Legally Blonde - The Musical!

[jacobsnchz]

http://www.playbill.com/images/photos/bundyblonde200.jpg

The producers of Legally Blonde announced that Laura Bell Bundy would headline the upcoming Broadway musical, played Elle Woods, the part created on film by Reese Witherspoon.

The musical based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture will play the Palace Theatre on Broadway starting April 3, 2007. Opening night at the Palace will be April 29.
The Broadway run will be preceded by a world premiere engagement at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco Jan. 23-Feb. 25, 2007.
The casting was not unexpected; Bundy's name has been mentioned in connection to the project for months. Bundy is best known for creating the role of the vain, vindictive Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray. She has since played Glinda in Wicked.
The musical comedy about a cosmetics-friendly sorority girl named Elle who follows her beau to law school has a book by Heather Hach and music and lyrics by both Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe.
The creative team is led by Jerry Mitchell, who will make his Broadway directing debut, and will also choreograph. He is a Tony winner for his choreography of La Cage aux Folles. He also choreographed Hairspray, The Full Monty and Never Gonna Dance on Broadway.
The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by ACME Sound Partners.
"Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take 'no' for an answer," according to the producers. "So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more 'serious,' Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style."
Legally Blonde is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.
The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by ACME Sound Partners.
*
Nell Benjamin (lyrics and music) makes her Broadway debut with Legally Blonde. She was nominated for a 2005 Drama Desk award for Best Book of a Musical for Cam Jansen and the Curse of the Emerald Elephant. She is also the recipient of the 2003 Kleban Foundation Award for lyrics and a 2003 Jonathan Larson Foundation Grant. She has written musicals, online games, TV shows and a corporate bond-trading manual. Nell wrote lyrics for the musical Sarah, Plain and Tall, produced in 2002 by TheatreworksUSA and re-mounted in 2006 at the Lucille Lortel. In 2003 Sarah was expanded into a full-length show at the O'Neill Festival. Prior to that, Nell was the lyricist on The Mice, which was produced by Harold Prince at The Prince Music Theater and at the Ahmanson (as part of the musical, 3hree).
Laurence O'Keefe (music and lyrics), making his Broadway debut with Legally Blonde, is a composer, lyricist, pianist and writer. He won the 2004 Ed Kleban Award for lyrics, the 2001 ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, and a 2001 Jonathan Larson Award for his music and lyrics. He penned music and lyrics to Off-Broadway's Bat Boy: The Musical (2001 Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for Best Off-Broadway Musical). The cult-hit show has been produced in Boston, Tokyo, Seoul, and the West End, among other places. He co-wrote book, music and lyrics with Nell Benjamin, for Cam Jansen and The Curse Of The Emerald Elephant (Drama Desk nomination for Best Book); the music for Sarah, Plain and Tall, which now tours the country for TheatreWorks USA (and was expanded in 2003 into a full-length show at the O'Neill Festival). Heather Hach makes her Broadway debut with Legally Blonde. Her screenwriting credits include Disney's "Freaky Friday" starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, "In The Pink," "Cheer Up," "There's A Pop Diva Loose in the Cafeteria," "The Governor's Wife" and "In the Drink," a book adaptation.

[jacobsnchz]

Legally Blonde
Palace Theatre

Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take “no” for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more “serious,” Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. Show Dates:
Performances from 03 Apr 2007
Opening 29 Apr 2007
Closing Open-Ended Performance Schedule:
TBA

Tickets:
Tickets go on sale to the public on February 25, 2007.
Pricing: TBA
Box Office: Ticketmaster (212) 307-4100/(800) 755-4000

Group Sales info: Group Sales: 800-223-7565/212-398-8383



Show Run Time:
TBA

Theatre Information:
Palace Theatre
1564 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
US

Public Transportation/Parking:
SUBWAY: Take the N,Q,R,W or 1,2,3,9 to 42nd Street, walk North on Broadway to the theatre; Take the A,C,E to 42nd Street, walk East on 42nd Street to Broadway and walk North on Broadway to the theatre.

Synopsis:
A sorority-sister valley girl goes to Harvard Law to get her boyfriend back, and ends up defying expectations while staying true to herself. Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon.

Show Advisory:
None (http://www.playbill.com/reference/rating_info)

Genre:
Musical

Cast List:
Laura Bell Bundy
Christian Borle
Orfeh
Richard H. Blake
Kate Shindle
Nikki Snelson
Michael Rupert
Annaleigh Ashford
April Berry
Paul Canaan
Lindsay Chambers
Beth Curry
Tracy Jai Edwards
Amber Efe
Gaelen Gilliland
Jason Gillman
Becky Gulsvig
Rod Harrelson
Manuel Herrera
Andy Karl
Nick Kenkel
Michelle Kittrell
Leslie Kritzer
Dequina Moore
Rusty Mowery
Kevin Pariseau
Matthew Risch
Jason Patrick Sands
Noah Weisberg
Kate Wetherhead
Donna Vivino


Production Credits:
Jerry Mitchell (Direction/Choreography)
David Rockwell (Scenic Design)
Gregg Barnes (Costume Design)
Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design)
ACME Sound Partners (Sound Design)
James Sampliner (Music Direction)


Other Credits:
Lyrics by: Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe
Music by: Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe
Book by: Heather Hach

[travellingpat]

Your kidding...right?

