Xanadu

No Krakowski? No out-of-town try-out? Based on a notoriously bad movie? Summer opening? We were convinced this was going to tank! Though the look and vibe of this spoofy romp has much more of an off-Broadway feel to it, this $51-$111 a ticket Broadway mounting is pretty much worth it thanks to Douglas Carter Beane's crispy, tipsy, joyfully sassy book and a cast of hilarious actors who are in on the joke. From the second Kerry Butler delivered her first breathy Olivia Newton John-esqe vocal flourish she completely won over the gays (93.5% of the audience). She was a BLAST! As were Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman but that's a given. The beauty of this show is that no one is making fun of it more than itself and when the penultimate junction of all art is considered a roller disco there's tons of the-current-state-of-Broadway jokes to be mined. One complaint: You've got one of the hottest guys on Broadway in the gayest show on Broadway- Is it too much to ask to have him take his shirt off at least once?! 93.5% of your audience was counting on it!