X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Xanadu

  • Watchlist
  • Watchlist

In Los Angeles, artist Sonny Malone reluctantly returns to his job at Airflow Records - his job to do poster-sized exact renderings of album covers for on-site promotions, the renderings to be as close to the originals as possible - as he could not make a living as a freelance artist, where he could truly use his artistic vision. On his first day back at Airflow, he gets sidetracked by the thoughts of a young woman who literally roller skates into him. What he is unaware of is that their initial encounter and subsequent encounters are not by accident as she, Kira, a muse, was awakened by his lamentations about his art, she sent to help him achieve his artistic vision. This day, Sonny also meets aging Danny McGuire, a former big band musician turned construction company owner, he who wants to return to his roots by owning a live music venue. Danny initially and Sonny also do not know that their meeting is not by accident as Sonny will soon discover that Kira was part of his past. Sonny and Danny achieving their dreams is threatened by Kira knowingly albeit unpurposefully having broken the rules.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Olivia Newton-John
Kira
Gene Kelly
Danny McGuire
Michael Beck
Sonny Malone

Featured Video

Xanadu
Xanadu
1:53
Watch Now

1:53 Xanadu

Trailers & Videos See All

Xanadu
1:53

Awards

  • 2005 - Razzie Award - Worst 'Musical' of Our First 25 Years - nominated
  • 1981 - Razzie Award - Worst Picture - nominated
  • 1981 - Razzie Award - Worst Actor - nominated
  • 1981 - Razzie Award - Worst Actress - nominated

You May Also Like See All

Celine and Julie Go Boating
Pinocchio
Pan's Labyrinth
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Latest News See All

Blondie's Seeking Susan, and Other Stage Notes

Blondie is lending songs — including "Heart of Glass" and "One Way or Another" — to a West End musical based on the 1985 Madonna film Desperately Seeking Susan, says the AP. Emma Williams (Bat Boy) will channel the Material Girl.... Claire Danes makes her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle to Jefferson Mays' Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, opening Oct. 18.... Xanadu, whose Broadway bow was visited by one Olivia Newton-John, is drawing primarily positive reviews. The New York Daily News, for one, deemed the production "90 minutes of souped-up silliness" that translates into "a cure for the summertime blues." The Post, alas, offers one of the few grand slams, calling it "an absolutely ghastly show." I report, you decide.

Wed, Jul 11, 2007

On Stage: Vegas' New Producer, Bening on Broadway

Tony Danza, who over the past few years has transformed himself from has-been to sought-after song-and-dance man, will star as Max Bialystock in the Las Vegas production of The Producers, says Extra. The Who's the Boss hunk previously played the role on Broadway.... A few weeks after announcing that Annette Bening would star in the upcoming L.A. staging of The Female of the Species, Playbill says the three-time Oscar nominee will subsequently travel with the play to Broadway next spring — the first time in 20 years Bening has graced the Great White Way.... In case you missed it, Doogie won't be seen roller-boogying in Xanadu. The producers of the problem-plagued production tapped Cheyenne Jackson to replace the musical's injured male lead. — Reporting by Raven Snook

Mon, Jun 18, 2007
On Stage: Vegas' New Producer, Bening on Broadway

Xanadon't: Kristen Bell Won't Toll for Broadway

You have to believe... it was meant to be. Despite buzz that Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, might front a Broadway musical based on the infamous film Xanadu, the Olivia Newton-John role has instead gone to Kerry Butler, who last graced the Great White Way as Little Shop of Horrors' Audrey and recently lathered up One Life to Live. Though Jane Krakowski sold investors on her rollerskating reading in the workshop, yet ultimately had to defer to her 30 Rock obligation, lead producer Robert Ahrens says in a statement that Butler, who created the role of Kira in the first Xanadu reading, "was our first choice, and we are thrilled that her schedule has now opened up to join our production."Xanadu will no longer open in time to be eligible for for the 2007 Tony Awards, but instead will start previews on May 23, then officially open June 26.

Sat, Mar 3, 2007

A PLACE THAT NOBODY DARED TO GO...

... and to which nobody should be returning. Nonetheless, a stage adaptation of the 1980 movie musical Xanadu is, for better or worse, bound for Off-Broadway, roller-skates and all. Christopher Ashley (All Shook Up) will direct what I can only assume will be the most camptacular show to debut in spring 2007. Now then, is it too early to start campaigning for Kylie Minogue to step in for her fellow Aussie Olivia Newton-John in the lead?

Tue, Mar 28, 2006

Popular Movies See all movies

Crucify

1 hr 19 mins
A neon noir thriller that descends into a maze of nightmares as two teens trapped in a haunted crime scene are forced to confront their demons.
2020 Fantasy, Horror, Suspense, Drama
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Groundhog Day

1 hr 41 mins
A weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting "rat" (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the 'following' day, he discovers that it's Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage, then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing every day.
72   Metascore
1993 Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Space Jam

1 hr 28 mins
Swackhammer, owner of the amusement park planet Moron Mountain is desperate get new attractions and he decides that the Looney Tune characters would be perfect. He sends his diminutive underlings to get them to him, whether Bugs Bunny and Co. want to go or not. Well armed for their size, Bugs Bunny is forced to trick them into agreeing to a competition to determine their freedom. Taking advantage of their puny and stubby legged foes, the gang selects basketball for the surest chance of winning. However, the Nerdlucks turn the tables and steal the talents of leading professional basketball stars to become massive basketball bruisers known as the Monstars. In desperation, Bugs Bunny calls on the aid of Michael Jordan, the Babe Ruth of basketball, to help them have a chance at winning their freedom.
57   Metascore
1996 Animation, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Sports
Watchlist
Where to Watch

The Green Mile

3 hr 9 mins
Based on Stephen King's 1996 novel of the same name. Stars Tom Hanks as a death row corrections officer during the U.S. Great Depression who witnesses supernatural events that occur after an enigmatic inmate (Michael Clarke Duncan) is brought to his facility.
61   Metascore
1999 Suspense, Drama, Fantasy
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Gale: Yellow Brick Road

1 hr 44 mins
Dorothy Gale, now an elderly woman haunted by her past, tries to warn her granddaughter Emily, but when visions become reality, Emily is drawn into a land once wondrous, now twisted by terror. There she discovers unsettling ties to her family and encounters both strange new figures and distorted echoes of the past.
2026 Fantasy, Horror, Suspense
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2 hr 32 mins
This is the tale of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), an ordinary eleven-year-old boy serving as a sort of slave for his aunt and uncle who learns that he is actually a wizard and has been invited to attend the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is snatched away from his mundane existence by Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), the groundskeeper for Hogwarts, and quickly thrown into a world completely foreign to both him and the viewer. Famous for an incident that happened at his birth, Harry makes friends easily at his new school. He soon finds, however, that the wizarding world is far more dangerous for him than he would have imagined, and he quickly learns that not all wizards are ones to be trusted.
65   Metascore
2001 Action & Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Watchlist
Where to Watch