Lauren Shealy was a featured player earlier this year in ‘First Date’ at the Garner Galleria Theatre. 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 from November 3, 2018, 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 Lauren Shealy

• Role: Kira, Clio
• Hometown: Centennial
• What’s your website? I do not have a website, but I will tell you my top three favorites! 1) Blondeponytail.com. 2) Amazon.com. 3) Astrologyzone.com. (I admit it!)
• What have you done for us lately? I played Woman 1 in First Date and Woman 1 in a workshop of For the Love of George. I am a woman. I am just one woman. But I am many women in my one womaness. I am woman, hear me roar, I skate on wheels that number 4 — Hah!
• Twitter-sized bio: These are the things that bring me joy: My children, my family, the gym, delicious food, a wonderful story, music, singing that music, collaborating, communing, baking, storytelling, cuddling, tree-hugging, stargazing, moon-measuring, learning, discovering and LOVING.
• 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? An Earthling’s closest approximation of Heaven — a swirl of music and well-ventilated air, polyurethane wheels of wonder, the stars beneath your feet, a thousand potential loves to woo, and the chance to meet Zeus should your fancy footwork prove fatal.
• Best 1980s roller-skating song: It was released in 1977, but I just don’t care: Play me “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer. It doesn’t get any better than that.
• 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: Ok, so apparently 1977 is big for me. I am embracing it and going with “Easy” by the Commodores.
• Teenage roller-skating memory: I did not spend much time roller skating as a kid, but I went a couple of times and my body still remembers the shock of transitioning from carpet to rink — or from carpet to impossibly slick bathroom floor. And about that bathroom: I remember a completely white bathroom at Skate City. White floor, white walls, white stall doors, white hand-dryers, white, white, white. All I could think about in all that whiteness was what would happen to the decor if I slipped and hit my head on the porcelain.
• Your present skill level on skates: Um, beginner. Things can go terribly wrong very quickly for me right now. The thought of a ramp fills me with abject terror. I have a long skate in front of me.
• Fill in the blank with any word other than “mellow”: “Have you never been _____: happy? 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 November 3, 2018, through April 28, 2019
• 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