CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE



SEARCH


REVIEWS

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp Review
Legally Blonde


I may be in love, but I'm not stupid— Elle during the opening "Omigod You Guys" number.

To prove her smarts, Elle, the love-to-shop blonde co-ed has a 4.0 average. While she uses that average to win back the ambitious boyfriend who dumped her, by the time she has him on bended knee, her own ambition has changed and she sends him on his way with "I f I'm going to have my own law firm by the time I'm 30, I need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead."
Legally Blonde
Laura Bell Bundy
(Photo by Joan Marcus)
Omigod, you critics. Call it more bland than dynamite blonde, Call it a puffball musical fairy tale , with an upbeat message. Say what you will about songs as unlikely to stick to the ear as a used stamp to a new envelope. But, Omigod, the girls aged thirteen and up couldn't care less about the opinions of theatrical pundits. They're like so totally tuned in to how co-ed Elle Wood turns pink into the new navy (with a sly nod to fashion doyenne Diana Vreeland) in the colorful, turbo-charged musical version of the 2001 movie. They're happy with Laura Lee Bundy who's as blonde and pretty as Reese Witherspoon, and also knows how to sing and dance up a storm.

So, Omigod, my fellow critics, carp all you want. Legally Blonde's feel good theme and cotton candy colored show biz gliz is not geared to us but to these girls. They're the ones most likely to make it part of the current big teen-appeal musicals, Hairspray and Wicked, making it likely that this duo of long-running hits will now be a triumvirate. Not to be discounted as enthusiasts are the moms (and grandmas) who raised this core audience to believe that, glass ceiling or not, having it all is a valid ambition, that a girl can be a powerhouse lawyer and also marry one— and if she happens to look great and likes fashionable, sexy clothes, she doesn't have to camouflage those assets in attention-hiding clothes. And while this won't be a first choice show for men, those who enjoy watching pretty girls and lots of dancing are likely to comprise a sizeable tag-along audience.

Falling as I do into the tertiary part of the above core audience, I exited the Palace quietly, unlike those who gave shout-outs of "amazing" and "awesome" —but neither was I bored or turned off. This latest movie-into-stage musical is what it is.

The tons of money ($13 Million) thrown at the show translate into a seemingly ever-changing set (courtesy of David Rockwell), plenty of character matching costumes (Greg Barnes) and a big, energetic cast that includes two adorable pooches — Elle's petite Bruiser (Chico) and beautician Paulette's (Orfeh) more robust Rufus (Chloe). As one might expect from a show marking choreographer Jerry Mitchell's directing debut, there's also lots and lots of hyper-kinetic dancing that includes an athletic jump rope number in a prison.

Unlike some of the screen to stage musicals that went to an early grave, Legally Blonde has a book that, despite credibility stretches, works. Just in case you don't know the plot via the movie: Elle is a California co-ed whose boyfriend ditches her for someone more suited to his senatorial ambitions. She follows him to Harvard, intent on winning him back, only to discover the pleasures of using her brain but without giving up the advantages of being blonde and beautiful. Book writer Heather Hach has not only preserved the plot that won fans for the movie but strengthened it by building the nerdy Emmett's (Christian Borle) character so that he's now an attractive romantic alternative to fickle Warner (Richard H. Blake). With Borle (most recently a riot in Spamalot) cast as Emmet the expansion of this character is a definite plus.

Other casting pluses include Michael Rupert as a legal eagle law professor who seems to see nothing illegal in making a move on a pretty student and Orfeh as Paulette the beautician who become's Elle friend when she gets to Harvard. Unlike many of the others on stage, Orfeh has the singing chops to enable you to hear the lyrics of Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin's songs. Like Emmett and Vivienne (Kate Shindel), another law student and Warner's snooty society girl friend, is changed by Elle's brand of pink and pretty doesn't preclude smart feminism. For Paulette that means getting back her dog from her nasty ex-boy friend and being open to a new love, a UPS man named Kyle (drolly portrayed by Andy Karl).

The Paulette/Kyle romance paves the way for a hilarious Irish Step Dancing sequence. But the sharpest musical sequences come when the pink decor is transformed into a wood paneled courtroom and a gay man is amusingly rather than offensively outed with the very snappy "Bend and Snap" and a comic refrain that asks "Gay or European?"

