Xanadu Cast Party

They danced onstage and through the night – the cast of Xanadu were the guests of The Shark Club in Costa Mesa following the December 17th performance. Cast members mixed and mingled and greeted fans and guests – and they treated the crowd of Wednesday night revelers to “Evil Woman” and “Party All Over the World.” Xanadu is making its first stop on a national tour at the Center’s Segerstrom Hall through Sunday, December 27.

Below: photo of Clement Gosch and Albert Ramos with Elizabeth Stanley

Below: photo of Lance Perkins, Elizabeth Stanley and Leo Buck

All About the Kids

Local families came to the Center last night to enjoy the first of three special Kids’ Night on Broadway for the hit musical Xanadu, which is kicking of its national tour in Orange County. In keeping with the show’s ‘80s theme, kids and their parents participated in fun retro activities, including disco dancing with cast members, playing video games and dress-up and much more before curtain time. As the pictures show, it was a groovy night. Kids’ Night on Broadway is being presented in collaboration with The Broadway League to help introduce young people to the excitement and wonder of live Broadway entertainment. The program offers parents who purchase one full-priced ticket a second free ticket free for a child between the ages of 8 and 18. Xanadu Kids’ Night on Broadway goes through Thursday, December 17. For more information click here.

Photos:
Above: Playing dress-up were Carla, Camryn, Britney and Derek Hamaguchi from Aliso Viejo. Photo by Kevin Bohn.

Below: Cast member Kevin Duda taught Leslie and Heather Fiebleman of Newport Beach how to dance a routine from Xanadu.

Below: Siblings Jonny and Mackenzie Gomez from Rancho Palos Verdes hammed it up in the Xanadu cut-outs.

Below: Teresa and Taylor Troyer of Lakewood show off some artwork.

Take a Trip Back to the ‘80s

Click on the video above to watch a fun shoutout from Xanadu leads Elizabeth Stanley and Max Von Essen. Starting tonight, they’ll be performing in the smash-hit roller skating musical adventure, which runs here through December 27. With popular tunes such as “Magic,” “All Over the World,” “Suddenly,” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “Evil Woman,” Xanadu is a welcome blast from the past. Good luck tonight, Elizabeth, Max and the rest of the cast and crew!

Ortega is In the Heights

Variety reports that Kenny Ortega will direct the film adaptation of the Tony Award winning Best Musical In The Heights.  This connects Ortega to two musicals on the current Broadway season, as he was also the choreographer of the original movie of Xanadu.

Disco Fever!

This year's Candlelight Concert was an homage to the '70s disco era with Donna Summer headlining the gala fundraiser. Mirrored disco balls lit the stage as revelers grooved to Summer's classic hits such as "Last Dance," "Love to Love You Baby," "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff." And a few lucky party-goers were chosen by Summer herself to be back-up singers.

Top 10 for '10

BroadwayWorld profiles 10 theater projects and artists to watch in 2010. Works by a few on the list will be seen at the Center in the coming months, including In The Heights' Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julie Taymor.

Listen

In case you missed it, here's a clip of Dreamgirls stars Syesha Mercado and Moya Angela performing on The Early Show on CBS this morning. 


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