Weekend Pick: ‘Xanadu’ at Reston Community Center

A trip back to the 1980s begins on Friday, March 7 when the Reston Community Players open their production of Xanadu.

Xanadu is a send-up of the 1980 cult classic Olivia Newton-John  film. The musical combines Greek mythology with 1980 Los Angeles and features songs by Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra. Oh, and there is lots of roller skating too.

Somehow, it works. The basic plot is Kira, a Greek muse, descends from the heavens to inspire struggling artist Sonny in his vision to build a roller disco in an abandoned nightclub. Kira defies the laws of Zeus and falls in love with Sonny while her jealous muse sisters try and wreak havoc.

RCP is coming off its debut of Les Miserables in January and February.

Leads in Xanadu:

Evie Korovesis as Kira — Her past RCP shows include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Lend Me a Tenor, I Love You Because, and Legally Blonde.

Russell Silber as artist Sonny Malone — Silver has appeared in various performances around the region, including  A Chorus Line at The Arlington Players.

Richard Durkin as Zeus and as Danny —  Past shows include the RCP’s The Drowsy Chaperone as Underling, the singing and dancing butler. With the Elden Street Players (ESP), Richard has performed in Medea; Hamlet; The Iceman Cometh; The Violet Hour; and Glengarry Glen Ross, and in 14 ESP Theatre for Young Audiences shows.

The Tony Award-nominated musical opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran for more than 500 performances. Reston audiences may be familiar with the show as South Lakes High School’s Theatre Arts department performed in last year.

“Honestly, this show is so much better than it deserves to be,” Silber told DC Metro Theatre Arts. “It’s a musical based on an almost forgotten box-office bomb that essentially blew up the movie career of Olivia Newton-John. I think audience members will initially be surprised by the number of classic songs they recognize from the score, but I’m just so taken with how much the book writer Douglas Carter Beane was able to mine from the original movie’s creaky skeleton to twist around and subvert into a show filled with so much humor and heart.”

Xandau performances are March 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 at 8 p.m. (matinees at 2 p.m. on March 16 and 23 at CentreStage at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. For tickets visit RCP’s box office site or call 703-476-4500, press press 3 for the 24-hour ticket ordering system.