Hallo Internets. I’m having such a very busy week this week. I’ve been TRYING desperately to give away a free pair of tickets to Xanadu’s opening night at the Keller Auditorium! (Congratulations to @taradublinrocks, @blabbey, @ladygeek, @stevenguymcdade, and @divebarwife for getting the correct answer, and getting a shot at the free tickets on Saturday!)
For all my hard work, I got a prize!
Yes, yes, I did get a pair of tickets. @camikaos and I will put them to good use however, and blog our little hearts out to let you know how awesome a time it will be. It will almost be like you’re there with us! Almost. And then you’ll feel like you missed out on something amazing, and will go get your very own ticket. Because you don’t want to miss this much awesome. Seriously, people.
But that’s not the prize I’m referring to. No! I got to interview Annie Golden, who plays Calliope in the musical, to get a first hand feel for what the show is like. I know, right? How lucky am I?! So without further ado, here’s our conversation:
morganpdx: Ok, so first of all. Would you consider yourself a fan of the original movie? It’s become quite the cult hit these days. Did you watch it when it first came out?
Annie Golden: I actually didn’t watch it when it first came out, because I wasn’t a disco person, I was actually more of a ‘death to disco’ person. If you know anything about me I was discovered at CBGB’s. So I never really saw the movie when it came out. In preparation for the show – I was part of the original Broadway cast — we had a screening of it. I actually watched it recently, like at 4 o’clock in the morning, and it was just so hard to watch, it’s just…really not happening, whoever put it together. I felt that Olivia Newton John was beautiful, she always was, and Michael Beck…I remember when I did “Hair” in 1978, he had just finished “Warriors”.
mpdx: Yes, I heard that “Warriors” was a great entrance into movie acting for him, it was really well received.
AG: I know, so to do Xanadu next, it was like “What? What happened there?”
mpdx: ::laughs:: I saw a quote from Michael Beck that said “The Warriors opened a lot of doors in film for me, which Xanadu then closed.”
AG: Awww, oh boy. Well, the music is fantastic, so that’s the best.
mpdx: Right, right. How did you get involved with the Xanadu Broadway production?
AG: Well, I’m a Broadway actress, and a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, so I got involved when they were putting together actress auditions and readings for the show. I was involved at the very beginning. Douglas Carter Beane wrote this screenplay, and it originally had 9 muses, and I was one of the 7th-8th-9th muses, which eventually got cut. I represented 80’s icons like Patti Smith and Tammy Faye Bakker in the original concept. There were so many configurations that we tried, but ultimately Douglas Carter Beane started to trim down the script, and Chris Ashley, our director, started to get a concept for it, and when they went to Broadway it was Jackie (Hoffman) and Mary (Testa) as Calliope and Melpomene. So then they asked me if I would pit sing so they could have my voice on all those rock songs, and if I would cover the two evil women. I was so happy to be asked along, and I had never understudied before, so I said you know what? If you’re ever gonna do it you should do it with people who love and respect you. So that’s what I did, and Xanadu continues to be such a good experience for me, because Jackie is doing Addams Family, so I’m out here doing the role that she created on Broadway.
mpdx: That’s awesome. It’s always great to do things with people who you really enjoy working with.
AG: Absolutely.
mpdx: I haven’t seen the play yet, but from what I hear you play one of the evil muses. Can you tell me a little more about that part?
AG: Yeah! The setup is that there is Father Zeus, who is the father of all the muses, and he has a favorite daughter, and her name is Clio (Cligh-oh). And as with all families, there’s gonna be jealousy, and there are two sisters who are very jealous because they’ve been passed over, named Calliope and Melpomene. They’re the two evil women. They start to put a wrench in the magical works of Xanadu, and a love story ensues, and they try to set Clio up, and basically keep trying to make trouble for her.
mpdx: Isn’t it true that there’s a prohibition against falling in love with mortals, and that’s what they try to do to Clio?
AG: Exactly! There’s a lot of forbidden things, and some of them are that you’re not allowed to create art, you’re not allowed to create music, and you’re not allowed to fall in love with a mortal.
mpdx: That’s interesting. I studied greek mythology in school, and if memory serves that is actually pretty correct – the muses were allowed to inspire but not to create.
