XANADU (unofficial) 25th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING September 30, 2005 Glendale, California

ABOVE: a marqee so big that it can't fit into a shot! BELOW: one of the ads from LA Weekly

Even though Xanadu's silver anniversary came and went without a mention (outside of some fandom circles), one fan, Heather Hoban, refused to let this milestone pass without a some form of recognition, or in this case, a party. And what a party it was! This special screening/party was held at the beautiful Alex Theatre in Glendale for September 30, 2005 with a special Xanadu memorabilia case (with animated cells), a costume contest and live dancers. The evening was also a chance for Xanadu fans to personally congregate and to show off their own collection (one lady was passing around a Xanadu press kit and one guy was showing a Xanadu 8-track "as performed by The Music Machine"). There was a small parade of hand-made Xanadu t-shirts, too!

The evening was hosted by Marc Edward Heuck, who was the "movie geek" in Comedy Central's 2000/01 series, 'Beat The Geeks'. He made a short and poignant speech about the movie's "sincere innocents" in the face of its flaws, the critics and cat callers. Then came the costume contest were 11 contenders were competing for DVD's of 'Can't Stop The Music', 'Fame' and, pretty much the grand daddy of 70's bad musicals, 'The Apple'. Two ladies dressed up as muses won first prize and picked 'The Apple'. Next on stage, Heuck brought up a member of the original Xanadu dancers, Tony Selznick. Tony mentioned that he enjoyed the experience very much but complained that if it weren't for the fact he was spending too much time "getting high with The Tubes", HE would of ended up marring Olivia, not his good friend, Matt.

Left to right: Marc Edward Heuck & Heather Hoban BELOW: Line 'em up, Dan-O!

Next on stage, Heuck brought up a member of the original Xanadu dancers, Tony Selznick. Tony mentioned that he enjoyed the experience very much but complained that if it weren't for the fact he was spending too much time "getting high with The Tubes", HE would of ended up marring Olivia, not his good friend, Matt. After Heather pointed out a few more Xanadu crewmembers in the audience, came the rare opportunity to watch Xanadu on the big screen! As Hueck predicted, there were numerous catcalls (though these were good natured) that sounded like a MST3K audition and some did complain. However there were some moments that deserved universal reactions like the vaudeville-styled hissing whenever Simpson showed up and when Kira pleaded, "Is anybody interested in MY feelings?!" everybody yelled, "NOOOOOOO!!" There were moments of karaoke, too. Large chunks of the audience members belted along with 'Suddenly', 'The Fall', 'Suspended In Time' and, of course, the various incarnations of Xanadu. They even clapped and stomped along with the 'All Over The World' instrumental section. However, the big cherry on top of this desert happened during the Dancin' number. Just was the number started on the screen, real live dancers popped up beneath the screen and began to dance along with the movie. The audience reaction was tremendous to say the least!

LEFT: Enjoy the horrors of analoug tape !!(just kidding, ya techno digital freaks). It's the Music Machine's version of the soundtrack!! Super Kual!!

to be continued HERE! HOME