[jacobsnchz]

Nope! :)

[travellingpat]

Lol, I hated the movie, so id prob hate the musical hahah :)

[jacobsnchz]

The music looks good... I am just wondering what new songs will be in the musical. They of course might have to put Hoku's "Perfect Day" song as the opening number maybe.

[jacobsnchz]

Official Site:
http://legallyblondemusical.com/
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/LB_PublicityPhotos03.jpg

[Drtooth]

Hmmm! Another good reason to smash my head in with a metal baseball bat!

[DanDanStrawberry]

Are you guys kidding, Legally Blonde is my favourite movie! I can't wait to hear what the music'll be like

[travellingpat]

It could either be realy good, or really bad,,,lol :)

[DanDanStrawberry]

Yeah the musical will either be genius or...trash. I just hope it's genius cos I love the movie.

[Drtooth]

Legally Blonde.... ugh! This is why I was angry Reese Witherspoon won the Oscar for Walk the Line. Someone in a movie that bad should be blacklisted. Not Walk the Line, of course, I mean, Legally Blonde. But you get the point.

[Faylo]

I liked Legally Blonde!
I'd expect Kristen Chenoweth to be a better Elle Woods though. I'll definitely get the soundtrack when it comes out!

[jacobsnchz]

What would you rate it?

[Faylo]

Well, I haven't heard the songs yet, so I wouldn't be able to rate it. :P

[EasyBeinGreen]

Legally Blonde is a bad idea... and I'm sure it will end up closing within a year just like the Wedding Singer... it's time for Broadway to start coming up with original ideas again

[Drtooth]

WHile, once again, I'm no fan of musicals by any stretch, myself, why the shell do they even make these musicals based off of movies. I mean, Spamalot was good, Hairspray did well, I loved the Producers, even though I only saw the movie musical version. But they showed they have a reason for being made. Wasn't there a Muscial based off of the movie Big at one point?

But Legally Blonde? I mean, that's just wrong. It just shows we have nothing but junk culture now, not even pop culture. What's the difference? Well, Junk Culture is basically following odd fads blindly, and of course, being obsessed with celebrities to the point people actually care about TOMKAT. Heck, anyone who even says TOMKAT.

[heralde]

Of course, I don't want to judge before I see. But Legally Blond, while a nice movie, is an odd choice for the stage.

I do think the entertainment industry (and even the general public) is in denial; they try to convince themselves their current products are of the same quality as classics of the past.

There will eventually be a blacklash of course; but for now it's in a total rut.

[Teheheman]

Here's a good question....WHY? I could think of 100 other movies that would make good musicals before I smoke enough pot to consider that Legally Blond to be on Broadway.

Daniel

[jacobsnchz]

That's what I suspected.

[jacobsnchz]

What songs would they put? A "Bend & Snap" dance number?! LOL!

[Drtooth]

Here's a good question....WHY? I could think of 100 other movies that would make good musicals before I smoke enough pot to consider that Legally Blond to be on Broadway.

Daniel

Exactly the point I was making. We have years and years of memorable, timeless films. We can't make a musical about any of them? I really wish Toxic Avengers the Music-Kill would go somewhere. I just heard about it from Lloyd Kaufman (the head of Troma) during a seminar he held earlier this year.

[heralde]

Exactly the point I was making. We have years and years of memorable, timeless films. We can't make a musical about any of them?

I don't know...part of me says we should be grateful they haven't tried!

[Drtooth]

I agree, though given the options between that and legally blonde, I'd rather the old films.

[jacobsnchz]

I know! Why can't we have a musical on... hmmm... oh! What about a musical on TITANIC or something interesting that actually everybody has watched before! :)

[EasyBeinGreen]

Titantic was already a musical... It ran on broadway from '97-'99... though it wasn't based on the movie (obviously, considering it hit the Great White Way before the movie came out)

I stand by my comment earlier that Broadway needs to start producing more original shows with original scores... I'm looking forward to the arrival of Spring Awakening and Curtains (which will take place of the Wedding Singer). The Producers will also be closing soon, only to be replaced with another Mel Brooks movie turned musical, Young Frankenstein... hopefully this is all just a fad and will soon pass

[jacobsnchz]

Titantic was already a musical... It ran on broadway from '97-'99... though it wasn't based on the movie (obviously, considering it hit the Great White Way before the movie came out)

Oh. I just learned about TITANIC at school and it was a musical! Thanks anyway!

[Drtooth]

The Producers will also be closing soon, only to be replaced with another Mel Brooks movie turned musical, Young Frankenstein... hopefully this is all just a fad and will soon pass

Mmmhhh... well, The Producers was meant to be made into something for broadway. Young Frankenstien would be a bit foolish, but if Mel Brooks is behind it, I'd love to see it.