AG: Yeah, exactly. So, I think you’d be very impressed with how Douglas Carter Beane has adapted the movie into this silly, delightful, entertaining musical play! It’s very clever and he does use mythology – just when you think the mythology is written in stone, he’ll do something twisted with it. If you do know anything about Greek mythology, some of the things in the play are right on.
mpdx: That’s awesome. I think that would make the play that much more enjoyable, for me at least!
AG: Oh yeah! If you’re a Xanadu fan, you’re gonna just love this play.
mpdx: My next question is a little different. Portland is known for being a pretty social-media crazy town. We have blogs and Twitter and Facebook all over the place. What is your take on all that stuff?
AG: I don’t even have a computer, Morgan.
mpdx: ::laughs:: That pretty much answers that, doesn’t it?
AG: Doesn’t it? It certainly does!
I didn’t even have a cell phone until a couple of years ago! I’m one step behind in everything, I really am; and so the texting, and the twittering, I just don’t do it. In fact I visited with a friend of mine from Costa Mesa on my day off on Tuesday, and when she was driving me back to Santa Monica her husband asked her to investigate something, so she handed me her iPhone and asked me to google the answer. I had to hand her the phone back and say “honey I’m sorry I just don’t know how to do that.” If she’d had a different person sitting next to her she could’ve been multitasking!
mpdx: Well, I have a friend who still doesn’t have a cell phone, so you wouldn’t be totally out of place here.
AG: Wow…
mpdx: So the show itself. What is your favorite part about it?
AG: My favorite part about it, aside from the music, because we have some really strong singers – not everyone from Broadway can sing this kind of music – what I like about it aside from the music is the presentation of the piece. I also like the choreography, which is based on Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Choreography which is just amazing. I love the costumes – they’re very diaphanous, very delicate and pretty. I love the makeup, it’s specialty makeup, very glittery and shiny, a lot of glitter and gems. It’s a very heavenly show, really very heavenly and otherworldly, with a rockin soundtrack!
mpdx: That’s awesome. I do love the soundtrack, that’s my favorite. The music is one of the things I like most about the movie.
AG: Yeah!
mpdx: Another question I have is Portland tends to get written up in the NY Times a lot, at least recently, so we’ve gotten a big head about how cool we are. Have you ever been to Portland before, and what are your impressions of it?
AG: I’ve never been! I can’t wait, I hear such wonderful things about it! All the kids on the tour, they – this is my first tour, like I said I’m a native New Yorker, so I’ve always worked on Broadway or off-Broadway, so I’ve never toured – so the kids on the cast who have toured before, they *all* love Portland, and they all talk about how they can’t wait to take me around. Actually, everywhere I’ve been on tour so far – Costa Mesa, I had friends come from LA, and then in Sacramento I had friends coming from San Francisco; Portland I don’t have anybody coming, but then in Seattle I have friends, and North Carolina I have friends, Pittsburgh…everywhere on the tour I have friends to come and see me, but not Portland, Oregon; I don’t know anybody there. So, I’m so looking forward to just…being on vacation, as it were.
mpdx: Right, well if you need any tips on where to go or things to do, let me know.
AG: Yeah, that would be great! So now, why are you a Fanadu?
mpdx: Oh heck…I grew up with this huge crush on Olivia Newton-John.
AG: Oh, well that says it all then!
mpdx: It does, really. I loved her music, and I really loved that 50’s style grand musical feel that it tried to bring back, with having Gene Kelly involved. My favorite scene is the one with him and Olivia Newton-John when they do that dance scene…
AG: Oh, “Whenever You’re Away From Me”?
mpdx: Yeah, I love that song, it’s my favorite scene in the movie.
AG: You’re gonna love it in the show! It’s like an MGM musical, that moment. You’re gonna be so excited! Xanadu the musical will not let you down.
That’s pretty much it. Interviewing Annie was an absolute pleasure, and as she put it when I told her I was somewhat new to interviewing, “Don’t worry, I’m an old pro.”
Thanks so much to Ms. Annie Golden, and the whole cast of Xanadu for bringing some sparkly glitz and flashy glamour to Portland. We’re gonna soak it up!
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