“This is like children’s theater for forty-year-old gay people,” says Calliope, muse of epics, to the audience in one of Xanadu’s characteristic breakings of the fourth wall. This rib-tickling musical with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra) and John Farrar premiered on Broadway in 2007 and ran for 500 performances. Now playing at Arlington’s oldest community theater, Dominion Stage, and directed by Carol Jean Clarke, it’s a mythical camp fest. Filled to the brim with quippy dialog and quasi-absurdist circumstances, the musical can be a challenge for non-professional theaters based on an unusual demand: it is, for the most part, intended to be performed on roller skates.
Xanadu trades the High Italian Renaissance for the chirpier landscape of Venice, California, in the 1980s. Aspiring young artist (and major surf bro) Sonny Malone (Sean Love) would rather jump off the Santa Monica Pier than forgo his own career as an artist. Enter the sisters nine, muses of the arts, born of Zeus in Ancient Greece to save the day. Individuated by Kit Sibley’s glittering, color-coded costume design, the muses emerge from Sonny’s chalk mural — an array of neon silks that comprise most of Clark’s minimalist (but sugary) set. We meet Calliope (Melanie Campbell), Melpomene (Jennifer Thomas, u/s Jordyn Nicole), Thalia (Eric Morris), Euterpe (Megan Grieg), Erato (Jordyn Nicole, u/s Karen Shim), Terpsicore (Melissa J. Dyer), plus Urania on keyboards (David Weinraub) and Polyhymnia on synth (Rachel Anne Bradley). Molly Dorion leads the pack as Clio, our leading ingénue who holds but one selfless desire: to save Sonny from his own artistic ruin.
The muses are quick to remind Clio of two god-given rules when intervening in the lives of those on Earth: a muse must never make art themselves, and a muse must never fall in love with a mortal. Eager to prove her worth to her father, Zeus, and win the promises of an unbeknownst glory referred only to as “xanadu,” Clio sets out on her quest. Once in Venice Beach, she disguises herself with sporty 1980s flair, an Australian accent (in homage to Olivia Newton-John, who originated the role in the 1980 film of the same name), and a pair of roller skates. She redubs herself Kira. The thing is, Kira and Sonny have beachy chemistry and, with quotable maxims about the power of creating art, it is needless to say, she is likely to violate both of Zeus’ rules.
With Kira’s guidance, Sonny sets out to purchase an abandoned theater called the “Xanadu” from real-estate tycoon Danny Maguire (Javier Buentello) with the aspiration of turning it into a roller disco. When Danny meets Kira, however, he is swept back into a World War II–era flashback featuring a southern belle named Kitty with whom he once tried to open a cabaret theater, but for whom he could never abandon his more worldly ambitions. Seizing the opportunity for a do-over, Danny tells Sonny that if he can fix up the building in one day, then they will reopen the “Xanadu” as partners. Silly circumstances abound, a lover’s quarrel sends Kira back up to Mount Olympus via her flying pegasus, but, rest assured, all will be righted in the name of art, love, and, of course, Xanadu.
The script of this musical is blissfully aware of its own ridiculousness. Some of its best gags involve punny commentary on theater itself (like comically timed observations about double casting, plus at one point Calliope literally “chews the scenery”). Lucky for us, ELO’s score is pure ear candy. Actors Dorian and Love do well with synthetic bops like “Strange Magic” and “Suddenly,” while the villain-track Nicole and Campbell (the performance I attended featured stellar understudy performances) offer up a spicy rendition of “Evil Woman.” Love especially shines with the mellifluous act one closer: “Don’t Walk Away.” While her choreography is a bit uninspired, Clarke does excellent work with the overall synergy between roles, with each character profiting from a uniquely developed personality, even with the constraints of double-casting.
Dominion Stage’s production is fun all around. But it needs to grease the wheels a bit more when it comes to the roller-skating element. Skating is underused and underemphasized in this production, which feels antithetical to its legacy. Appreciating that it is no simple task for these performers to somehow become quadruple threats overnight (multiple snow closures might have also hindered their level of comfortability on skates), technical mastery is not necessary to make the skating stand out. The issue is that skating is relegated to an afterthought when it is, after all, Xanadu’s greatest calling card. That said, I applaud this production’s ability to, as they say, roll with the punches.
Running Time: Two hours, including one intermission.
Xanadu plays through February 14, 2026, presented by Dominion Stage performing at Gunston Theatre Two, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington, VA. Purchase tickets ($30 for general admission) at the door or online. Learn more here.
