Xanadu: You Have to Believe We are Magic
Who: Weber State University Department of Performing Arts
What: Xanadu directed by Jim Christian
When: November 4,5, 8-12 and 15-19, 7:30 p.m. • 2:00 pm matinee: Nov 5, 12, 19
Where: Eccles Theater, Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts
Weber State University Department of Performing Arts presents the musical comedy “Xanadu,” directed by Jim Christian. The production runs November 4, 5, 8-12 and 15-19 at 7:30 pm with Saturday matinees November 5, 12, and 19 at 2 p.m., in the Eccles Theater, Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $11 and $8 for all shows and are available in advance at Dee Events Center Tickets, 1-800-WSU-TIKS, weberstatetickets.com or at the door beginning one hour before the performance.
Xanadu, with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, is based on the 1980 cult classic film of the same name. The 2007 musical ran for over 500 performances on Broadway, earning an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Best Book. It was also nominated for Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book.
Xanadu, a metaphor for opulence in Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan,” becomes a humorous joke when describing the dream of Sonny, a struggling artist in 1980. His greatest creation will be a roller disco. He is inspired and assisted by a Muse from Olympus, Clio, disguised as an Australian skater named Kira. Complications arise when Clio/Kira falls in love with her mortal, inspiring jealous trouble-making by a couple of her sister Muses and breaking the rule set by her father, Zeus, to NOT fall in love with a mortal.
A feature of the production is actual roller skating on stage. Our WSU actors have been on wheels at rehearsals since early in September but have been practicing individually since before auditions. Blocking this production in the Eccles (Black Box) Theatre has been a challenge for Director, Jim Christian, but he and the cast have risen to it, and fallen a few times, too.
Because of limited seating in the Eccles Theatre (112 seats) and the anticipated popularity of this production, it will run for three weeks rather than the “traditional” two. Each weekend will include a matinee. Parents are advised that the word “bitch” is used for comic effect and that there is some mild sexual innuendo.
Van Tinkham, scenic designer, is busy with his crew turning the Eccles Theatre into a disco skating palace. The transformation will be ingenious. Tyler Banks, a WSU Theatre major, is the costume designer. Expect costumes to bring back 80s nostalgia with a touch of Classical Greece.
For more information about this production, contact
Director: Jim Christian, 801 626 6992 or jchristian@weber.edu
Sonny: Sean Bishop, seanedwardbhishop@gmail.com
Clio/Kira: Breanne Welch, brebeewelch@gmail.com
photos available on request
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