Xanadu, the Poster Shoot that Stalled.
Two years ago, I collaborated with producer Michael Colford to photograph the cast for The Footlight Club‘s 2019 production of Xanadu.
Little did we know that the world would shut down just weeks before the curtain opened.
The photos hit my Instagram, but were not seen again… until now.
Xanadu Poster 2022
As someone once said, “This, too, shall pass.”
The pandemic has subsided and The Footlight Club managed to weather the storm.
Michael is back, this time as director (and Club Vice President). He tasked me with resurrecting the concepts we had originally illustrated, with an almost all new cast.
Interpretive Poster Photography
Aside from dealing with a preponderance of wigs, the actual shoot was straight forward.
However, it was the final treatments of the cast portraits that made for an interesting challenge:
Create portraits of gods for a satirical cult classic of 80’s pop culture.
Our one sad moment during the shoot productions was remembering the passing of Olivia Newton-John. She played the lead in the 1980 movie and was an icon of the 80’s.
The Photography Schedule:
Over the course of a few short hours, all nine of the new cast members got into the “god headspace” and channeled their characters for the camera.
This task was greatly helped by the excellent costuming of Liza Ulrich, who really nailed the 80’s vibe. She also costumed the show and shoot for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.
Also on set, feeding lines and helping the “headspace” was Michael Colford and producers Carol Pyper and Valerie Tracy.
It was a really great feeling to work with these people again!
- Tags: character portrait, Footlight Club, poster