GIVE A SHOUT TO WORD UP! wordup@papermag.com
Entries tagged with 'Xanadu'
Posted Jun. 12, 2008,
MM Hard-Ons... Ummm Hearts Cheyenne Jackson!
By Mickey Boardman
MM knows everyone excited for the Tony Awards this Sunday and MM will naturally be parked in front of the TV with his Theater Queen friends from Movie Club. Sadly the hottest man on B'way isn't nominated: Cheyenne Jackson from Xanadu!! Take a peek at this photo and then tell MM that Cheyenne is a churnin hunk of burnin funk! Luckily his costar Kerry Butler is nominated as is the show. MM loves Broadway!!!
Posted Jan. 2, 2008,
May The Muses of Xanadu Visit You in '08!
By Ann Magnuson
Gotta love those long-limbed dancers! (Leg warmers notwithstanding.) I remember seeing this movie when it played at the legendary St. Mark's Cinema ( closed to make way for, you guessed it, The Gap.) It was a midnight show and packed. We laughed our ironic butts off -- just like folks are supposedly doing at the camp revival on Broadway now. Irony aside, there is something very life-affirming about this clip. Good for beginning the New Year! May you all be inspired by your favorite muse all during 2008! (I just hope my muse can dance better than Olivia Newton-John, fetching though she may be... especially on those roller skates.)
Posted Jul. 11, 2007,
Curtain Cutie: Curtis Holbrook
By Whitney Spaner
Xanadu, the musical based on the infamous 1980 movie of the same name starring Olivia Newton-John opened last night at the Helen Hayes Theater to enthusiastic reviews. The movie was a campy nightmare for critics and most movie goers, and put a halt to the movie/musical genre for about two decades. But Xanadu’s saving grace was several chart topping tunes including it’s title song "Xanadu," making it a prime choice for a jukebox musical.
After the screenplay, about an Australian-accented, rollerskating muse who visits an uninspired artist and convinces him to build a roller disco called Xanadu, got a very funny facelift by Little Dog Laughed playwright Douglas Carter Beane, the stage show was ready to roll (quite literally -- all the actors are on skates). Xanadu stars Cheyenne Jackson (Chad in All Shook Up) who bravely filled original star James Carpinello’s skates after he broke his foot during previews, and Kerry Butler in the Olivia Newton-John role, along with Broadway vets Tony Roberts, Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman.
Posted May. 11, 2007,
Coming Soon: Xanadu on Broadway!
By Whitney Spaner
“A place where nobody dared to go/The love that we came to know/They call it Xanadu.” Remember this 1980 Olivia Newton John/ELO hit? Want to hear it again? How about for the low, low price of $111.25? Yes, that’s right kids, Xanadu the musical is coming to Broadway. The first musical of the 2007/2008 Broadway season, will begin previews at the Helen Hayes on May 23rd and open June 26th.
I went to see a press preview of the show on Wednesday afternoon and I wasn’t expecting much. The movie, although it starred Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly, was a flop. The premise is ridiculous -- about an artist who is visited by a mysterious muse in the form of a hot girl on rollerskates with an Australian accent that convinces him to build a roller disco called Xanadu. I mean, what? But it might work on Broadway because as the hilarious book writer Douglas Carter Beane pointed out -- who apparently turned down the project three or four times before becoming convinced to sign on --the album was a huge hit in the 80s and produced about five chart toppers, including songs like “Xanadu” and “I’m Alive."