First a movie in 1980 that became a cult classic, it's soundtrack is one of the most recognizable of all time, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the British group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Singles "Magic" and "Xanadu" reached number one in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively.
The musical, adapted for the stage by Carter Beane, opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran for over 500 performances. It earned an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Best Book. It was also nominated for Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book. In rewriting the script for the musical, Beane was influenced not only by the 1980 Xanadu film, but also by the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans, prompting him to add the subplot "in which Kira's jealous sister-muses doom her to fall in love with a mortal, incurring the wrath of their father, Zeus". At it's core, the musical is a hilarious parody of the movie. The score retains the hits from the film however and also includes new arrangements by Eric Stern of "I'm Alive", "Magic", "Suddenly", and "Dancin'", as well as integrating two classic Electric Light Orchestra songs, "Strange Magic" and "Evil Woman", plus Farrar's "Have You Never Been Mellow", a mid-1970s hit for Olivia Newton-John, who starred in the original film. Don't miss this fun fantasy that will have you singing along and laughing plenty as it nods and winks away. MAY 3rd and 4th @ 7:30 PM MAY 5th @ 2:00 PM Please follow directions below exactly to assure you are able to secure reservations and pay with link. 1. Make seating reservations FIRST by calling the box office at 804-343-6364. You must do this to confirm we have availability. 2. THEN enter the total # of Reservations you made and pay for your seats using the PayPal link on this page. Enter the total amount USD with no dollar sign. Adults/Seniors $20, Youth/Students $15 * We will match your reservations to payments made before you will be allowed to take your seats. NO payments at the door. 3. Parking is in front of the building, back of the building, or across near the Food Lion parking lot. 4. Seating will begin 30 minutes prior to curtain. Reservations by phone are required and seating is limited. If you have additional questions, email us at info@hattheatre.org * If you have any special seating needs or requests, please let the box office know when making reservations. ** Consider grabbing some dinner next door and enjoying it before the show at JaDean's Barbecue. There are also several other restaurants in the area. |
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"simultaneously indefensible and irresistible... there's so much silly bliss to be had... there is enough first-rate stage talent rolling around in Xanadu to power a season of wholly new, old-school, non-jukebox musicals, if someone would get around to writing a few good ones... the show's winking attitude toward its own aesthetic abjectness can be summed up thus: If you can't beat 'em, slap on some roller skates and join 'em" - The New York Times, Charles Isherwood "probably the most fun you'll have on Broadway this season, one reason being that everything about it is so resolutely anti-Broadway. In its wildness and ecstasy, Xanadu is a welcome relief from the synthetic creations that some Broadway producers have been peddling for years. Here you can't count the disco balls fast enough—not to mention the roller skates. Xanadu is far cheesier than conventional musical theatre, and it points out just how tame most other musicals are" - The New Yorker, Hilton Al. |
Performing two Richmond premieres a year as part of our family series of shows, this resident company of youth actors ages 9-19, who take class at the theatre, have the opportunity to work on shows that are new and fresh, with scripts that challenge & explore many themes. We hold open auditions each year to fill available spaces. There are no additional fees attached to auditioning for, or performing with, The HATTBox Players.
Past productions include several U.S premieres, and two world premieres,
- Les Misérables, a play based on the Victor Hugo novel
- Footloose, youth edition, based on the acclaimed film, with all the songs we all know and love
- Angie! by Don Zolidis, a musical comedy parody of Annie and several other well known musicals
- We Will Rock You, music and lyrics by QUEEN, story and script by Ben Elton, ran in London for 12 years
- Ax of Murder, a suspenseful, fun, murder mystery, written by Pat Cook
- Wipeout! book by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus, Music and Lyrics by Bill Francoeur, a 1960's surfing musical
- Whispers in the Night, by Paul B. Stevenson, a collection of urban legends, ghostly tales & fun gotcha's
- Murder at Aunt Agatha's, by Teresa & David Hockman, a comedy, a farce, a classic whodunit
- Alice in Wonderland, a musical by Greg Snape that is a bit darker than the usual version
- Girl of La Mancha by Patrick Rainville Dorn, an exciting, contemporary adventure very loosely based on Cervantes' Don Quixote
- A Winter's Gift by Michelle R. Davis and David Ward, a medieval romp with a heartwarming message of love and hope
- Final Vinyl by Kevin Frei, a futuristic Sci-Fi rock musical comedy, set on a distant planet
- 4 am and The Magic Hour, by Jonathan Dorf, exploring those who are awake in the wee hours, told in vignettes
- Masquerade, an award winning musical bringing focus to bullying and its effects and consequences
- Still Life with Iris (winner of the Kennedy Center Fund Award for New American Plays)
- The Atomic Brain by Kevin Frei (a Sci-Fi Fantasy)
- The Dream Makers by Barbara Hockley, a fantasy about dreams
- Home for Christmas, which touched on young people who are homeless and are taken in for Christmas dinner by a local family
- Absolutely! by Greg Snape (an Agatha Christie style mystery where cartoon characters are being erased one by one)
- Baker Street Irregulars by Flip Kobler & Cindy Marcus (a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery)
- Rock Toyz by Greg Snape (a rags to riches story, a British rock musical)
- Thursday's Child by Greg Snape (a children's rights musical about a group of children in a war-torn country, searching for a home, and for someone to love them.
- Robyn Hood, outlaw princess by Gary Daverne & John Reynolds (a pop musical fantasy out of New Zealand, set in the 1920's
- Groovy! by Tim Kelly, music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur (a musical comedy tribute to the 1960's and to the military who served in Vietnam).
- A Blast to the Past, a fun time travel romp through the 50's to the 70's.