Not to be overlooked for the plus side of the ledger are the sorrority sisters who turn up as a Greek chorus commenting on what's going on in Elle's head as often as pop-up ads on your computer screen, but much more welcome. And in case you're wondering if some of the favorite lines from the movie have made the cut to the musical, indeed they have. You'll hear Elle's dad (Kevin Pariseau) get out of his nifty golf cart to try to dissuade Elle from her plan to go to Harvard with "Law school is for people who are boring and ugly and serious. And you, button, are none of those things. " You'll also hear Warner dump Elle by telling her " If I want to be a Senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn."

Some of the details in Legally Blonde may not stand up with a judge who's a stickler for total accuracy, but this is a fairy tale that rounds out the self-image boosting messages of its sister musicals. Just as Tracy Turnblad made it okay to be fat, and Elphaba allowed green (code word for ugly) to triumph over adorably blonde, so Elle Woods takes up the cause of the supposedly dumb blonde. It's not My Fair Lady but this little lady has a fair chance of filling the Palace Theater for a a better than fair run.
LEGALLY BLONDE
Music & Lyrics: Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin
Libretto by Heather Hach based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the MGM motion picture
Directed and Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell
Music director, James Sampliner
Cast: Laura Bell Bundy (Elle Woods), Christian Borle (Emmett Forrest), Orfeh (Paulette), Richard H. Blake (Warner Huntington III), Kate Shindle (Vivienne Kensington), Nikki Snelson (Shandi/Brooke Wyndham), Leslie Kritzer (Serena), Michael Rupert (Professor Callahan); also Annaleigh Ashford , Leslie Kritzer, DeQuina Moore ,Kate Wetherhead, Becky Gulsvig, Michelle Kittrell, April Berry, Beth Curry, Amber Efe, Gaeleen Gilliland, Kevin Pariseau, Matthew Risch, Manuel Herrera, Noah Weisberg, Paul Canaan, Jason Gillman, Nicky Kenkel, Jason Patrick Sands.
Sets: David Rockwell
Costumes: Gregg Barnes
Lights: Kenneth Posner
Sound: ACME Sound Partners
Orchestrations: Christopher Jahnke
Arrangements: Laurence O'Keefe and James Sampliner.
Running Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes, includes one intermission
Palace, 1564 Broadway
Wednesday at 2pm and 8pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, Sunday at 2pm and 7pm.
From 4/03/07 opening 4/29/07.
Tickets: $110 to $40.
Reviewed by Elyse Sommer on May 2nd
Closing 10/19/08, after 595 regular performances and 30 previews
Musical Numbers
Act One
  • Omigod You Guys/ Margot, Serena, Pilar, Delta Nu's, Elle Woods, Shopgirl and Manager
  • Serious/ Warner Huntington III and Elle Woods
  • Daughter of Delta Nu/ Margot, Serena, Pilar, Kate and Delta Nu's
  • What You Want / Elle Woods, Margot, Serena, Pilar, Kate, Mom, Dad, Grandmaster Chad, Winthrop, Pforzheimer, Lowell, Delta Nu's and Company
  • The Harvard Variations/ Emmett Forrest, Aaron, Enid, Padamadan and Harvard Students
  • Blood in the Water / Professor Callahan and Company
  • Positive / Elle Woods, Margot, Serena, Pilar and Greek Chorus
  • Ireland / Paulette
  • Ireland (Reprise) / Paulette
  • Serious (Reprise) / Elle Woods and Warner Huntington III
  • Chip on My Shoulder / Emmett Forrest, Elle Woods, Greek Chorus and Company
  • So Much Better / Elle Woods, Greek Chorus and Company
Act Two
  • Whipped Into Shape//Brooke Wyndam, Professor Callahan and Company
  • Take It Like a Man / Elle Woods, Emmett Forrest and Salespersons
  • Bend and Snap/. Elle Woods, Paulette, Serena, Margot, Pilar and Salonfolk
  • There! Right There!//Elle Woods, Professor Callahan, Emmett Forrest, Brooke Wyndam, Vivienne Kensington, Warner Huntington III, Enid, Judge, Nikos, Carlos and Company
  • Legally Blonde / Elle Woods and Emmett Forrest
  • Legally Blonde Remix / Vivienne Kensington, Enid, Elle Woods and Company
  • Omigod You Guys (Reprise)/ Elle Woods and Company
  • Find My Way/Finale / Elle Woods, Paulette and Company
broadway musicals: the 101 greatest shows of all time
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.


Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide


At This Theater Cover
At This Theater


Leonard Maltin's 2005 Movie Guide


broadwaynewyork.com


The Broadway Theatre Archive>


amazon





©Copyright 2007, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com