Arts & Entertainment
Escapism on skates
Signature’s ‘Xanadu’ is well-executed camp fun
‘Xanadu’
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, VA
Through July 1
703-820-9771
Charlie Brady, center, as Sonny in Signature’s ‘Xanadu.’ (Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy Signature)
The “Xanadu” chracter Muse Calliope is onto something when she says the roller derby in the show is like “children’s theater for 40-year-old gay people.”
On stage now at Arlington’s Signature Theatre, this trashy movie-turned-Tony-winning Broadway adaptation is near-perfect theatrical escapism.
It’s based on the 1980 turkey that derailed the budding movie career of singer Olivia Newton-John and that featured the last movie appearance of the legendary dancer Gene Kelly as the tycoon who has chosen commerce over art. The basic plot remains the same.
Clio (Erin Weaver) is the leader of the Muses, the Greek demigoddesses who bring artistic inspiration to mortals. Disguised an Australian woman named Kira (a comic nod to Newton-John’s indelible cinematic performance), she descends to earth to bolster the confidence of Sonny (Charlie Brady), a sidewalk artist who dreams of opening a roller disco. She also encounters Danny, a real estate mogul who rejected Kira’s inspiration. Danny still owns the theater he built under her influence, and he and Sonny become business partners. Needless to say, despite a few curses, several broken rules, and some heartbreak and confusion, Sonny and Kira/Clio fall in love and skate off to their happy ending.
Writer Douglas Carter Beane (“The Little Dog Laughed” and “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar”) nimbly fleshes out the movie plot with campy pop culture references and a delicious new subplot featuring the nasty machinations of Clio’s jealous sisters, the muses Melpomene and Calliope. He also expands the movie soundtrack with other period pop tunes by Jeff Lynne (ELO) and John Farrar. As you might expect, the openly gay Beane brings a light touch to the clichéd plot, but he also brings some unexpected emotional depth to the story. Although the evening moves along briskly (90 minutes without an intermission), there are some slow spots (most notably the flashbacks between the ageless Clio and the young Danny) and Beane’s adaptation never fully embraces the movie’s sappy-yet-moving theme that the elusive Xanadu is the pursuit of love and art.
Under the assured hand of director and choreographer Matthew Gardiner, Signature Theatre’s openly gay associate artistic director, the creative team stitches together a frothy and effective show that is truly “an Acme of all the arts” (to use Sonny’s description of his roller disco dreams). Gardiner’s witty and energetic choreography cannily combines a send-up of disco moves for the mortals with a spoof of Martha Graham routines for the Muses and Greek gods.
He gets solid support from his designers, especially the lighting by Chris Lee (with the mandatory mirror balls) and the costumes by Kathleen Geldard (with lovely flowing Grecian robes, the requisite sequins and de rigueur leg warmers that play a surprisingly important role in the plot). They mine the comedy for all it’s worth, hit all of the right notes of the 1980s pop score (kudos to Music Director Gabriel Mangiante and his four-piece band) and put together lovely stage pictures.
Gardiner also gets strong performances from his likeable leads and a versatile ensemble that appear in a variety of roles from Centaurs to Muses to an endless array of back-up singers. Brady and Weaver play the comedy just right, with the proper balance of naiveté and campy self-awareness. Both are strong and attractive singers and dancers who bring unquenchable enthusiasm to the bubbly material.
The show shines most brightly, however, when Nora V. Payton takes center stage as Melpomene, the evil Muse of tragedy. She gets the best material in the script and she delivers with zest and finesse. Payton (who inspired audiences as Motormouth Maybelle in “Hairspray” and will no doubt thrill audiences as Effie in next season’s “Dreamgirls”) lights up the stage with her wicked sense of style, an incredible vocal presence and her gleeful delivery of verbal and physical zingers. She is given great comic and vocal support from her evil henchwoman Calliope (played by Sherri L. Edelen who also shines in a giddy cameo as a Francophile Aphrodite, goddess of love). Their duet of the rock classic “Evil Woman” is a highlight of the evening.
