Jackie Hoffman: The Strange Magic of Xanadu
About the author:
The hilarious Jackie Hoffman is bringing her gift for landing a punch line to the new Broadway musical Xanadu. This goddess of comedy is finally playing a heavenly or is it hellish? creature onstage as Calliope, belting out "Evil Woman" alongside Mary Testa as Melpomene, muse of tragedy. After a scene-stealing turn as the original Prudy Pingleton in Hairspray, Hoffman spent the last few years perfecting the art of the one-woman show at Joe's Pub most recently in Jackie with a Z and won laughs last season as the wisecracking Jewish maid to an uber-WASP couple in the off-Broadway premiere of Paul Rudnick's Regrets Only. Broadway.com asked the actress how she got involved in Xanadu, and she rewarded us with a Hoffman-ian stream-of-consciousness account of her journey to Mount Olympus.
This show is nothing short of a miracle. I consider myself so fortunate to be playing the role of Calliope, the evil muse in Xanadu. Not to mention Aphrodite, the goddess of love. I mean, how often does a girl get a chance like that? A "character" girl, yet. I get to open my comic bag of tricks and empty the whole damned thing in this show. And I get to do it without risking my neck on roller skates.
I participated in a reading and a workshop of this musical. The workshop came at a major cost. I was in the hospital recovering from major surgery when my agent called me with the offer of the workshop. I had already taken a leave from a play to have the surgery and was anxious to return to the play after a four-week recovery period, which was two weeks shorter than my doctor recommended. The Xanadu workshop was at that same time, and to do both would kill me altogether, so I turned the workshop down.
Douglas Carter Beane wrote a delightful role for me, which is a great honor. He has written me great jokes, which I love to deliver, and I have learned never to get bored with a joke, because I can't coast through them. The audience will not make it that easy. I have also had the honor of having Paul Rudnick write for me, as well as David Sedaris. And of course, I write for myself. Sometimes to the chagrin of the author. As strong as my joke writers are, I want to bust out and do my own thing. They all get pissed off, and rightly so. But that doesn't stop me from trying. I must admit, Douglas's lines are killers, and I really don't need to go elsewhere.
The audience reaction to this show has been thrilling. People go nuts, which, after all the trials we've been through, is particularly rewarding. Everyone thought we would tank 'cause the show is "based" on the worst movie ever made. Loosely based, thank god. People came expecting the worst and left delightfully surprised. The positive reviews have been well deserved. This is a smart, funny show. And it has a great score. I actually get paid to sit on stage and listen to Kerry Butler sing "Magic." I get to play sidekick to Mary Testa. And I get to hang out with Tony Roberts. Tony Roberts. Some of the few happy moments from my puberty were spent laughing at Tony Roberts' lines in Woody Allen movies. And here I am, parroting those lines back at him, and he nods in recollection. Not to mention the incredible stories about his life in the business. It's moments like that that make me appreciate my career more than ever. The people we get to work with.
And what is our future at Xanadu? Well, as I said before, it is a smart, funny show. And too sophisticated for children to really get. And anyone who follows my solo work knows how I feel about children. That is why I am so delightfully surprised at the critical and audience acclaim. I hope we stick around for a while, not only for selfish reasons, but because we offer something that is unique in a musical. We have gone to a place where nobody dared to go, and I hope people come along with us.
