‘Xanadu’ musical produced by Caine College of the Arts
“Xanadu,” performed by the Department of Theatre Arts (housed in the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University), opened at the Morgan Theater on Oct. 5. The show runs through Oct. 13.
This musical is one of six productions put on by the department this year and features big hair, forbidden romance, purposefully bad Australian accents, roller skates, Greek mythology and 1980s music.
Jason Spelbring, assistant professor of acting at the CCA and the director of Xanadu, wants students to be able to see this production and other theatre arts productions because he believes the program is one of Utah State University’s “best-kept secrets.”
The theatre arts program has been recruiting leading talent from all over the country on their audition tours every year. Last year, they were named one of the leading programs in acting to look out for.
Spelbring believes students at Utah State have a lot to gain from the Department of Theatre Arts. More than just edification that comes from seeing live theatre, students can access these shows free of charge with a student ID.
“Students have a leading training program and live theatre program that is absolutely, 100 percent free to them,” Spelbring says.
To get free tickets to shows, students just have to present their student ID to the box office.
Andrew McAllister “If students are not here to see it or know about it then we’re just doing theatre over on the far end of the campus in this little secret village that rarely gets explored. That’s why I say that we’re Utah State’s best-kept secret, and I think it should be shouted from Logan Canyon,” he says.
Spelbring hopes that students take this opportunity to come and see Xanadu to introduce themselves to the theatre arts program.
“If we can start to grow our base then we can start to listen to our audience and we can start to change our programming,” he says. “If we know what the students want, we can start providing season selections that they are interested in.”
Rachael Hodge, a senior in the BFA acting cohort, plays Kira/Clio in Xanadu. She loves the comedic flair that the show has to offer.
“If nothing else, they’re going to have a great time laughing their butts off, I think,” she says.
Hodge says it’s interesting to see how the different generations react to the show.
“People who were around when the show came out will get a lot of the jokes because the show is basically making fun of how much a flop the movie was,” she says.
Hodge spends most of the show on a pair of pink sparkly roller skates paired with pink leg-warmers. She dons a “purposefully bad” Australian accent when she’s playing Kira.
Hodge often shares the stage with Scotty Fletcher, a junior in the acting cohort. He plays Sonny Malone, the artistic romantic interest to Hodge’s Kira.
Andrew McAllister “Great music, great hair and great people,” he says. “And the novelty of skating.”
The show runs an hour and a half, straight through without any intermission. The shows start at 7:30 p.m.
“Aggie ice cream will still be open when the show is over,” Spelbring jokes.
Students can catch Xanadu at the Morgan Theatre on Friday Oct. 12 and Saturday Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free for USU students with ID. Tickets for adults age 18 and up are $18, senior and youth tickets are $15 and USU faculty and staff tickets are $10.
For more information or to purchase tickets, you can visit http://theatre.usu.edu/productions/upcoming.
@allisonallreddd