Lauren Shealy and Aaron Vega in ‘Xanadu.’ Photo by Emily Lozow.

High rollers! Meet the cast and creative team that will bring Xanadu from Mount Olympus to the Garner Galleria Theatre

Denver Center Cabaret has announced the cast and creative team for the fun roller-skating musical Xanadu, to be presented by a five-actor ensemble in the Garner Galleria Theatre through April 28, 2019. And as has long been a point of pride for many homegrown Galleria productions, Xanadu features an all-Colorado company of actors.

Meet Aaron Vega

• Role: Danny
• Hometown: Mansfield, Ohio
• What’s your handle? @bardgeek on Instagram and Twitter
• What’s your website? aaronvega.com
• What have you done for us lately? Jackie in Off-Center’s The Wild Party and Theo in Lake Dillon Theatre’s The Underpants
• Twitter-sized bio: Actor, director, producer, overeater of hummus and pizza
• If you were ever to find yourself on Mount Olympus and asked to describe the 1980s Earthling fad known as “roller disco,” how would you explain it? 🎼Shiny happy people holding haaaaaaaands.🎶
• Best 1980s roller-skating song: ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’
• Best hand-holding roller-skating song for when they slow it down and turn down the lights with just you and the person you want to be your Saturday Night Skate City sweetie circling the rink: Scorpions’ “Wind of Change”
• Teenage roller-skating memory: When I was in junior high, there wasn’t a lot to do in Amish country Ohio. So we would go roller skating every week, and it was such an amazing time. Splitting a giant pretzel and a giant pickle and holding hands with a cute girl. Trying to master skating backwards. Amazing feeling. (But why was all the food giant?)
• Your present skill level on skates: Well, I haven’t put them on since junior high, so …
• Fill in the blank with any word other than “mellow”: “Have you never been _____: Snazzy? Have you never tried?”

To read a fun introductory, skating-themed profile of each cast member, click on a name from the list below:

Xanadu: Cast

• Female 1, Kira, Clio: Lauren Shealy
• Female 2, Melpomene: Sheryl McCallum
• Female 3, Calliope and Female 2 understudy: Sarah Rex
• Male 1, Sonny: Marco Robinson
• Male 2, Danny: Aaron Vega
• Male understudy: Seth Dhonau
• Females 1 and 3 understudy: Leiney Rigg

Xanadu: Creative team

• Director and Choreographer: Joel Ferrell
• Musical Director: David Nehls
• Assistant Director: Piper Lindsay Arpan
• Scenic Design: Lisa Orzolek
• Light Design: Charles MacLeod
• Costume Design: Meghan Anderson Doyle
• Sound Design: Craig Breitenbach

Xanadu: Ticket information

Xanadu, based on the 1980 cult film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, is a Tony Award-nominated musical that follows the journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse named Kira who descends from the heavens of Mount Olympus to Venice Beach, California. She is on a quest to inspire struggling artist Sonny to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time – the first roller disco. (Hey, it’s 1980.) But when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation and chaos abounds. This is a musical adventure about following your dreams despite the limitations others set for you, with an original score composed by pop-rock legends Jeff Lynne and John Farrar.

• Written by: Douglas Carter Beane (book); Jeff Lynne and John Farrar (music and lyrics)
• When: Performances through April 28
• Where: Garner Galleria Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex
• Information: Call 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE
• Groups: Call 800-641-1222
• Age recommendation: 12 and over

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

Aaron Vega was featured last year in Off-Center’s off-site staging of ‘The Wild Party.’ Photo by Adams Viscom.