Kerry Butler to Star in Broadway’s Xanadu; New Musical to Open at Helen Hayes on June 26
(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna)
Kerry Butler will play Kira in the Broadway musical Xanadu, which is slated to begin previews at the Helen Hayes Theater on May 23 and to open officially on June 26. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
The show will be directed by Christopher Ashley; it has a script by Douglas Carter Beane, author of such plays as The Little Dog Laughed and As Bees in Honey Drown.
Based on the 1980 film of the same title, Xanadu focuses on a mysterious woman named Kira who inspires an artist named Sonny and a former band leader to build a big roller disco. The show’s score will incorporate songs from the film, which were written by John Farrar and Jeff Lynne.
Butler played Kira in the first reading of the show. She has appeared in such Broadway shows as Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, and Beauty and the Beast; her other stage credits include The Opposite of Sex and Bat Boy: The Musical. Most recently, she played the role of Claudia Reston on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live.
