Sept 3rd through 19th, 2015
Remember that film with Olivia Newton John? No, not that one... the other one... with Jeff Lynne and ELO... yeah, and Gene Kelly in his final film dancing performance... Yes, Xanadu! We will be presenting
a parody/tribute to this musical extravaganza... NO this isn't the Broadway version... it our own....
Xana-redU!
StageWorks Ink and TriptheDark are joining forces to bring you an amazing new show filled with Magic,
Music & Movement… Incredible Dance pieces mingled with a stellar Soundtrack by ELO and Olivia Newton-John, and some of the best Portland talent.
Each of these companies are known for innovative and inspiring productions. This show is no exception.
CAST:
SONNY MALONE Illya Torres Garner
KYRA (CALLIOPE) Sarah DeGrave
DANNY MC GUIRE Steve Coker
THE MUSES (Singers)
TERPSICHORE Kristi Bogart
THALIA Emily Eisele URANIA Amanda Healy
MERCURY Matthew Workman
BACCHUS Josh Edward
THE MUSES (Dancers)
CLIO Corinn DeWaard EUTERPE Stephanie Seaman
ERATO Ashley Long
POLYHYMNIA Serra Sheldon
MUSIC CREATED & PERFORMED BY ELO...
"Electric Liptak Orchestra" James Liptak
Check out our partner in crime on this show;
TriptheDark Dance Studio!
" Falling between StageWorks Ink's
2014 FLASH AH-AHHH and next
seasons Weird(er) Science, Xana-redU
is a worthy installation in director,
Steve Coker's plan to reverse-
engineer croon able satire from every
Gen-X cinematic touchstone. The plot
follows a failed record-sleeve artist
(the mulleted Illya Tores Illya Torres-
Garner ) trying to woo the immortal
Muse of Dance (Sarah DeGrave) by
opening a vaguely-Olympian-themed
roller disco with friendly construction
mogul (Coker in Gene Kelly's last
role). Coker's streamlined adaptation
avoids being an overblown kitschiest
like the recent Broadway version and
instead follows the original's tone of
daft exuberance for comedic affect.
With much of the same cast and crew
that created last Spring's dizzying
Flash Gordon operetta, Xana-redU
smartly showcases the strengths of
it's source material (solid ELO soundtrack tunes) and talent. Where FLASH AH-AHHH relied on the School Of Rock for proggy instrumental flourishes, Xana-redU employs the continuous choreography of of the local performance group Trip the Dark. It's not always the smoothest fit, but Coker is more of a stately pleasure dome than Gene Kelly and the general flow of bodies in motion hustles scenes ever forward with nimble delight." - Jay Horton, WWeek.