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RCP IS BACK AND ROLLIN’ in XANADU!

The Royal Crown Players of Roslyn High School are back at it again presenting their absurdity on wheels, the award winning and “you are going to have a great time musical”– “XANADU!” Reliving the 80’s nostalgia of romantic comedies, legwarmers and roller disco...XANADU is a classic tale of boy meets girl, except that this girl is actually Greek muse “Kira” performed by Kelly Frank, sent from the heavens to Venice Beach, California to help struggling artist, Sonny portrayed by Mark Russ to achieve his greatest dream, to open the first ROLLER DISCO! When Kira falls into forbidden love with this mortal, two of her jealous sisters, Melpomene (Bryn Goldstein) and Calliope (Jordan Resnick) take advantage of the situation with the other muses along with greedy real estate mogul, Danny Maguire performed by T. J. Sheppard and a host of other heavenly bodies to complete a recipe of chaos with abounding absurdity that will have you laughing and enjoying a carefree evening of entertainment of theater.

XANADU (Book by Douglas Carter Beane) features the music of the Electric Light Orchestra and a legendary score by Jeff Lynne and John Ferrar which includes Top 40 hits as “Magic,” “All Over The World,” “Suddenly,” “I’m Alive,” "Evil Woman," "Have You Never Been Mellow" and “Xanadu,” to name a few.

Asked how he chose this musical for production, director Brad Frey who directed over thirty-two RCP productions stated, “I wanted to do a work that was fun, musical and entertaining with a touch of absurdity and create an interactive work of musical theater. We seat a number of audience members onstage to complete the intimacy of our performers to the audience along with a stage built into the auditorium.  Xanadu is that musical and of course the hit score and music of the Electric Light Orchestra with roller skating puts an explanation point on the whole show.” “I always want to do something new and different, and this confirmed it,” he added.

The original 1980 film version starring Hollywood heavyweights Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly was a surprise ‘flop’ while the 2007 Broadway musical version was a surprise ‘hit!’ Xanadu the musical ran on Broadway for over 500 performances and was nominated for multiple Tony awards. It also received both an Outer Critics Circle Award as well as a Drama Desk award. During its run The New York Times raved, "Heaven on wheels!" And The New Yorker called Xanadu "the most fun you'll have on Broadway." Frey added, “it will be the most fun you will ever have in the auditorium of Roslyn High School with its facsimile roller rink and you won’t be able to sit still.”

Rounding out the cast are the chorus of Muses played by: Ben Heller as Terpsichore, Maya Behiri as Euterpe, Josh Fried as Thalia, Caroline Aruanno as Erato, and Rose Verde along with Sydney Sirota as Polyhymnia and Urania respectively. Watching from Mount Olympus players are Jonathan Schatzberg as Zeus, Isabella Soffer as Hera, Abigail Drucker as Medusa, Oliver Topel as Eros and Alex Russ as Cyclops.

The Sirens who are also the featured dancers are: Maya Behiri, Daniella Futoran, Lanie Kotler, Olivia Rubrum, Lindsey Russ, Isabella Soffer, Rose Verde and Arianna Vigorito.

Rounding out the ensemble are Samantha Berg, Emma Dalessio, Julia Farinacci, Daniella Futoran, Maya Golos, Lanie Kotle, Nicole Lee, Samantha Matthews, Saul Rockmore, Trevor Rosenthal, Olivia Rubrum, Morgan Sapienza, Gianna Segura, Kyra Sorkin, Charlotte Trezza and Andie Weiner.

Along with Mr. Frey the creative team includes Ryan Occeña (musical director),  Diana Sabzevari (producer), Nicole Bianco (choreography), Cathleen Marx (costumes) and Erik Chocianowski along with Doug Sherry who designed and constructed the exquisite set.  The lighting design is by former RCP member Josh Azoulay (2010).

The onstage pit orchestra rocks the house with Brad Frey (conductor and keyboards) along with Ryan Occeña (keyboards), Jerry Hu (guitars) and Jonathan Lin (drums).

Other members of the creative team include stage manager Rebecca Golden and Molly Frank (assistant stage manager). The technical director and lighting chief is Ross Rosenfeld. The backstage chiefs are Devin Rosenthal (shop foreman), Ross Rosenfeld and Jasmine Ting (set design) and Molly Frank and Edwin Torres (set construction). The dance captains are Daniella Futoran and Lindsey Russ along with assistants, Lanie Kotler and Arianna Vigorito.  Other chiefs include – Sarah Golden (sound), Jessica Novick (make-up) and Sam Matthews (costumes) who is also the production manager. The business manager is Sami Pye assisted by Nicole Lee. The box office manager is Alex Russ with Kelly Frank and the publicity chief is Rose Verde.

XANADU will be performed on Thursday, March 22nd  at 3:30 PM; Friday, March 23rd and Saturday, March 24th  at 7:00 pm.  Senior seniors can attend the Thursday matinee for free. All performances will take place in the Roslyn High School Auditorium. To purchase or reserve tickets, visit their web site at royalcrownplayers.org  or call the Box Office at (516) 801-5156.  Ticket prices are $12 for adults and $10 for students.  So put on your dancing shoes or roller skates and come see Xanadu!