Kerry Butler, who last appeared on Broadway as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, will play Kira in the stage adaptation of the mega-flop movie musical Xanadu. However, the production will no longer open on Broadway in time for consideration for the 2007 Tony Awards. Instead, Xanadu will start previews on May 23 and open June 26 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.
Tony winner Jane Krakowski appeared in recent workshops of the show, but had to decline an offer to take it to Broadway thanks to her commitment to the hit NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Despite Krakowski's involvement, Xanadu producers are calling Butler their first choice, saying in a statement, "We are thrilled that her schedule has now opened up."
Butler most recently appeared on the New York stage in Miracle Brothers at the Vineyard Theater. She received a Clarence Derwent Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for her work as Penny Pingleton in the original cast of Hairspray. She has also appeared on Broadway as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables and Blood Brothers. Off-Broadway, Butler has been seen in Prodigal and Bat Boy. She starred in the musical version of The Opposite of Sex in San Francisco and at the Williamstown Theater Festival.
Xanadu is written by Douglas Carter Beane The Little Dog Laughed based on the screenplay by Richard Christian Danus and Marc Reid Rubel. Christopher Ashley, who received a Tony nomination for staging the 2001 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, will direct.
