Last night Darion, Kirsten and I made the long trek down the coast to La Jolla, CA to attend the premiere performance of Xanadu: The Musical as it begins its national tour. I was very fortunate enough to see the show a few times on Broadway (Darion came out to see it with me one of those times) but Kirsten had yet to see it so I thought it would be fun for us all to see it together here in SoCal. By and large, it was a fun performance. Because the original Broadway lead actors (Kerry Butler and Cheyenne Jackson) were so phenomenal in their roles, I had a hard time not comparing these touring players with them … but the new cast won me over almost entirely:

For me, unless the entire Broadway cast is able to tour with the show no touring performance is able to match the perfection of the original. That said, this show is so well-written and the tour has been so well-cast that I think it will hold its own out on the road. My only complaint is that La Jolla is not the place for this show to run. The audience was predominately over 50 years old and many of them did not get the jokes — or the show overall. But, by the time the show was over, there were quite a few smiling faces dancing in the crowd. I personally believe the show would be a STUNNING hit if it came to LA but … mebbe one day.

D, K and I managed to get on-stage seats for the performance, so we were kinda part of the show. We had such an amazingly fun time — I only wish I had been able to sit on stage when the show was on Broadway. Overall, tho, last night was just too much fun … here are a few pics from our road trip adventure:

Yes, we managed to dine at an actual Chick-Fil-A restaurant (rather than a Food Court mall Chick-Fil-A), sipped on Kira-tinis before the show and got to snap a pic in our on-stage seats after the show was finished. Add to that a trip to Baskin Robbins on the way home and … well, you can see we had a blast.

Tonight I have to rebleach my hair before I fly back to Detroit tomorrow and then I’m meeting up with my friend Tom for dinner. Oh yeah, I still have to pack at some point as well … ugh!!

Sigh. Last night I made my way out to the Helen Hayes Theater to catch one final performance of the amazingly fun show Xanadu after learning that the show will be closing this Sunday night. I’ve been a huge fan of the show for months and simply had to make my way out to see it one last time before it leaves Broadway:

The show, as always, was hilariously funny and very entertaining … I just love it to pieces. There were a few little changes and additions with new ad libs thrown in for good measure. Whoopi Goldberg, who did a 2-week stint in the show last month, was used as a joke near the end of the performance and mention of “Harry Potter showing his ‘magic wand’” in Equus (playing at the Broadhurst Theater across the street from the Helen Hayes) was also thrown into the dialog. The show is just so funny, so well acted … I’m bummed it’s leaving Broadway. After the show, I got to say a quick hello to lead performers Kerry Butler (Clio/Kira) and Cheyenne Jackson (Sonny Malone) and snap a couple of pics with them:

Hee hee … they both managed to recognize me even with my new blonde hair and Cheyenne even played with it a little, saying he liked it. Yeah, I died. I also got to meet a few Pink readers … got a pic with Lanz:

And also got to meet his boyfriend Jeremy. I also got to meet a cute girl whose name I cannot recall but found very lovely and sweet and was very happy to chat with.

I had a great night … altho I’m sad that Xanadu is leaving Broadway, I’m happy that it will live on in tours. The show comes to LA next month … Woot!

I leave for LA in a few hours so … I’m actually really looking forward to being home for a change ;)

Very, very sad news today … unbeknownst to me, it has been recently announced that two of my favorite Broadway musicals will be closing within the next few weeks. Xanadu, it was previously announced, was scheduled to end its Broadway run on October 12 but has had their closing night moved up to this weekend! Legally Blonde is scheduled to close on October 19. Fortunately, both shows will live on in touring versions that will travel around the country but their respective runs on Broadway are, sadly, very close at hand:

Xanadu, the Tony-nominated musical based on the infamous flop film of the same name, will end its run two weeks earlier than recently announced. The producers of the musical had announced Sept. 16 that the musical comedy at the Helen Hayes Theatre would end its run Oct. 12. A new closing date was announced Sept. 23: Xanadu will now play its final Broadway performance Sept. 28 at 3 PM. The producers released a statement saying that the decision to close the show early was made to avoid losses in the current economic climate … Xanadu received four 2008 Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical. The Xanadu cast recording is available on the PS Classics label. The national tour of Xanadu will kick off in November at the La Jolla Playhouse, followed by a six-month run at Chicago’s Drury Lane Theatre. Additional tour dates will be announced at a later time. A foreign production recently opened in Seoul, Korea. Plans are underway for productions in London (co-produced with David Ian and John Gore), China, Australia and the Philippines.

