Matthew J. Palm:
Garden Theatre adds ‘Xanadu’ to season.
A last-minute entry to Garden Theatre’s season is skating into the Winter Garden venue.
The silly musical “Xanadu” — which requires its leading actors to roller skate — will join the theater’s previously announced shows, with a limited run this summer. It will be the season’s seventh show.
Audience demand drove the decision to add programming, said Rob Winn Anderson, the theater’s artistic director. “Xanadu” will mark the first time a play will join the Garden’s summer offerings of movies, concerts and camps for children.
“The expansion of our theatrical season is a result of the incredible response of the Winter Garden community,” Anderson said. “‘Xanadu’ kicks off a new summer tradition for the Garden.”
The theater has been rapidly growing, reaching more than 65,000 patrons in recent years. Anderson was hired as the theater’s first full-time artistic director in October, just a few months after Nao Tsurumaki became executive producer. It has an operating budget of nearly $1.5 million.
“Xanadu” will run July 6-29, following the spring productions of “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” “A Tennessee Walk” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” It’s based on the 1980 Olivia Newton-John movie about a goddess who falls for a mortal with dreams of opening a nightclub.
“‘Xanadu’ is a quirky musical about the power of love, inspiration and overcoming obstacles — with the help of a little magic, roller skates and a singing centaur,” Anderson said.
Tickets will go on sale Tuesday at gardentheatre.org. Season ticketholders are being contacted by box-office staff with options for adjusting their subscriptions.
Books ahead
Burrow Press, Central Florida’s independent publisher,
has announced it will release four books in 2018 — one per season. They are:
“Second Wife.” A collection of loosely linked vignettes, Rita Ciresi’s work examines the private thoughts of a woman racked with unfulfilled desire. (Winter)
“Clean Time: The True Story of Ronald Reagan
Middleton.” Ben Gwin’s dark novel is framed as drug-addled memoir of a reality-TV star. It satirizes academia, celebrity worship and recovery memoirs. (Spring)
“Worm Fiddling Nocturne in the Key of a Broken Heart.” Whimsical fairy tales of princesses take a dark turn, while dark tales of mistreated sideshow freaks turn whimsical in this debut collection of stories by Kimberly Lojewski. (Summer)
“Space Heart.” Linda Buckmaster’s memoir recalls growing up on Florida’s Space Coast in the 1960s with an alcoholic father and suffering from a heart condition. (Fall)
A subscription, which supports publication of the books, costs $60 for the year. For more information, go to burrowpress.com/ subscribe.