A Muse On Skates

RLT’s ‘Xanadu’ a rollicking good time

Ever since she had a roller skating accident when she was 8 years old, Lexie Hardcastle stayed away from roller skates ... until this summer.

She's now starring as Clio/Kira in the musical "Xanadu" at Rogers Little Theater and is on pink-and-white roller skates for the majority of the show. The musical -- which will be performed today through Aug. 10 -- was created only a few years ago based on the 1980 film "Xanadu" starring Olivia Newton-John. The plot centers around muses -- the Greek goddesses personifying the arts -- coming to Earth, and the muse Clio disguises herself as Kira "because she wants to inspire Sonny to do great art," director Ed McClure says. The muses think they're coming to Venice, Italy, in 1780, but it is actually Venice, Calif., in 1980, he says. Muses are forbidden from doing art or falling in love with a mortal, both of which Kira does, he says. Sonny, portrayed by Chandler Reid Evans, is inspired to create a roller disco.

FAQ

‘Xanadu’

WHEN — 8 p.m. today & Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; again July 31-Aug. 3 & Aug. 7-10

WHERE — Rogers Little Theater’s Victory Theater in downtown Rogers

COST — $10-$48

INFO — 631-8988 or rogerslittletheater…

"For me, the real story is how this really, really marginal to bad movie could be made into such a hilarious musical," McClure says. "As a matter of fact, it really celebrates some of the shortcomings of the movie."

The musical, which features a book by Douglas Carter Beane, takes broad strokes of the movie and "really gives it a very sharp-witted comedic spin," McClure says. McClure notes he saw the show on Broadway.

"It just absolutely made me weep, I was laughing so hard when I saw it," he remembers.

The Rogers Little Theater show features an 11-person cast. Clio and her eight sisters are the daughters of Zeus, and "the way the production is written, some of those muses are played by men, but we never try to disguise the fact they're men," McClure says. He adds that Hardcastle is an "exceedingly gifted performer."

"I've just never been around somebody who has her natural comedic ability," he says.

Hardcastle says she is excited to be in a show where she can "make people laugh" and be a sassy, fun character. However, before this show, the last time Hardcastle skated at age 8 she hurt her back after falling and landing on someone's skate.

"I had to completely learn how to roller skate for the show," she says.

And it wasn't just skating. Hardcastle also had to learn tricks, such as skating backwards, skating on one leg and skating while doing an arabesque. In the show, she also has to skate down ramps at high speed.

"The big thing for me was just learning how to be able to skate around without stumbling at all," she says.

Roller skating was not part of the audition process, but the packet noted that actors would be on roller skates in the show, Hardcastle says. Although she knew she would have to take on roller skating, Hardcastle says she wanted to be in the show because she loves the environment of this theater and thought the musical was a fun show.

"So I kind of toughed it up and kind of got over my fear and learned how to roller skate," she says. The first week of rehearsals, Hardcastle had spotters on the stage with her when she was skating.

"I was just terrified of skating off the stage or just falling over," she recalls.

After a week, Hardcastle decided to try skating without spotters, and she says she skated 10 times better, noting that she seemed to let go of her fear. Over the course of six weeks, Hardcastle went skating two or three times each week at local rinks. She now feels great about skating and her favorite skill is skating backwards, which she says is a leg workout.

In the finale, all but three cast members are on roller skates. Jenella Young, who portrays Polyhymnia, the muse of hymns, choreographed the roller-skate dancing.

The four-piece band on stage plays songs from the movie and the musical, among them "Evil Woman," "Magic" "Suddenly," "I'm Alive," "Have You Never Been Mellow" and "Xanadu." McClure says the music will be nostalgic for some people who have seen the movie and a discovery for others who have not.

"Whether you've seen the movie or not, the musical 'Xanadu' is absolutely one of the funniest shows you will see."

NAN What's Up on 07/25/2014

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