After 595 performances and 30 previews, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL will play its final performance on Sunday, October 19, 2008. The show opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets) on April 29, 2007 following preview performances that began on April 3, 2007. The musical will continue to play across the country, in over 35 cities, on its first national tour. “Producing Legally Blonde has been one of the highlights of my career. Much like Elle Woods, the entire company, creative team and crew has worked with heart, wit, enthusiasm, integrity and style throughout the entire, thrilling run. I can’t wait for the rest of the country to be able to experience the show live,” said LEGALLY BLONDE’s lead producer Hal Luftig … The first national tour of LEGALLY BLONDE kicked off on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at Rhode Island’s PPAC.

I understand from Pink reader Jamie that another fun Broadway musical [title of show] (which I have not been able to see) is also closing after opening this past July (it is scheduled to give its final performance also on October 19). I gotta say … all these closings are really sad. There are many theater purists out there who are, I’m sure, not at all sad to see these “frivolous” shows close down but I, for one, really enjoy them and find them an invigorating and refreshing way to get young people excited about musical theater. I am heartened by the fact that both Xanadu and Legally Blonde will live on in touring versions but … there is something sad and finite about a show closing on Broadway. This morning, I purchased a ticket to see Xanadu one last time before it closes … I’ll be at the Friday night performance. I urge any of y’all who are able to come out to see these shows on the Great White Way while you still have the chance.

[Source, Source]

Whoopi Goldberg laced up her rollerskates, slipped on her legwarmers and joined the Broadway cast of Xanadu this week to begin a 6-week limited engagement with the musical as the evil Muse sister Calliope. Here is a pic of Whoopi taking her first bows this past Tuesday night (with regular castmember Andre Ward) at the Helen Hayes theater, a screencap of the musical’s official website announcement of her short tenure with the show and a report from Broadway World on her stint with the show:

Whoopi Goldberg joined the cast of the hit Broadway musical “Xanadu” on Tuesday, July 29th for a special six week engagement through Sunday, September 7th. Ms. Goldberg is playing the role of Caliope. Jackie Hoffman, who created the role, will be releasing her new cd “Jackie Hoffman Live from Joe’s Pub” and will return to the production on September 9th. In a statement, Ms. Goldberg said “What better way to stick my toe back on to the Broadway stage than to join the amazing cast of “Xanadu”. It’s such a fun show and is definitely my sensibility, as written by the divine Douglas Carter Beane. For me, it’s going to be unbelievable”. Producer Ahrens wholeheartedly agrees by saying “On behalf of the entire “Xanadu” family, we are overwhelmed and appreciative that Whoopi has chosen to return to her turf of Broadway with our musical. We are thrilled!”

Hello! I *am* thrilled! I am really hoping to get to see the show (for the third time, mind you) with Whoopi in it during my super short stopover in NYC at the end of this weekend … I’m flying back to LA on Tuesday so I think Sunday is my only chance to see it. In any event, if any of y’all are considering seeing the show — go now! What better way to see this really fun show than with Whoopi Goldberg playing one of the funniest characters. Get your tickets now, she’s only there until September 7th!

[Source]

While I was happily celebrating the LA Lakers victory over the Boston Celtics last night, I was mourning the shaft that was given to two of my fave Broadway shows at last night’s 62nd annual Tony Awards, which were held live at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. While I was very impressed with the production value of the show (especially the bits that involved host Whoopi Goldberg, who was brills all night long) and the live cast performances (some more than others … loved Xanadu, was a tiny bit let down by both The Little Mermaid and Rent), I was just really bummed that neither Xanadu (my Best Musical) nor Macbeth (my Best Play) got any love at all from the stogy old Tony voters. Boo. Here are a few pics from the Tony Awards red carpet:

Everyone looked amazing on the red carpet … I love that Xanadu’s Cheyenne Jackson had to show up on the red carpet in a tux and then had to strip it off to don his shorty jean shorts for the live performance and then had to get all dolled up in his tux again — and he wasn’t even nominated for an award! That’s dedication, y’all. I cannot stress enough how fun and inventive both Xanadu and Macbeth are as Broadway productions … and I’m convinced that is why neither show took home any awards. Tony voters seem to love being mired in the past (South Pacific), bucking the new and innovative and choosing instead to stick with the traditional, tired yet true (the same thing happened last year when Legally Blonde got the shaft). (more…)

Cast members of the Broadway hit musical Xanadu performed a medley of songs from the show yesterday morning live on air for the CBS Early Show in order to show folks who may not have seen the show yet just how amazing the show is … here are a few pics from the cast’s performance:

If you are one of the unlucky folks who have yet to see the show or may have missed seeing the performance yesterday morning you can click HERE to see what you’ve been missing. Xandu is deffo my pick for the Best Musical of the Year award at this year’s Tony Awards (which air on CBS tomorrow night at 8pm) so I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed for them. Check out the vid … even absent all of Cheyenne Jackson’s insane hawtness, there is a lot to appreciate in the fun clip.

[Photo credit: Wireimage, Source]