Theater News

Christopher Ashley and Douglas Carter Beane Will Collaborate on Stage Version of Xanadu

Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane

A new stage musical based on Xanadu, the 1980 film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, is expected to come to New York in the spring of 2007. According to producer Robert Ahrens, the show will first play out of town this fall before arriving at a 499-seat Off-Broadway house next year. It will be directed by Christopher Ashley, whose credits include All Shook Up, The Rocky Horror Show, and Jeffrey.

The book will be by Douglas Carter Beane, author of such plays as The Little Dog Laughed and As Bees in Honey Drown. The score will be written by John Farrar and Jeff Lynn, who contributed music to the Xanadu film. Five of those songs will be retained, including “Party All Over the World,” “I’m Alive,” and the title song.

The plot of Xanadu focuses on a Greek muse who comes to Earth, where she is incarnated as a human and helps an artist to build a huge disco roller rink.