Story by J. Michael Call

Weber State University student Sean Bishop is in his own personal Xanadu, thanks to some '80s-style short shorts, a cast that cracks him up and a director who is no stranger to muse-like behavior.

In the regional premiere of the zany jukebox musical "Xanadu," opening next Friday at Weber State University, Bishop stars as Sonny, a chalk artist living in 1980 Venice Beach, Calif. Discouraged over his sidewalk mural depicting the Greek Muses, Sonny becomes despondent and suicidal. He needs help and inspiration, which comes in the form of a blond, feathered-hair Greek muse named Clio, who rises with her sisters out of his sidewalk creation to help Sonny find Xanadu.

" 'Xanadu,' basically, is happiness. It's finding you own nirvana. It's a personal thing," Bishop said. "No one can give you Xanadu, you have to find your own Xanadu."

Clio, played by WSU senior Breeane Welch, disguises her true identity by changing her name to Kira, donning leg warmers and roller skates, and speaking in an Australian accent that sounds suspiciously like Olivia Newton-John's. She helps Sonny get his '80s groove back, but in the process, the two fall in love -- helped along by two of her evil sisters. That angers her father Zeus ... yes, that Zeus.

"Hermes, the messenger god, comes to tell Kira that Zeus is pissed and that she is going to be damned forever in the netherworld for falling in love with a mortal and creating art," Bishop said.

Why would Zeus be such a stickler for rules?

"There's a line in the show that says a muse can never pronounce her 'museness' to a mortal -- because how would there ever be an artist's ego?" Welch explained.

The first act ends as Sonny pleads with Kira not to leave him -- pulling off one of her skates in the process. Clio/Kira is clearly a conflicted Greek muse at a hysterical crossroads as Sonny and the rest of the cast belt out the Electric Light Orchestra hit "Don't Walk Away."

It's a muse thing

If this is all starting to sound familiar, it's because the musical is a fond spoof of the 1980 movie "Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton-John. The movie is a frequent contender on lists of the worst movies of all time, but nevertheless has become a cult classic.

The 2007 musical was a surprise smash on Broadway, where Jim Christian, director of musical theater studies at WSU, first fell in love with the show. WSU graduate Andre Ward was in the original Broadway cast and Christian was attending a performance when, suddenly, the wheels were in motion, and Christian knew he had to someday direct the show.

"Ten minutes into it, I was like: I cannot wait to get my hands on this thing," he said.

"For people who hated the movie, they will love it. For people who loved the movie, they will love it," Christian said. "For people who don't know the movie, it won't matter because it's just clever and takes the '80s and that whole vibe and merges it with mythology. That premise alone is ridiculous enough to get people started."

Although the film was a commercial bust, the album "Xanadu" was a certifiable success and includes memorable hits such as "Magic," "Xanadu," "All Over the World," "I'm Alive" and "Suddenly." Those songs are resurrected in the musical, along with other Newton-John and ELO hits not in the movie, including "Have You Never Been Mellow" and "Evil Woman."

Throw in Clio's eight muse sisters, a few of whom Bishop said are "blatantly men"; costumes reminiscent of both the '80s and ancient Greece; and a plot twist that satirizes another iconic '80s stinker "Clash of the Titans"-- and you have a recipe for delightful insanity.

Oh, and did we mention the roller skating?

Multitasking on wheels

It's not easy being a muse, especially when you are trying to learn a script, talk in unfamiliar accents, sing your heart out and roller skate at the same time. But Welch is approaching the task with a perkiness and attitude that would make Sandra Dee proud. Her character is on roller skates nearly the entire show, and Welch is grateful to her castmates who have endured a few knocks and bumps along the way.

"Most of the cast (members) don't wear roller skates until the last numbers, and they were steady on their feet and good anchors for me," she said.

Scenic designer Van Tinkham is currently busy with his crew, transforming the Browning Center's Eccles Theatre, a black box theater, into a disco skating palace. Welch is grateful the show is being staged in that theater instead of the Allred Theater, where the orchestra pit would have presented an additional obstacle.

"It kind of takes out the element of falling off the stage," she said.

Bishop was a little more familiar with a pair of skates, he said, having grown up in Delta where one of the only things to do was going to the local roller-skating rink. However, the skating was daunting when rehearsals began.

"It's really fun, but we were a little scared at first," Bishop said. "We were all just falling down constantly and didn't understand how we were going to keep our balance. And then we were blocking things and Jim would tell us we were going to move up on this platform on our skates and we would just go cross-eyed and have heart attacks. But he would just believe in us and coach us and we would have skating rehearsal every week, so that really helped."

Christian, who did his share of skating in his earlier days until an injury threw out his back, said the cast has risen to the challenge.

"The cast has totally stepped up and everybody has learned it," he said. "The difference is like night and day. The first thing they do when they get to rehearsals is they want to throw their skates on."

Who loves short shorts?

Now that they have passed the skating hurdle, Bishop, Welch and the rest of the cast are working to make the magic and laughs come alive for audiences. One of their favorite numbers is the duet "Suddenly," when Clio/Kira is working her museness on Sonny to help him fulfill his dream of opening a roller disco.

" 'Suddenly' is really fun because Bre and I are just completely insane and make each other laugh the whole time," Bishop said.

But comedy can be hard work, especially for a guy who loves to laugh and even bought a pair of colorful short shorts for his audition. That's how badly Bishop wanted this part.

"I've been saying the whole time this is the most fun I have ever had. This has truly been just a delight," Bishop said. "The most fun is watching everyone else, but it's also the bane of my existence, because they are all so funny and I have to not laugh at them. Jim's a pretty big stickler about that. He wants us to have as much fun as possible, but I know that if I crack and laugh at somebody onstage, I will be punished."

Even if he is "punished," it's apparent Bishop will still be in Xanadu, along with his co-star -- they are clearly doing something they love.

"Xanadu is wherever you are the most happy and with those people whom you choose to surround yourself with," Welch said. "I think it has a lot to do with making choices so that you end the way that you want to. It's kind of that classic cliche of following your dreams and whatever makes you happy, and that the arts are everywhere in the world and should be honored and celebrated."

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, Nov. 4-19, 2 p.m. matinees Nov. 5, 12 and 19.

Location:

Browning Center's Eccles Theater
3848 Harrison Blvd.
Ogden

Admission: $8-$11.

Tickets: WSU box office

Upcoming:

Fri, Nov 4 - 7:30 pm

Sat, Nov 5 - 2:00 pm

Sat, Nov 5 - 7:30 pm

Tue, Nov 8 - 7:30 pm

Wed, Nov 9 - 7:30 pm

Thu, Nov 10 - 7:30 pm

Fri, Nov 11 - 7:30 pm

Sat, Nov 12 - 2:00 pm

Sat, Nov 12 - 7:30 pm

Tue, Nov 15 - 7:30 pm

Wed, Nov 16 - 7:30 pm

Thu, Nov 17 - 7:30 pm

Fri, Nov 18 - 7:30 pm

Sat, Nov 19 - 2:00 pm

Sat, Nov 19 - 7:30 pm

Pictures and story found here