Full Article Text
$ THEATER
anadu," the Broadway musical that seemed like a punch lirre i
waiting to happen, has become the Great White Way's nir- :
vana central since opening this month. A reimagining of the :
sillier-than-thou 1980 movie staring Olivia Newton-John :
about L.A. skaters mingling with Greek gods, "Xanadu" flirt- :
ed with disaster before opening to rave reviews. a=oz
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Anchoring a cast that includes Chey- :
eme Jackson, Tony Robefts, Mary Tes- :
ta and Jackie Hotfman is Keny Butler, :
who sings and dances and does a wicked- i
lv broad Aussie accent - all on skales: :
in the Newton-John role of the muse Kira :
But Butler, who originated the role of Pen- :
ny Pingleton in the Tony-wiming "Hair- :
spray" and was in the cult hit "Bat Boy," is :
thrilledjust to have got to opening night :
"When I was in rehearsals, I thought :
the producers were going to fire me be- :
cause I couldn't do lan]thingl on skates," :
laughs Butler, a blond with a Cupid's- :
bow smile who has a daughter with her
husband, "Sesame Street" Miter and :
performer Joey Mazzarino "I went home :
crying every dayl They were supportive, :
bul I lhink I hey were a little worried ' :
Truth be told, Butler's confidence on :
skates was probably the least of their wor- i
ries Thecalamities thatdoggedthisshow :
- from catty coments among Broad- :
way's buzmakers ro multiple injuries - :
were enough to keep even m unlzed vet- i
eran like Testa a btlle umewed.Testa, Tony-nominated for "42nd
Street" and "On the Tom," plays Mel-
pomene, lhe Greek muse of tragedy - a
muse that sure was working overtime as
"Xanadu's" curtain-raising approached
Most notably, the show's male lead,
James Carpinello, seriously injured his
leg two weeks before opening night, forc-
ing Jacksbn (stil ofthe Elvis musical "All
Shook Up') to step into the cutoffjeans of
Carpinello's chracter Somy at the last
minute (Carpinello will return when his
injuries permit, possibly in September)
"It was such a freak accident," recalls
Testa "They were reheilsing the final
number, and Carpinello, who's m excel-
lent skater because he's a hockey player,
was talking about a spot on the stage that
he had been having problems with. And
then his skate did get caughtthere, md he
went dom - and in such a way that he
broke his leg in two places
"Then, later that day, we had violent
thunderstoms after all this happened,
and the roof started leaking! lDhector]
Chris Ashleywas saying, 'We need some-one to mop up because the roof is leak-
ing 'And I said, 'Is it blood?!'Because it
seemed like the apocal)?se!"
Other cast members have been injured
as well, not to mention what Butler calls
a "little fire" backstage Did they have to
make sacrifices to the gods to stop it all?
"Mary did!" says Butler. "Serious-
ly, she walked around with this big
flaming lstick], going around the
stage in circles, going into all the
dressing rooms She said itwas to
get rid of all the evil spirits "
CIearly, it worked: "Xanadu"
: went trom desperate-sound-
: ing Broadway dregs to an
: unexpected must-seewith
i strong critical response.
said it was honible, ev-
eryone would have
believed it - and we
likely would have
closed the next
night " at'You never know if peo-
ple will get it," muses But-
ler. "And if the critics had.- 3J:-_/':*lr$.1 s\:
-&:r.. i.\..
6=uz
-
Noo
N
o
N
o
!
l
@BYMICHAELGII.I.TZ
anadu," the Broadway musical that seemed like a punch lirre i
waiting to happen, has become the Great White Way's nir- :
vana central since opening this month. A reimagining of the :
sillier-than-thou 1980 movie staring Olivia Newton-John :
about L.A. skaters mingling with Greek gods, "Xanadu" flirt- :
ed with disaster before opening to rave reviews. a=oz
{oz
th
Eo
3
c
G
E
cWl]i,i
F
r.Y::: r:
Anchoring a cast that includes Chey- :
eme Jackson, Tony Robefts, Mary Tes- :
ta and Jackie Hotfman is Keny Butler, :
who sings and dances and does a wicked- i
lv broad Aussie accent - all on skales: :
in the Newton-John role of the muse Kira :
But Butler, who originated the role of Pen- :
ny Pingleton in the Tony-wiming "Hair- :
spray" and was in the cult hit "Bat Boy," is :
thrilledjust to have got to opening night :
"When I was in rehearsals, I thought :
the producers were going to fire me be- :
cause I couldn't do lan]thingl on skates," :
laughs Butler, a blond with a Cupid's- :
bow smile who has a daughter with her
husband, "Sesame Street" Miter and :
performer Joey Mazzarino "I went home :
crying every dayl They were supportive, :
bul I lhink I hey were a little worried ' :
Truth be told, Butler's confidence on :
skates was probably the least of their wor- i
ries Thecalamities thatdoggedthisshow :
- from catty coments among Broad- :
way's buzmakers ro multiple injuries - :
were enough to keep even m unlzed vet- i
eran like Testa a btlle umewed.Testa, Tony-nominated for "42nd
Street" and "On the Tom," plays Mel-
pomene, lhe Greek muse of tragedy - a
muse that sure was working overtime as
"Xanadu's" curtain-raising approached
Most notably, the show's male lead,
James Carpinello, seriously injured his
leg two weeks before opening night, forc-
ing Jacksbn (stil ofthe Elvis musical "All
Shook Up') to step into the cutoffjeans of
Carpinello's chracter Somy at the last
minute (Carpinello will return when his
injuries permit, possibly in September)
"It was such a freak accident," recalls
Testa "They were reheilsing the final
number, and Carpinello, who's m excel-
lent skater because he's a hockey player,
was talking about a spot on the stage that
he had been having problems with. And
then his skate did get caughtthere, md he
went dom - and in such a way that he
broke his leg in two places
"Then, later that day, we had violent
thunderstoms after all this happened,
and the roof started leaking! lDhector]
Chris Ashleywas saying, 'We need some-one to mop up because the roof is leak-
ing 'And I said, 'Is it blood?!'Because it
seemed like the apocal)?se!"
Other cast members have been injured
as well, not to mention what Butler calls
a "little fire" backstage Did they have to
make sacrifices to the gods to stop it all?
"Mary did!" says Butler. "Serious-
ly, she walked around with this big
flaming lstick], going around the
stage in circles, going into all the
dressing rooms She said itwas to
get rid of all the evil spirits "
CIearly, it worked: "Xanadu"
: went trom desperate-sound-
: ing Broadway dregs to an
: unexpected must-seewith
i strong critical response.
said it was honible, ev-
eryone would have
believed it - and we
likely would have
closed the next
night " at'You never know if peo-
ple will get it," muses But-
ler. "And if the critics had.- 3J:-_/':*lr$.1 s\:
-&:r.. i.\..
6=uz
-
Noo
N
o
N
o
!
l
@BYMICHAELGII.I.TZ