Sharing the Stage with Olivia Newton-John

Last night, I attended the much-anticipated Opening Night of Xanadu the Musical, starring Kerry Butler, Cheyenne Jackson, Tony Roberts, Mary Testa (LOVE her!) and Jackie Hoffman (LOVE her!).

The show was fantastic—a fabulously fun, tongue-in-cheek satire/tribute to the crap-tastic movie that inspired it, and to 80's pop culture in general.

I sat on the stage with a couple dozen other people. Since this was Opening Night, my fellow "extras" were mostly rich folks, producers' families, friends o' the crew, and contest winners. It was a delight, but I have to say, I prefer sitting by the downstage stairs, thank you very much, especially when deliciously hunky Cheyenne comes barreling down the aisle, and those gorgeous long legs of his are merely inches away.

But, sitting in the Peanut Gallery gave me a great vantage point for when the original goddess joined the cast for the curtain call. That's right! Olivia Newton-John was in attendance (sixth row, aisle, stage right), and was laughing her arse off. She threw her head back and guffawed when Kira revealed that she would sport an Australian "ehk-sent" as a disguise to throw off Sonny, our "hero." I also saw her singing along to some songs, and giggling when she realized that they worked in "Have You Never Been Mellow?" and "Fool" (from the movie's finale).

View Pictures from Xanadu's Opening Night

The cast party was at Providence on West 57th. It was a nice enough place--three floors of NO A/C, and nice enough bartenders (except for the bitch on the main floor). I chatted with Tony Roberts (VERY briefly) and Kenita Miller ("Muse of poetry!"). We danced to 80's tunes till midnight and marveled at the fab centerpieces (see the pics). And the last song was, of course, "Xanadu"—singing and dancing to that with the Muses on the dancefloor was a perfect end to a wonderfully glittery evening.