There is one other film I'd love to see become a movie, though. I heard Eric Idle and John DuPrez were working on another stage play, and I really hope it's Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. That film had the most musical numbers in a Python film, and there's one song in particular that's just BEGGING to be made for stage. Monty Python fans will know what it is, but I'm afraid I can't post even the title here.

[jacobsnchz]

"Legally Blonde" will star Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods and Orfeh will play Paulette, Elle's "beautician" friend she meets while she is attending Harvard.

[jacobsnchz]

Here is a link to the Broadway.com page:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Show.aspx?si=533927

At this link:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=540070
you can find videos of the first reading of LB! There is also on the "153 Days to Opening " video the opening number, "Omigod!"

[Beauregard]

I watched Legally Blonde again yesterday and I confess that I can totally see this being a fantastic musical...there are so many opportunities for great song and dance numbers, plus it should be easy to adapt for the stage since a lot of the action occurs in one place at a time. The classroom, the courtroom, etc. It's crazy and funny in a light outrageous sort of way, and entirely not intended to be taken seriously, thus, musical fodder!

I'd love to hear the songs chosen, and I'd actually enjoy seeing the show.

[jacobsnchz]

That's the spirit! LOL

[jacobsnchz]

The LB billboard is now on Broadway and is set to release on April 3rd. You can also view the poster on the Broadway.com page. It also shows it on the video.

[EasyBeinGreen]

you may be interested to know that Shrek will also be turned into a stage musical and will bow on Broadway in 2008... this has been planned for quite some time now...this one may actually be interesting

[Beauregard]

Shrek as a stage musical...now that one I cannot see. Donkey? Dragon? Shrek? How does one even attempt to make these live-action?

[EasyBeinGreen]

take a look at any Disney musical on Broadway right now and you'll see how they make it live action... incredibly talented creative teams and actors

[jacobsnchz]

Are there any resources on the SHREK musical??

[EasyBeinGreen]

Here is an article from today... but if you search around sites like playbill and broadwayworld there are several others on the show...

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/104113.html

[Beauregard]

Here is an article from today... but if you search around sites like playbill and broadwayworld there are several others on the show...

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/104113.html
Oh my...that guy actually does look like Shrek. Sorry, look, how could I resist???

[jacobsnchz]

Oh my...that guy actually does look like Shrek. Sorry, look, how could I resist???

OMG! It actually DOES look like Shrek!!

[jacobsnchz]

On http://www.shnsf.com/shows/show.asp?key=18&subkey=513 you can download the opening number of LEGALLY BLONDE "Omigod..." for free!!

[jacobsnchz]

Here is the chorus to "Omigod...":

Omigod! Omigod you guys!
Look's like
Elle's gonna win the prize
If there ever was a perfect couple
this one qualifies
Omigod you guys!!
Omigod this is happening
Our own homecoming queen & king!
Fin'lly she'll be trying on her
huge engagement ring for size
Omigod you guys! Omigod!!

[EasyBeinGreen]

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it... and I don't mean to offend... but this musical makes me want to throw up... there is nothing redeeming about it... awful rubbish

[jacobsnchz]

I know it will be a hit... I just hope people won't "throw-up" about it! LOL

[Teheheman]

Here is the chorus to "Omigod...":

Omigod! Omigod you guys!
Look's like
Elle's gonna win the prize
If there ever was a perfect couple
this one qualifies
Omigod you guys!!
Omigod this is happening
Our own homecoming queen & king!
Fin'lly she'll be trying on her
huge engagement ring for size
Omigod you guys! Omigod!!

Wow, talk about a really bad song. I don't know what else to say other than that. I mean, any musical with a song like that in it should get ejected from the stage immediatly.

Daniel

[EasyBeinGreen]

I know it will be a hit... I just hope people won't "throw-up" about it! LOL

I can say with great confidence that Legally Blonde will not be a hit... it is not targeted to a theatre audience... there are too many other good shows currently playing or coming within the current season for Legally Blonde to stand a chance. Legally Blonde the Musical will close within 6 months.

[jacobsnchz]

Maybe...

[jacobsnchz]

ALERT!
The real official site:
www.legallyblondethemusical.com (http://www.legallyblondethemusical.com)

[jacobsnchz]

LOL! Look at this!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fJckh_diweQ

[jacobsnchz]

Here is an easy download to the song:
http://shnsf.com/files/audio/omigod_you_guys.mp3

A "File Download" should pop-up. If you download it directly from the site, you cannot save it to your CD, MP3, iPod or your computer.

[jacobsnchz]

They have just released another song from LB: "Take It Like A Man". Go to:
http://www.shnsf.com/shows/show.asp?key=18&subkey=513 and download it now!

[jacobsnchz]

LEGALLY BLONDE Video!!

http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=540070

[Meepsterboy]

You know what would make a great 3 act musical? Star Treks II-IV. I can see it now:
It's worse then that, it's a musical, Jim!