aswanny@unm.edu
People who reject all musicals as the result of a single film experience deprive themselves of the palpable force of live musical theater. A film may capture the genre’s mainstays such as spectacular effects, dazzling costumes and pitch-perfect, catchy songs, but still fail. The same performance experienced live is easily entertaining, regardless of its subject matter.
Albuquerque Little Theatre’s “Xanadu” is wildly entertaining with its razzle-dazzle effects and well-executed choreography and stunts. But what really makes the show worth seeing is the energy radiating from the passionate players.
As groan-worthy as some of the sugary, young-love moments are, I couldn’t help but leave the theater inspired and humming the last musical number. Musical theater breathes life into the soul, and every emotional creature ought to have a musical on hand for bad days.
The plot plays a small role in the success of the show because its themes have been done before. Most people know, or have heard, that true love is blind. But despite the over-used love theme, there are plenty of possibilities for entertainment in this romantic comedy. There is fog, sequined gowns and glitter galore, but more appealing than the spectacle is the script and the excellent execution.
The musical is set in Venice, Calif. in the ‘80s. A dopey and discouraged Sonny Malone, played by Michael Rascon, is visited by the Grecian muse Clio, played by Mandy Farmer. Clio is disguised with roller skates, a different name and an Australian accent. Her job is to re-inspire him, but she is forbidden to create art herself or fall in love with a mortal. Her reward is the mysterious “Xanadu.” Her sister, a muse played by Stephanie Larragoite, becomes jealous and carries out a plot to make Clio break the muse rules, after belting out “Evil Woman” with Calliope, a muse played by Lisette Herrera.
Farmer successfully puls off the Australian accent. She keeps her balance while dancing and singing on roller skates. She was perfection, once the tech folks realized the microphones were not picking up anyone’s voices.
Her comedic chemistry with Rascon as Sonny Malone makes the obvious ending forgivable. Usually a bad ending is a deal-breaker for me, but the plot hardly matters in this case. It is fun and not to be taken seriously. Thus, the ending is just an ending, not a revelation.
The show is something people of all ages can watch, like Disney movies, in which the jokes are funny whether you get them or not. The humor is never distasteful and would get a rise out of the most stoic of theatergoers.
The production gets full points for visual entertainment, which includes a man doing a back flip off of a desk and into two more flips across the stage. But more impressive than the audio or visual elements of the musical are the emotional ones. The pleasure the director took in creating the experience is evident, and each performer seems to take equal pleasure in sharing the life force of musical theater with the audience.
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