By Sandi Masori
CORONADO, California – I think any self-respecting Gen X-er slightly remembers the movie Xanadu from the early 80’s, or maybe, like me, they remember that it starred Olivia Newton-John and roller skates. At least that was all I could remember about it before I went to see the play at the Coronado Playhouse. I wasn’t sure if the skates were an integral part of the plot, or if it was the piece that my childhood brain held onto.
Walking into the playhouse, the stage was decorated like a roller rink, which made me think that perhaps the skates were important. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for lead actress Hayden St. Clair to have to do most of the play in skates.
Let me quickly give you a little plot summary… Kira (St. Clair) is one of the nine Greek Muses, and she decides to go down to earth (as a roller skating Australian) to give some inspiration to aspiring artist Sonny Malone (Hunter Brown). But there are rules about going to earth to inspire artists, and those rules include not helping to create art, not letting on you’re a muse, and definitely not falling in love with a mortal.
One of Kira’s sisters, Melpomine (Marcy Ledvinka) is jealous of Kira, and along with another sister, Calliope (Astrid Pett) puts a curse on Kira to fall in love with Sonny.
Set in 1980 Venice Beach, California, The set is pretty simple, mostly relying on some walls, some neon signs and roller-rink carpeting. There was a fun cameo of a phone booth (anyone remember those?).
Let me say, first off, the show was fun. It was a bit campy, but that was probably by design. The audience left with a smile.
This is a community theater so sometimes it requires a little more willing suspension of disbelief. Some of the songs were a little flat at moments, and at times some of the acting as well. While I understand the bit about Kira being Australian was because the original role was played by Olivia Newton-John, who was Australian, I found the fake accent distracting rather than useful. I think it would have been a better choice to make her a valley girl, that would have been true to the time, and also easier for the actress to uphold.
One other thing that distracted me from the action, and this is only because of the events happening with the war in Israel right now, the main costume for Sonny is 80s athletic wear complete with tube socks and sweatbands around the head and wrists. Those sweatbands were green, and while one month ago I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, because of current events, I was wondering if it were a coincidence or a statement as it evoked memories of the Hamas terrorists who conducted the horrible massacre on October 7th. I’m sure it was a coincidence, but in light of the current situation and out of an abundance of caution, the costume designer may want to look for a different color.
The show was not without its bright moments. I liked the way that it called itself out now and again, as well as the 80s pop references. When the muses all spoke in unison it was fun. And there are a few actors who deserve to be recognized: Pett did a great job in her role of Calliope, Roberto Castillo Jr. brought comic relief as one of the Muse sisters, Gina Barba lit up the stage as muse Thalia. I also really enjoyed Oliver Caro- Willcox as the serious Danny Maguire.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about this production was that the casting had different body types that what we usually see on stage and screen. From casting Castillo as a muse, to bodies that represented a wide spectrum of sizes, I thought the casting was pretty representative for body positivity. As a big girl, I really appreciate that.
The audience had a good time and left smiling, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what we are really looking for in theater?
The show plays at the Coronado Playhouse through November 12.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and food reviewer for San Diego Jewish World. When she’s not covering food or theater, she helps authors self-publish, hangs out with her kids, and searches for the best sushi in town.