overall it is a nice ensemble piece. Emma has a really pleasant singing voice, and by herself is very good, but with Jesse they make a good duo. I’ve enjoyed watching Jesse’s growth as an actor over the past few years, and in his first real chance to lead a show, he makes the most of it, his work as Sonny is extremely enjoyable, he’s funny, and he understands that the primary goal of this musical is to exude how fun it is, which isn’t to say he doesn’t take it seriously. Vocally, I’m continually impressed by Jesse’s singing, though he’s much stronger on the lower parts of his range than in the upper echelon. With Emma, their duets are very good, “Suddenly” is splended, the full package, vocally beautiful, and performance-wise extremely funny. My first reaction when I saw Jesse on stage, though if I’m being honest, was “what is he wearing?”, looking at his short-shorts, sleeveless too-tight shirt, and headband, and then I remember that this is 1980, and that’s how we dressed. So, while Jon, as costume designer and Julles M as costume coordinator, present an accurate 1980s look, I did have to shake my head a bit at the wardrobe, but at my generation, and not at them as designers.
Costuming also works well for the muses, lacy flowing outfits accessorized to make them look like they’ve just come from Mount Olympus. The muses themselves are also very good, especially sisters Melpomme and Callipe (Kiki Werner and Brittany Henderson). These are the two, jealous of the relationship between Kira and Sonny, who hatch a plan to force their sister to break the rules and have her banished from Olympus. The pair is excellent comedically and in “Evil Woman” they are at the top of their game, mixing in humor with precise harmonies. The two are weaved in and out of the story nicely and are good comic relief. Each of the other muses are good as well, and as an ensemble they have an excellent sound, under the eye of music director John Kelleher, who also directs the solid orchestra for this show. The muses and Greek chorus, Euterpe (Rebecca Maiten), Polyhimnia (Alison Rucker), Erato (Whitney Shafer), Urania (Erika LeBlanc), Hypate (Haunz Stroschein), Thalia (Kyle Laird), Mneme (Josh Wingerter), and Terpsichory (Braeden Linkenback) make for a solid ensemble, not just singing, and dancing, but heck, it appears they can all roller skate!!
Rounding out the cast, as real estate mogul and former big band clarinetist Danny Maguire, is Alex Koerger. As the hard nosed businessman, Alex is very good, his acting the strong point of his performance, and though his vocal range and tonal precision may not be up to,, say Jesse or Emma, his character is part of one of the musical highlights of the show. Whereas “Suddenly” is the best of the duets, “Dancin’” holds that monicker for the ensemble numbers. In a scene that finds Sonny and Danny discussing their vision for the vacant theatre, conincidentally named Xanadu, Danny pictures the crowds from his youth, dancing to the stylings of groups like The Andrews Sisters while Sonny envisions a more rocking and rollicking scene, with music from 80s band The Tubes. This number combines both styles, integrates them and interweaves them in a way that shows off the cast’s vocal versatility as well as Christina Naficy’s multifaceted choreography design. There’s a lot of movement on stage during this number, but it never feels chaotic, and it’s the best use of the largely open stage area that is presented in the scenic design.
The scenic design itself, the set specifically from Jon and Dennis Kurtz, does resemble a dance hall, it’s largely open, save for pillars and archways toward the back of the stage and some curiously placed seat boxes to either side of the center of the stage, each with four seats a piece. Curious because I’m still not sure of the intent of these, other than to provide a bit of humor in one scene toward the beginning of the show. The purpose of those boxes left me with more questions than answers. First off, there did not seen to be any rhyme or reason to the people seated in them, and it was clear that was no previous knowledge of the eight folks seated there, there was no continuity in dress between them and the style of the show, so there was some incongruence there. Secondly, during the show, especially as actors interacted with the folks in those seats, there were different levels of awkwardness among those in the boxes, some readily participated, others weren’t sure how to act. Finally, following intermission, only three returned, one in the box to stage right, and two (maybe three) in the other. All and all, it is awkward and distracting, and when they’re full for one half of the show and empty for the second, it seems as though I may not be the only one with this opinion. Otherwise, though, it’s a fine design, beyond the pieces I’ve mentioned before, with a lighting design by John Chenault and sound design from Amy Silveria.
Xanadu is a musical that understands its intent, and leans into it, that being to exist as self-deprecating and fun, to laugh at itself, and bring the audience into its humor while presenting it all with a soundtrack that is reminiscent of the film on which it was based, as critically panned as it was. Aside from an awkward bit of stagecraft, the TMP production of Xanadu, directed by Jon Douglas Rake and featuring Emma DeLoye and Jesse Geray, is just about everything you’d hope for out of a show that puts entertainment value above all. Don’t expect Xanadu to change the world, but you can bank on the two hours spent at the theatre taking it in to be a lively and amusing time.
Xanadu runs on stage at Tacoma Musical Playhouse through March 02. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.tmp.org/.
Photo credit: Kat Dollarhide
