Arts & Entertainment
Skating into Signature
Gay-helmed musical ‘Xanadu’ gets regional premiere
‘Xanadu’
May 8-July 1
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington
$62-$86
703-820-9771
Charlie Brady and Erin Weaver in ‘Xanadu.’ (Photo by Christopher Mueller; courtesy of Signature)
Had the 1980 roller disco flick “Xanadu” never been made into the same-titled Broadway musical comedy, the clunky Olivia Newton-John vehicle would most likely have been relegated to the narrow shelf reserved for similar cult films.
A mostly awkward paean to mythology and passing fads, the movie’s saving distinctions include an ear worm-y pop score split between Newton-John’s personal composer John Farrar and Electric Light Orchestra’s Jeff Lynne, a parade of curiously hideous disco-era costumes and the fact that it features MGM’s dance legend Gene Kelly on skates in his final movie role.
Happily, the movie has been hilariously reimagined as “Xanadu,” the hit musical that’s poised to make its Washington premier at Signature Theatre this week. What’s most striking about the show is the way it pairs a sugary screen score (“Xanadu,” “Magic,” “Have You Ever Been Mellow,” etc.) with the sophisticated wit of gay playwright Douglas Carter Beane who’s also written librettos for “Sister Act” and “Lysistrata Jones.” He also wrote “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar,” “The Little Dog Laughed” and “As Bees in Honey Drown.”
Via phone from Manhattan, he describes “Xanadu’s” leap from screen to stage as the brainchild of the movie’s primary producer Rob Ahrens. After being let go by one of the major studios, Beane explains, Ahrens took a surfing trip to Central America. While lying on his board waiting for a wave, Ahrens formulated his next move — he needed to bring “Xanadu” to Broadway. Through mutual friends Ahrens was advised that Beane was the right man to pen the adaptation. Beane was skeptical.
“I knew the film,” he says. “In the early days of HBO, I think they played ‘Xanadu’ and ‘Clash of the Titans’ on an endless loop. Anyone who ever skipped school in those days knew them well. They’re not good. I remember telling my agent that the job sounded like a real résumé stopper. But Ahrens was relentless. He said I could do whatever I wanted, so I took another look at the film. It was still bad — it had become all nostalgia without the cumbersome taste.”
The plot is simple: Greek muse Clio leaves Mount Olympus for early 1980s Venice Beach, Calif., where, disguised as an Australian roller girl named Kira, she hopes to inspire artist Sonny in creating his decisive achievement, a roller disco. When Clio falls into forbidden love with Sonny, her jealous sisters see it as an opportunity to make trouble.
“Greek muses. Inspiration,” Beane says. “That’s the beginning of theater — everything we hold to be good, pure and beautiful. On the other hand, putting a bad movie on stage is the absolute butt hole end of theater. What would happen if I put classic Greek and ‘80s trashiness together? What would Aristophanes say? And I just started writing. I’d found my way in as they say. … I wrote the dialogue as if it were a good Edith Hamilton translation of the classics, but set in the 1980s. In turn, the set designer created a Greek amphitheater that was a really a disco roller rink. The choreographer fused Solid Gold with Martha Graham. The actors pulled out their best classical voices. Everything fell into place quickly; it all worked.”
Xanadu opened on Broadway May of 2007, ran for more than 500 performances and garnered Beane a Drama Desk Award for Best Book. Gay actor Cheyenne Jackson played Sonny.
Signature’s “Xanadu” is directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, the company’s associate artistic director, and stars Helen Hayes Award-winner Erin Weaver and handsome Charlie Brady (“South Pacific” on Broadway) as Clio and Sonny. Local favorites Sherri L. Edelen and Harry A. Winter, and big-voiced recent Helen Hayes Award-winner Nova Y. Payton are also featured.
Gardiner, 28, first saw “Xanadu” with Signature’s artistic director Eric Schaeffer during its New York run.
“As we left the theater, I remember thinking it was the most joyous, funny smart work I’d seen in a long time. I said to Eric that I had to direct this show sometime, someplace,” Gardiner says. “Time passed and he [Schaeffer] randomly told me that we were putting ‘Xanadu’ in this season. He thought it would be a good fit and that I’d be directing.”
He says the show works for reasons that aren’t obvious.
“Audiences love it because it’s funny, but they probably won’t see — and I wouldn’t expect them to see — what a well-crafted piece of theater it is. With its satyr play and party at the end, it’s like a Greek drama. I noticed that when I saw the New York production.”