The skating, under the guidance of Gregory Vander Ploeg, is impressively staged and includes the tender duets between Kira and Sonny, Kira’s hilarious descent down on a staircase wearing only one skate, and the rollicking finale which brings the entire cast to the new roller disco.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian marked International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Theater
Miss Kitty tackles classical mythology in ‘Metamorphoses’
Folger production seen through the lens of the African diaspora
‘Metamorphoses’
May 7-June 16
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Miss Kitty’s words are thoughtful and measured, occasionally punctuated by flamboyant flourishes and uplifting proclamations. Her tried and tested tagline is “live in fierce not fear.”
She describes herself as “AMAB (assigned male at birth), nonbinary, genderqueer, transfemme” as well as “chanteuse, noble blacktress, and dancer.”
Currently, Miss Kitty is testing her talents in Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” at Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill.
At 90 minutes, “Metamorphoses,” is made up of interwoven vignettes from classical mythology including the tales of Midas and his daughter, Alcyone and Ceyx, and Eros and Psyche.
“It’s all stories that relate to the human condition: the follies, the happiness, the love, the loss,” Miss Kitty explains. “And a thorough knowledge of mythology isn’t a requirement for enjoyment.”
The language is contemporary and with its 11-person ensemble cast – comprised exclusively of Black or indigenous people of color – they’re adding their own spin to its present-day feel, she adds.
In Zimmerman’s famously staged premiere production, the actors performed in and around a pool of water. At Folger, director Psalmayene 24 has ditched actual aquatics; instead, he suggests the element by introducing Water Nymph, a new character constructed around Miss Kitty.
Water Nymph doesn’t speak, but she’s very visible from the opening number and throughout the play on stage and popping up in unexpected places around the venue.
“It’s a lot of dancing; I haven’t danced the way Tony Thomas is choreographing me in a very long time. At 40, can she still make theater with just my body as her instrument?
The name “Miss Kitty” was born over a decade ago.
Miss Kitty recalls, “She was still presenting as male and going by her dead name. Someone commented that with the wig she was wearing for a part, she looked like Eartha Kitt whom she deeply admires.”
Her penchant for illeism (referring to oneself in third person) isn’t without good reason. She explains, “It’s to reiterate that however she might look, she’s always there; and if you misgender, she will let you know.”
Initially, the moniker was a drag persona at Capital Pride or the occasional fabulous cabaret performance at a nightclub.
But as time passed, she realized that Miss Kitty was something she couldn’t take off. She had always been a part of her.
“She’s helped me to grow and flourish; she’s given me the strength that I never would have had before. I’m so proud of myself for realizing that before it was too late.”
Bringing Miss Kitty into her theatrical career presented some concerns. Would theater folks be open to the new her, especially those she’d worked with before?
Not always, but she’s found new companies who’ve welcomed Miss Kitty with open arms including Avant Bard, Spooky Action Theater, and now Folger.
Last fall, Miss Kitty appeared in Spooky Action’s Agreste (Drylands), a stunning queer story penned by gay Brazilian playwright Newton Moreno.
After being invited to audition and reading the script, Miss Kitty was determined to be a part of the production.
A work dealing with love and being trans, and transphobia, and how people can turn on a dime once they learn the truth about someone, resonated deeply with the actor.
“The play speaks to the idea that if people just let people be who they are and love who they want to love we’d all be a lot happier,” she says.
For her sublime efforts, Miss Kitty nabbed a Helen Hayes Award nomination in the Outstanding Lead Performer category (winner to be determined on Monday, May 20 during a ceremony at The Anthem).
It’s her first time nominated and first time attending. She’s thrilled.
Miss Kitty grew up in Oxen Hill, Md., and now lives near Washington Harbor. Her entry into performance was through music followed by high school plays. She graduated from Catholic University with a degree in music/concentration in musical theater, and from there dove directly into showbiz.
Looking back, Miss Kitty says, “being a person of color AND queer can be a double whammy of difficulty. You have to live in light and do the things you’re afraid to do. That’s the game changer.”
Presenting “Metamorphoses” through the lens of the African diaspora (the cast also includes Jon Hudson Odom and Billie Krishawn, among others) helps us to realize that every story can be universal, especially for marginalized people — South Asian, Native American, or fully queer perspectives, she says.
“Having an all-Black ensemble opens all new worlds for everyone.”
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