Xanadu (musical)

Xanadu is a musical comedy based on the 1980 film of the same name.

The musical opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran for over five hundred performances. It earned an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Best Book. It was also nominated for Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book. The US Tour officially began 15 December 2009 in the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Korean, Philippine, Australian, and British productions have also opened.

Summary
In 1980, chalk artist Sonny Malone is dissatisfied with his sidewalk mural of the Greek Muses and determines to kill himself. On Mount Olympus, Clio, the youngest, perkiest Muse, convinces her six sisters, two of whom are men, to travel to Venice Beach, rising out of the sidewalk mural to inspire Sonny ("I'm Alive"). Zeus' rules require that Muses must always be disguised from mortals. Clio has the idea to wear roller skates, leg warmers, and sport an Australian accent, and the other muses agree. Clio changes her name to something contemporary: "Kira". Inspired ("Magic"), Sonny decides that he can combine all the arts and "something athletic" all into one spectacular entertainment, a roller disco.

Melpomene, the oldest sister, and Calliope are jealous that Clio, the youngest, is the leader of the Muses and that Zeus had promised "Xanadu" to Clio, although no one knows exactly what that entails ("Evil Woman"). So they plot to discredit Clio and cause her banishment by tricking her into breaking one of Zeus's rules: a Muse must not fall in love with a mortal, so they will curse Kira and Sonny to fall in love.

Meanwhile, Sonny finds a good location for the roller disco, a long-abandoned theater in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles called "Xanadu." Kira inspires him to locate the owner in the phone book ("Suddenly"), and they set up a meeting with real estate mogul Danny Maguire, who used to be a big band clarinetist before he started in the real estate game.

Sonny visits hard-hearted Danny in his posh office in downtown Los Angeles and tries to convince him to donate the theater for the roller disco, because it would bring the arts to the Fairfax district and drive up real estate values. But Danny scoffs, even though he had plans to open the theater himself, once upon a time. As Sonny leaves, Kira arrives, jogging Danny's memories of an old love and dance partner of his, who looked suspiciously like Kira, named Kitty ("Whenever You're Away from Me"). Kitty tells Danny that although he had let his greed stop him from pursuing his dream to open the theater thirty-five years ago, he has a chance to redeem himself now by opening the roller disco with Sonny. Danny finds Sonny and tells him that if he can get the disco up and running in one day, he'll give him twenty-five percent of the take from the Disco ("Dancin'"). Excited, Sonny readily agrees.

Sonny finds Kira and tells her the good news. She is not impressed with the deal that he has cut. It is then that the evil sisters work their curse, and the winged Eros, along with "Mama Cupid", shoots Kira and Sonny with the arrows of love ("Strange Magic"). Kira is soon overwhelmed with guilt over her loving feelings and of having created her own art, a hand-drawn picture, alongside Sonny – both violations of Zeus's restrictions on the Muses.

With the help of some of the muses, Kira and Sonny fix up the old theater ("All Over the World"), and Danny agrees to go ahead with the opening. Clio realizes that she is falling in love with Sonny and tells him that she must leave ("Don't Walk Away"). But the evil sisters are not finished. Now they offer Danny piles of money if he will tear down the theater and build condos. Danny can't resist and tells Sonny that the deal is off.

Kira comes back to tell Sonny that she loves him, but the evil sisters tell her that she has broken Zeus's rules, and that she must tell Sonny the truth. So Kira reveals all to Sonny, including that her name is Clio, but he does not believe her and is upset. He suggests that she is a crackpot. He also doubts that she really loves him, and she is angry and hurt ("Fool"). The evil sisters have triumphed ("The Fall"), and Kira sets off for Mount Olympus to receive her punishment from Zeus ("Suspended in Time").

Meanwhile, Sonny and Danny discuss Kira and after seeing her in the sky, it all makes sense. Danny tells Sonny not to let go of his muse because of foolish pride as he once did back in the 1940s. Sonny, realizing that he really loves Kira, decides to find her, even if it means climbing Mount Olympus.

Back on Mount Olympus, Zeus's wives ask him to take pity on Clio ("Have You Never Been Mellow"). Thetis retells the story of Achilles and his vulnerable heel. All the demi-gods and demi-goddesses are so afflicted. This gives Clio an epiphany: She, too, is invulnerable, except for her heels, but when the evil sisters had her shot with the arrows of love, she had been wearing the "mighty legwarmers," and so she must have been completely invulnerable. This means that she really did love Sonny! Kira then declares her love for Sonny and rips off her legwarmers ("I'm Free") and attempts to fly away with Pegasus and Sonny, but Zeus pulls them down with copper chains. Sonny brashly declares that he would even fight Zeus for the woman he loves. Zeus, impressed with his pluck, decides to pardon Clio. The two evil sisters are displeased, the lovers are reunited, and Zeus reveals what Xanadu is: "True love and the ability to create and share art." Clio and Sonny go back to L.A. and Xanadu ("Xanadu").

Songs

 * "I'm Alive" - Clio/Kira and the Muses
 * "Magic"- Kira
 * "Evil Woman" - Melpomene, Calliope, and the Sirens
 * "Suddenly" - Kira and Sonny
 * "Whenever You're Away from Me" - Danny and Kira
 * "Dancin'" - Danny, Sonny, and the Muses
 * "Strange Magic" - Melpomene, Calliope, and Kira
 * "All Over the World" - Sonny, Danny, and the Muses
 * "Don't Walk Away" - Sonny, Danny, and the Muses
 * "Fool" - Kira and the Muses
 * "The Fall" - Sonny and the Muses
 * "Suspended in Time" - Kira and Sonny
 * "Have You Never Been Mellow" - Kira and the Greek gods
 * "I'm Free" - Kira, Sonny, and Pegasus (Does not appear on the cast recording)
 * "Xanadu" - Kira, Sonny, Danny, and the Muses

Most were released on the original Broadway cast recording Xanadu on Broadway.