Xanadu: A Review.

XANADU

NSU Theatre Department


By MIKE LEE

April 13th, 2012.

PopMusicMogul Rating: **** ½  out of 5.

As a young gay man, I’ve had quite a few disco-fueled fantasies very similar to the events of the probably the cheesiest and most campy musical ever, and Northern State University’s latest effort, Xanadu. The shining glittering disco balls, the glorious neon “Madonnaesque” costuming, the incredible “rockpopdisco” fused soundtrack with precise choreography. Sort of like a dreamy fantasy finally illuminated onto the stage. It’s all very glorious, the way these things fashion into a stunning gay and spectacular musical taking nod from probably the cheesiest movie ever produced, and let me tell you, the cast and crew of Xanadu certainly do not disappoint.  

The plot is pretty simple. A desperate artist, Sonny Malone, played by Ben Villa, is in desperate need of muse, Kira, played by Larissa Buchholz, and a tragic and hilarious love story ensues.

Villa does a rather fine job as Sonny Malone, and his most glorious moment is during the gospel-pop thumping “Don’t Walk Away” where he desperately begs for his love to not walk out on him. You can tell that plea is filled with real and actual emotion. He feeds his lines with incredible cheesiness, sometimes; spot on, and at other times, a little off.

Buccholz is absolutely astounding as the Grecian muse, Kira.  The way she delivers the faux accent is comically incredible. The deliverance of her lines, near perfect, and her flawless rock-pop voice helps her deliver the songs with unbelievable soul and feeling.  The chemistry between her and Villa is certainly charming. Better than Newton-John, and just as illuminating as Kerry Butler, who was the first to star as Kira in the Broadway run.

The supporting cast, filled with such talents as the wonderfully hilarious Emily Susannah Davis, whose voice is wonderfully beautiful and the comedy she infuses into the play is spectacular. Natalie Allcock and Eli Corbett are just as fantastic, too.

The performance was with some small flaws. The orchestra sometimes overpowered the performance. It was, at times, extremely hard to hear lines. A few of the muses found it hard to reach vocal point, and sometimes, the lines felt a little rushed from a few.  But everything was stitched together well. The audience certainly enjoyed it, and it is almost hard not to. The cast is just that loveable.