Xanadu Good Despite Itself
In Coleridge’s Xanadu “did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree.” In Hollywood’s “Xanadu” it’s a nightclub decreed by Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly and Michael Beck.
We’ve come a long way, baby. It seems Newton-John is one of the nine muses descended from Mt. Helicon to inspire Beck, who has a dull job copying record-album covers for posters.
Earlier, she had similarly inspired Gene Kelly wher he played clarinet for the Glenn Miller band. Although he fell in love with her as who couldn’t - he joined the construction business after World War II and now confines his playing to noodling around.
By all odds, “Xanadu” ought to be a disaster. In fac it’s a rather charming lightweight musical fantasy ideal for summer viewing because it doesn’t clobber us with coyness. The big production numbers, with music by John Farrar and Electric Light Orchestra are fresh and imaginative.
The central idea of “Xanadu” is as thin as the halo that surrounds Newton-John. Kelly and Beck join forces to convert a dilapidated auditorium the size of Concorde hangar into a dance hall where the Big Bang sound of the ’40s can successfully merge with the rock blare of the ’80s.
Under Olivia’s inspiration, the impossible happens and the conflict of generations is resolved.
Particularly memorable is a jitterbugging sequence complete with Andrews Sisters-type crooning, that is far more beguiling than the bloated one in 1941.
All involved in the production should take a bow for coming up with exactly what we need in these dog days, a cotton candy musical of no pretensions but filled with sprightly, engaging performances.
By RICHARD FREEDMAN, Newhouse News