"Xanadu' in Wilmington

Delaware is America's "First State." It was the first to ratify the Constitution, as its license plates remind us. It also has, on past occasions, been a testing spot for musical theater. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, tried out at the DuPont Theater in Wilmington before it opened on Broadway in 1971.

Nowadays that house is presenting some productions that pass Philadelphia by: The 39 Steps and Xanadu, for example. Both of these plays succeeded on Broadway and came recently to Delaware. Philadelphia theatergoers hardly ever trek to Wilmington, and that's their loss. It's only a half-hour drive, and the DuPont is a lovely theater on the ground floor of the Hotel DuPont.

Xanadu provided lightweight entertainment during its recent engagement. It was a pleasant diversion. A 1980 movie of the same name, starring Olivia Newton-John, was panned and did poorly at the box office. But in 2007 the playwright Douglas Carter Beane re-wrote it for the stage, with moderate success.

What's the point?

In the film, a bunch of artsy airheads in Venice Beach, California, pursue their dream of opening a disco roller-skating club in an abandoned theater. The stage musical, on the other hand, adopts a tongue-in-cheek nostalgic look at the film's earlier era. The leading lady (Anika Larsen) is intentionally made to resemble Newton-John, and we are left wondering what the point is. Are they making fun of the artsy people of that time? Or is Newton-John herself the satiric target?

I must conclude that there is no point. Larsen is likable and energetic in the Newton-John role, but she plays the goddess with an Australian accent that sometimes is broad and at other times disappears. She plays some scenes on skates but this show lacks the spectacular roller-skating of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express.

The conceit of Xanadu is that a goddess falls in love with a mortal who's dumb but extremely handsome. Max von Essen, in that role, is not the hunk that the audience"“ or the heroine"“ ideally would want. (Matinee idol Cheyenne Jackson played the part on Broadway.) Instead he's a pleasant nebbish with a nice singing voice.

Sparks fly

When Larry Marshall appears on stage as an older man who earlier was inspired by this same goddess, sparks fly. He's the most magnetic member of the cast, strutting and belting and exuding a warmth that's missing elsewhere.

The film enjoyed spectacular choreography with Gene Kelly (even at 68) in a featured role, but this production has very modest dance interludes. The show's main attraction, then, is a chance to listen once more to disco music— no small consideration for people nostalgic about that era, like my wife. The score is by John Farrar and Jeff Lynne, who wrote and produced all the music for the Electric Light Orchestra; the songs include "Magic," "Xanadu," "Party All Over the World" and "I'm Alive."

In a musical show, the most important element is the music. That definition makes Xanadu a not insignificant achievement, its other flaws notwithstanding.