Playwright: Douglas Carter Beane ( book ), Jeff Lynne & John Farrar ( music/lyrics ). At: American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St. Tickets: 773-409-4125; ATCweb.org; $48-$58. Runs through: July 17
Released in 1980, Xanadu was among the worst movies of the 1980sand that's saying a lot. But it had a beat and you could dance to it. Its plot, as film cultists know, was a silly, shallow mash-up of Greek mythology, classical poetry and disco culture in which a Musean immortal daughter of Zeusfalls in love with a mortal in Southern California.
In 2007, a stately Broadway production was decreed, and gay playwright Douglas Carter Beane was allowed to do as he wished in adapting the execrable screenplay. He kept the basic storyline but altered many details and expanded the mythological element. Most of the movie songs were kept and a few new ones were added. Beane made fun of just about every aspect of the story and every cultural reference, creating a campy burlesque of the film and putting all the cast on roller skates. The end result was a silly, shallow Broadway musical that ran for over 500 performances anyway.
So this Chicago premiere of Xanadu, the musical, either is dismissible, irredeemable trash or the perfect fun summertime show with a beat you can dance to. I'm feeling charitable, so I'll go with the latter. As one character remarks, "This is like children's theatre for 40-year-old gay people." Or 60- or 20-year-old gay people, except that 20-year-olds still are children. I probably could end this review here. You already know enough to decide whether or not to see Xanadu, but I'm paid for a certain number of words so I'll soldier on.
The show has only four male characters out of 28. However, the nine-member cast features several men who play women. Likewise, the four-member band is composed of men wearing dresses. So there's a genderfuck element to Xanadu which probably is a conceit of director Lili-Anne Brown. The men are not small but are lithe nonetheless and have a swell time camping it up.
The intentionally derivative music is Xanadu's chief pleasureit's certainly not the storywith that groovy late-70s disco vibe as the chief influence. But it's not only disco. There are musical shout-outs to '40s swing, late-'50s doo-wop, James Brown and more. "All Over the World," "Don't Walk Away" and "Dancin'" are several successful power numbers that pay homage to earlier styles.
Scenic designer Arnel Sancianco cleverly has reconfigured the American Theatre Company space as an oval roller rink. Samantha C. Jones' colorful costumes are a Day-Glo dream or nightmare, depending. The high-energy, high-spirited company sweats buckets in its child-like suspension of disbelief. You, too, should check your brain at the door and suspend disbelief. Xanadu offers nothing to cherish but much to enjoy.