Gardiner admits a weird fondness for the film version. When they were about 5, Gardiner and his twin brother James Gardiner (a talented local actor) spent a lot of time watching it and “Grease,” also with Olivia Newton-John. Gardiner says to enjoy “Xanadu,” the musical, it’s not mandatory to know the movie, but a cursory knowledge of its leading lady and her music, and a sense of what the ‘80s were, certainly helps.
Native to the D.C. area, Gardiner grew up in the arts. He played Tiny Tim at Ford’s Theatre and danced in the “Nutcracker” for 10 years at the Washington School of Ballet. He successfully co-directed and choreographed the terrifically fun and campy “Reefer Madness” and “Jerry Springer: The Opera” at Studio 2ndstage. He was named Signature’s associate artistic director just prior to this year’s season. Most recently he staged Signature’s hit premier “Really Really,” Paul Downs Colaizzo’s play about self-serving young adults and an alleged date rape.
After “Really Really,” Gardiner, who’s gay, says he was ready for something fun. With “Xanadu,” a brisk 90-minute zany sendup of a really bad ‘80s movie, he found his antidote. “It’s been great finding beats, punch lines and gags, but I’ve also enjoyed exploring the show’s real intentions underneath — love and joy and real life emotions. The process has been joyous.”
Young actor Mark Chandler, a pop tenor whose voice is perfect for the score, is thrilled to be cast in the production. As part of the ensemble, he plays assorted characters including one of the Greek muses. And while he’s been singing, acting and dancing professionally for some time, this is his first time on skates before an audience. Luckily, a skating instructor (Gregory VanderPloeg) was brought to bring the actors up to speed.
“Before ‘Xanadu,’ the last time I skated was at a birthday party in L.A. a couple years ago, and nobody was entirely sober,” says Chandler, also gay. “I can tell you, learning to skate has been a bonding experience for the cast. Falling and embarrassing yourself repeatedly does that.”
He and the cast, says Chandler, have a come a long way in little time. Now he’s performing all sorts of tricks — jumps, leaps and cartwheels on skates — and he does them all in gold sequined and lamé booty shorts no less.
“I didn’t know much about the movie. I first watched it after I was cast. It’s interesting,” he says diplomatically. “But the musical is another story. It’s a good time. I promise you’ll walk out of the theater laughing, and you’ll probably have a little glitter on you too.”
Theater
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
42nd annual celebration of excellence in local theater set for May 18
Helen Hayes Awards 2026
May 18, 2026
For tickets go to theatrewashington.org
Last year, when out director Tom Story took on the daunting task of directing Round House Theatre’s production of “The Inheritance, Parts One and Two,” he knew that casting would be important, maybe even paramount, to the endeavor’s success. So, Story didn’t mess around.
Penned by queer playwright Matthew López, “The Inheritance” (inspired by E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel “Howards End”) is based on gay culture in the wake of the AIDS crisis.
Story looked at actors he knew, and some he didn’t. He wanted low drama and maybe players who could relate to the LGBTQ experience. In the end, the production’s 13-person cast was entirely queer except for brilliant local favorite Nancy Robinette as Margaret, the wise housekeeper.
Clearly, Story’s vision resonated with audiences. Round House’s production of “The Inheritance” is the most-nominated work of this year’s Helen Hayes Awards, earning 14 nominations. It’s also one of Round House’s highest grossing popular successes ever.
The queer cast members whose ages ranged from about 22 to 60, worked hard and enjoyed the process, and along the way garnered an Outstanding Ensemble in a Play (Hayes) nomination for their efforts.
The ensemble included Jamar Jones as Tristan, a brilliant doctor who leaves New York for Canada after deciding there’s no place for a gay, HIV-positive Black man in America. For the experienced actor, being part of “The Inheritance” was profound: “I think it was a divinely orchestrated production.”
He adds “I really feel that it’s so rare that you get to work on a show of that magnitude…size, time, where virtual strangers genuinely fell into rhythm. We became a cohort. I never felt a sense of unease, or reluctance to try things. I could be as big or bold as I wanted to be; or I could be small. Fail, mess up, try again. I didn’t feel judged.”
Jones considers Richmond his home, but says “I’m based where the work is.” Currently, he’s back at Round House rehearsing “Sally & Tom” (May 27-June28), a play within a play/meta exploration of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by Suzan-Lori Parks.
Jones plays both a contemporary violinist and an enslaved fiddler, parts that have required him to learn to “air fiddle.” He’s all over it: “I want to represent the art and to be as precise as possible. Taught by an instructor, I’ve made strides with movement of the bow; next up is finger placement.”
Will he leave the play a violinist? “I’ll report back on closing night. Maybe I will have added something to the special skills list on my resume.”
