Get Out Your Hankies! London Fresh Face Michael Xavier Preps to Star in Musical Love Story
Age and Hometown: 30. Born in Liverpool; raised in Cheshire in the north of England.
Currently: Lending his sterling baritone to the leading role of preppy Oliver Barrett IV (opposite Emma Williams as doomed Jenny Cavilleri) in the new musical adaptation of Erich Segal’s Love Story, which opens December 6 at London’s Duchess Theatre.
Who's Sorry Now: Xavier makes no apologies for revisiting the famously soppy 1970 movie, which featured one of the most quoted taglines ("Love means never having to say you're sorry") in history. Although he was “quite skeptical” when asked to play the role created by Ryan O’Neal in Love Story’s well-received Chichester Festival premiere, he’s delighted with the result. "We're taking on a roller-coaster of emotions," Xavier says, "but it's beautifully done, very sensitive and often very funny. All credit to Rachel [Kavanaugh, director] and Stephen [Clark, librettist/co-lyricist] that they've tried to avoid sentimentality, and to [composer] Howard [Goodall], whose music is not overly schmaltzy.” Rather than O'Neal's golden-boy tresses, the 6’ 4” Xavier sports a “very stylish, very sexy” short haircut as Oliver. "It feels Mad Men-like," he says.
Slip-Sliding Away: Since moving to London in 2000, Xavier has amassed credits ranging from Pageant (as Miss Great Plains) to My Fair Lady and Spamalot, plus Curly in a 2009 Chichester revival of Oklahoma! Last summer, he played the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in a well-received al fresco production of Into the Woods in Regent's Park that made for slippery sailing on damp days and rainy nights. "The set was made of wood and was high and very narrow, so there wasn't much to hold on to if you slipped,” he recalls. “The stage floor was a kind of mud, so as soon as it would start to rain, we would walk mud back on to wood; we were tripping everywhere." Remarkably, only six or seven performances were canceled due to the elements.
Hey, Mr. Producer: The West End transfer of Love Story boasts an unexpected figure above the title: stage star Michael Ball, who marks his producing debut with this show. “It’s a big deal,” Xavier says of having Ball on board. (The two performed together in a Sunset Boulevard concert several years ago.) "Michael sees the production side of things from an actor's point of view, which means he can communicate with the other producers on what's required. And he has real sensitivity with actors, which is important.” Personally speaking, Xavier sees Love Story as something of a career high to date, "because it's the first new show in which I've originated a role. It's great to be part of that kind of success.”