Review: Wisteria Theater’s ‘Xanadu’ Delivers an Xtraordinary Time

Xanadu, which is skating in North Hollywood through Sunday, August 10th, continues the unprecedented string of thoroughly rollicking musicals by the Wisteria Theater Company. The campy confection, produced by Renee Wylder, dazzlingly channels the glittery spirit of the 1980 Olivia Newton-John film, in turn a recreation of the 78-year-old film Down to Earth starring Rita Hayworth, while poking playful fun at its own absurdity.

The twice Tony-nominated musical, despite the movie being Razzie-riffic, features Douglas Carter Beane’s book in all its cheekiness and a jukebox score of melodic smashes from Electric Light Orchestra and John Farrar. Needless to say, Wisteria harnesses all the potential of Xanadu, and more, to present an enjoyable musical from start to finish.

Xanadu‘s plot, which is stimulatingly unhinged and colorful, centers on Clio (Lexi Collins), a Greek demi-goddess Muse, and daughter to Zeus, who swoops down to “modern” era 1980s Venice Beach, CA in roller skates, adopting an Australian accent and the name “Kira.” Her sole purpose for doing so is to spark inspiration in the half-witted but full-hearted artist Sonny Malone (Connor Bullock) who is contemplating ending it all on the Santa Monica Pier.

Sonny, at the not-so-subtle nudging of Kira who is rooting for the down-on-his-luck creative to realize his dream, pitches developer Danny Maguire (Kelby Thwaits) the opportunity to transform an abandoned auditorium into a roller disco. However, Clio/Kira’s mission is not without its rules and challenges as she is forbidden from creating art and falling in love with a mortal as either transgression would have her thrown, by her own father, into the underworld of eternal damnation. Knowing this, and envious of Clio’s “leadership role” and nearing attainment of “Xanadu,” an evidently great but ineffable achievement, scheming sisters Melpomene (Hadiyyah Noelle Smith) and Calliope (Lisa Dyson) cast a nefarious love spell on their youngest sibling.

The story’s sheer silliness is its strength, and Beane’s script leans into the ridiculousness with witty 1980s references that land with a wink. Under the direction (and design) of Brayden Hade, who empowers his performers to push beyond any preconceived boundaries, and Madison Mi Hwa Oliver’s choreography, which engrossingly ebbs and flows with the narrative, Wisteria’s clever production pops with an up-close-and-personal vibrancy. Alongside a versatile LED screen backdrop, including renders of a photo-realistic mural, Hades, and the principals themselves, there is a larger-than-life aesthetic that compels guests to return.

Lexi Collins is a warmly well-intentioned and hilarious Clio/Kira, inhabiting Newton-John’s ethereal glow and nailing the Aussie accent with extra heaps of gusto; in fact, unexpected pronunciations and intonations of certain words like “for you” in the song “Magic” underscore a charming comic sensibility. Not to mention, Collins glides on not just two but sometimes one roller skate, has a vocal clarity that is as unblemished as refined crystal, scats with the best of them, and of course does the euphonious title song a terrific justice.

Connor Bullock realizes his Sonny impeccably as a lovable goofball with a collection of headbands and a dumbfoundedness that is struck in just the right way without veering into a territory where the character can no longer be taken seriously. Despite repeatedly failing to spell “muse” — in what is one of the musical’s more underrated comedic moments — the audience is rooting for Sonny to be inspired nonetheless, turning a “mega bummer” into fortune and a burgeoning romance with Collins’s Kira which becomes surprisingly touching.

Hadiyyah Noelle Smith and Lisa Dyson are a riot as the conniving Melpomene and Calliope with their over-the-top antics, emphasized by a tremendous cackle, driving a diabolically disarming rendition of “Evil Woman.” This pair of antagonists, who are having the time of their lives, have made evil irresistible; that being said, Dyson does particularly redeem herself, albeit not as Calliope, but as Aphrodite during Xanadu‘s culmination.

With a plethora of zaniness around him, Kelby Thwaits’s Danny Maguire grounds the production with a wistful, if not amoral, charm. The Maguire persona, portrayed by Gene Kelly in the film, is a fascinating one as it reveals that, before being a money-hungry businessman, he was almost true to himself as an artist, compelled by his own Muse with a striking resemblance to Clio/Kira. Through especially Thwaits’s on-point non-verbal expressions, the audience rues his past choices and the repercussions that have followed with him. Thwaits, too, fills another major role as a commanding and formidable Zeus.

The ensemble members in Wisteria productions impressively alternate among an assortment of characters, and in Xanadu this is no different where the “seesters” are a force to be reckoned with. Chris Thume burns brightly as the resolved and silly Terpsichore before garnering chuckles as a party-hardy Centaur (costume is by Taylor Renee Castle). Christina Jardine is the operatic Euterpe, but where she really earns attendees’ attention is as Thetis who makes hystrically strong appeals to an obstinate Zeus. Trae Adair is a lively Thalia and, in Act II, makes his grand entrance as the winged Pegasus headed for Mount Olympus. Danielle Johnson is the elegant Erato and bow-and-arrow-wielding Eros, the god of love and attraction. Suffice it to say, these supporting players are the grease behind the roller skate wheels of the show.

Moreover, big company numbers like “Dancin'” — a pleasing jazz-rock mashup — and “All Over the World” — when the cast shimmers with the letters that spell “Xanadu — spotlight not only Oliver’s vision of movement but Nolan Monsibay’s seamless musical direction. From a visual standpoint, Annie Claire Hudson’s props (illuminated folding fans, neon phone booth, huge scissors) and costumes (leg warmers, spandex, Greek robes), Tanya Cyr’s painted deities, David French’s flower-adorned Greek columns, as well as Josh Collins’s tech design help actualize an escapade aligning gods and mortals.

It also goes without saying that roller skates don’t always cooperate when abruptly put on or removed while stepping on or off the stage, and in the midst of a fast-moving plot, yet the onstage talent’s professionalism is on full display, turning mishaps into entertaining bonuses.

What sets Wisteria’s Xanadu apart is its wholehearted and exuberant embrace of the outlandish — from quirky character depictions to prodigious stimuli, such as the reflections of a spinning disco ball and enveloping puffs expelled from fog machines. The outcome of all this is a refreshing respite from the mundane. It’s less about emotional depth, although there is that, too, and more about delivering pure, unadulterated fun. For theatergoers craving a dose of 1980s nostalgia, or a lighthearted night out piquantly mixed with Greek mythology, Xanadu at Wisteria Theater is a winning pick. Its infectious energy, catchy tunes, and roller-skating mayhem add up to a memorable theatrical experience.

Cover image caption: (L-R) Trae Adair, Chris Thume, Lexi Collins, Connor Bullock, and Danielle Johnson in Wisteria Theater Company’s production of Xanadu in North Hollywood, CA. Photo credit: Brayden Hade.

For more information and to purchase tickets to Wisteria Theater Company’s production of Xanadu, visit wisteriatheater.com.