For about a decade, Jones worked in living history, interpreting, performing, and writing pieces about the enslaved people of Colonial Virginia. Among the many historical characters he portrayed was Jupiter (Thomas Jefferson’s longtime enslaved manservant), an experience that’s proved a connection and preparation for his current role.
The 42nd Helen Hayes Awards celebration recognizing excellence in professional theater in the DMV will be held on Monday, May 18, 2026 at The Anthem on the District Wharf in Washington, D.C. Named for Helen Hayes, the legendary first lady of Broadway, the program consists of the awards presentation hosted by Felicia Curry, Awa Sal Secka, and Derrick Truby, followed by an after-party at nearby Whitlow’s.
With works selected from 149 eligible productions presented in the 2025 calendar year, nominations were made in 41 categories and grouped as either “Helen” (non-Equity/small Equity presence) or “Hayes” (Equity-heavy).
The many nominations are the result of 49 vetted judges considering 1,997 pieces of work, such as design, direction, choreography, performances, and more. The productions under consideration included 42 musicals, 107 plays, and 33 world premieres.
The following are more of this year’s queer nominees.
A past Helen Hayes Award recipient and nominee, Fran Tapia is competing against herself this year in the Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical (Helen) category. Nominated for her memorable turn as the diva barkeep in GALA Theatre’s “Columbia Heights Bolero Bar,” an immersive musical centered on songs of longing and immigration set in a diverse neighborhood on the eve of a divisive presidential election
“It was a challenging time, because a lot of what was happening in the show was happening in the neighborhood,” says Tapia who lives in Columbia Heights just eight minutes from GALA.
Based in D.C. since 2019, Tapia says “Being recognized in a country that is not my homeland but where I’m building my artistic home, is deeply meaningful. And the variety of roles I have been able to play speaks to the richness of DC theater and the collaborators who trusted me with these roles.”
Her other individual nomination is for the title role in Spooky Action Theater’s “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show,” a passionately comedic political satire. She approached the mysterious central character as nonbinary.
Tapia (“Chilean, Latina, queer and proud immigrant”) says while very different, both performances involved particularly strong characters. She’s grateful audiences responded positively to her work.
Stanley Bahorek, who moved to D.C. with his husband four years ago, is best known as an accomplished actor with a long list of Broadway and regional credits (including playing Carl, the gay son in Studio Theatre’s recent production of “The Mother Play”). Now, he is nominated for Outstanding Music Direction (Helen) for his work on “A Strange Loop,” a production of D.C.’s Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) in collaboration with Deaf Austin Theatre. He shares this nomination with Walter “Bobby” McCoy.
Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer wining play “A Strange Loop,” is the story of Usher, a Black, queer theater usher trying to write a musical. VOCA’s take on the work is seen through a deaf BIPOC lens with a deaf Usher played by a deaf actor (out actor Gabriel Silva). Invited by director and longtime friend Alexandria Wailes (who is deaf), Bahorek (who is hearing) joined the creative team as a sort of hybrid associate director/ music supervisor.
“I’m fluent in conversational American Sign Language (ASL),” he says. “I sort of functioned as a sherpa between the hearing and deaf and hard-of-hearing creatives. It’s been a great thrill to be a part of VOCA’s biggest production to date.”
If he and McCoy take home the prize, who makes the acceptance speech? Bahorek takes a beat before replying “That’s something we still need to talk about. And soon.”
A full list of award recipients will be available at theatrewashington.org on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Anthony Oakes will host “DC Black Pride Comedy Show” on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m.
Oakes will workshop his new hour about addiction, incarceration, recovery, and redemption with special guests.
This event will be hosted by the hilarious Apple Brown Betty with TJ So Silly, Howl Cooper, and featuring Patrice Deveaux. DJ Art.is will be spinning on the 1’s & 2’s. Libations will be provided by Drink Alchy. Images by RGF ENT. Tickets are $28.52 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Out & About
United Night Out set for Saturday
Team DC hosts evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag and community
On Saturday, May 16, Team DC is taking over Audi Field for United Night OUT as D.C. United faces St. Louis SC.
Come out for an evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag, and community. The night kicks off with pre-game fun featuring DC Different Drummers, DJ Heat, and a Pride Night OUT Party at the Heineken Rooftop. Then get ready for a 7:30 p.m. match, including the National Anthem sung by Dana Nearing and a halftime drag performance.
After the match, the celebration continues at the Post-Game Rooftop Party with DJ Heat and the After Party at Dacha Navy Yard. Game tickets and after party tickets are available now through Zeffy. After party tickets are $20 and include one drink.
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
DC Black Pride is around the corner
United Night Out set for Saturday
Calendar: May 15-21
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