Kamryn Hecker plays the Greek muse Clio,who changes her name to Kiera upon meeting love interest Sonny Malone, in Theatre Baton Rouge’s final production, ‘Xanadu.’ The theater will permanently close its doors after the final performance on March 23.
The misty, airbrushed dream that is “Xanadu” will skate across Theatre Baton Rouge’s Main Stage beginning Friday, sharing feel-good vibes while giving Sonny Malone a mission in life. The show also will mark the final production for Theatre Baton Rouge before it permanently closes its doors on March 23.
Still, the show must go on. So, who is Sonny Malone? He’s the artist whose mural of the Greek muses signals their help. His art and life aren’t going as he envisioned, and he considers ending it all.
That’s when the youngest of the Greek muses, Clio, keys in on Sonny’s dilemma through his mural and convinces her eight sisters to leave their perch on Mount Olympus for Sonny’s home city of Venice Beach, California.
Don Fields is artist Sonny Malone in Theatre Baton Rouge’s ‘Xanadu.’
They show up in an era of transition between the end of the 1970s disco era and the newly dawned 1980s, where leg warmers are a fashion statement and roller discos are a thing.
And speaking of roller discos, Sonny’s muse-inspired enthusiasm leads him to the long abandoned art deco theater, Xanadu, where he plans to combine the arts into something athletic.
This, of course, would be a roller disco.
Meanwhile, Sonny and Clio, who is guiding him along the way under the pseudonym Kiera, are falling in love, which is forbidden by her father, Zeus. So, can this star-crossed couple find happiness?
Kamryn Hecker plays the Greek muse Clio, who changes her name to Kiera upon meeting love interest Sonny Malone, in Theatre Baton Rouge’s production of the musical, ‘Xanadu.’
Well, the answer can be found at Theatre Baton Rouge, where Kamryn Hecker plays Clio-turned-Kiera and Don Fields plays Sonny Malone.
“The show is fantastic and fun and energetic,” director Marion Mayfield said. “I mean, it’s just a downright good time. There are some shows that you leave the theater happy, and this is one of those shows. It’s kind of like one of those escapes from everything that’s happening in the world today, and we have these very talented actors who are giving you two hours to just enjoy.”
There are really no deep messages in “Xanadu,” which also was the case for the 1980 film on which it’s based. The film is probably best remembered for its main star, Olivia Newton-John, who played opposite Michael Beck. It also featured the legendary Gene Kelly in his final film role.
Don Fields is artist Sonny Malone, whose mural of the Greek muses signals their help, in the musical, ‘Xanadu.’
“The musical is based on the film, but the musical is slightly different from the film theatrical version,” Fields said. “It’s right on the cusp of the ’80s, so it still has so many disco elements and so many elements of the late ’70s, as well as the early ’80s. It’s just that hybrid between Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra.”
Now, the choreography won’t exactly require dancing from Fields and Hecker. They’ll have to skate through some of the songs, a skill each has had to learn through the rehearsal process.
“I think I had skated only twice in my life before this,” Hecker said.
“But she’s really come a long way,” said music director Jamie Leonard-Brubaker, who also is playing the Greek muse Calliope. “She was scared at first, but now she’s skating up and down the ramps we have on stage.”
The misty, airbrushed dream that is ‘Xanadu’ will skate across Theatre Baton Rouge’s Main Stage beginning Friday.
Yes, skating is much different on stage than in the rehearsal room, where there were no boundaries or ramps.
“It’s been fun,” Fields said. “And it’s been fun practicing. On the first day I came in, I was doing some little tricks and spinning around, and I fell.”
But no one is falling in the Xanadu theater now, where the music drives the energy and Greek muses inspire magic.
‘Xanadu’
Friday-Sunday, and March 14-16 and 20-23. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. All other performances begin at 7:30 p.m.
Theatre Baton Rouge, 7155 Florida Blvd.
$43-$48
(225) 924-6496 or theatrebr.org.
