Selections from the artistic process for the creation of the first poster for XANADU on Broadway. We wanted to create something that paid homage to the original iconic Xanadu poster, but moved away from the film to show the humor and high satire of the broadway production. We wanted it to harken a modern fantasy.

-B. Swibel
Producer on Xanadu

Hear Producer Brian Swibel Talk About The evolution of the Broadway Poster design for Xanadu:


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We wanted to create something that was reminiscent of graffiti or street art, which came out of the main character in the broadway production, Sonny, is a street artist. For this we sought out two of the best CD artists in LA.

Dealing with inspiration from the original movie poster was a challenge. The original had become iconic and had a blow up characterization of Olivia Newton John looking directly at the camera. We wanted to respect the original, but we also needed a whole new look for a whole new show.

We took a photo of our star, Kerry, and then turned it over to our brilliant poster creators who took her image and then created an Art Deco-like world behind it in keeping with the fun and excitement of the show. The final result really showed the great joy and inspiration which is what the show is about.

Sam Kiernan phoning Show Buzz fans while driving riving around, getting ready to get back on the road with Gypsy to Modesto CA.

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Hey, this is Sam, Tulsa in the National Tour of Gypsy. I’m calling in to say a quick hello. It is Saturday night here in Modesto, California and we just finished a 2-show day and last night was our first show back from break, which actually went really well until the middle of the first act when the main curtain stopped working so we had to re-adjust to lot of our blocking around the main curtain not coming and out. So that was pretty difficult.

But then once intermission happened, you know, we finally go it down and then we had people come in and fix and I think, it just came off some of the rails or something to that degree. But everything was fine after that. It was a great show. Audiences here in Modesto have been fantastic. And yeah, they seem to really be enjoying the show, which is great.

And today, we had a 2-show day and I actually have been hurting quite a bit because my shins have been killing me all day long and I think it’s really haven’t gotten to those shoes in a long time and they’re kind of hard to dance in and we do a lot of you know jumping over our legs and probably that after a while and I was running last night and this morning and I think I may have over done a little bit. So I need to take my own advice and you know, keep myself in check a little bit.

I’m not sure, I think we have one (indistinguishable) tomorrow and then we have a night off in Modesto and then on Monday, we drive 400 something miles to Las Vegas and I’m going to be seeing a friend, within the Mamma Mia cast out in Las Vegas so that will be fun.

Alright, that’s about it. Well, have fun guys and talk to you soon. Great, bye!

Here is Part I of a collection of some of our favorite videos related to Xanadu on Broadway currently being shared on the web.

Video 1:
Kerry Butler and Cheyenne Jackson "Suddenly" live on The View, September 12, 2007

Video 2:
Xanadu being featured on ABC News Nightline right before the Broadway opening.

Video 3:
A Pug dog named Louie singing along with the original film soundtrack. Louie is a big Olivia Newton-John fan who likes to sing along with her on the radio.

Enjoy!


Continue reading "Xanadu on Broadway Videos Part I"

Checking in from Chattanooga TN! It is winter, people have been sick! So understudies abound. We have a really talented cast.

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Everyone at Show Buzz is buzzing about the fact that the irreverent and wild cast of Xanadu will begin letting you in on what exactly goes on backstage of the funny and inspiring musical that the New York Times callls "the outlandishly enjoyable stage spoof of the outrageously bad movie from 1980". Look for the cast to start leaving you exclusive video, voice messages and diary entries next week!

Kathy Halenda is our Mama Rose. She really is wonderful. She has done so many tours. She has played the role before in regional theaters. Because of the fact that she is not neccessarily known to many of these audiences, it allows people to really focus on the character of Rose. Most of the Roses that people have heard of or have seen perform take the character to a particular "star" place. This show was written for a star (Ethel Merman). Her entrance and the whole opening scene usually just about "Ethel Merman just walked in!" in or Bernadette Peters or Patti LuPone and then the whole first scene is people just getting used to her being on stage.

With Kathy they really get more of a sense of the character. With her I feel like the show is a little more poignant. You can get a little sense of it from the video.

Shout Out from Adam Dulin on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.


Hey It’s Adam on tour with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. We are currently in Nashville, Tennessee. I started touring September 12th of last year, 2007; and we go until March 23rd. We had a three-week break for the holidays and unfortunately, one of our cast mates decided at the very last minute not to return to the show. In fact, he didn’t get on the plane and didn’t call anyone until an hour before we all arrived here and in Nashville!
Continue reading "It’s Adam Dulin on tour with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"