Legally Blonde (musical)

Legally Blonde
Original Broadway production
Music	Nell Benjamin Laurence O'Keefe
Lyrics	Nell Benjamin Laurence O'Keefe
Book	Heather Hach
Basis	2001 film Legally Blonde 2001 novel by Amanda Brown
Productions	2007 San Francisco tryout 2007 Broadway 2008 US National Tour 2009 South Korea 2009 West End 2010 Philippines

Legally Blonde is an American musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner. While there she finds those needing her knowledge of law, and successfully defends exercise queen Brooke Wyndham in a murder trial.

Legally Blonde premiered in pre-Broadway tryouts in San Francisco, California. In April 2007 the show moved to Broadway's Palace Theatre, and opened to mostly positive reviews. Jerry Mitchell directed and choreographed. The original musical stars were Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods, Christian Borle as Emmett Forrest and Richard H. Blake as Warner. The West End production began previews on December 5, 2009 at the Savoy Theatre and opens January 13, 2010. It stars Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods and Duncan James as Warner.

The musical was recorded for MTV in September 2007 and aired in October 2007. Following this, a reality TV program was aired showing the audition process for the next person to play Elle Woods on Broadway. The winner was Bailey Hanks who played the role from July 23, 2008 until the production closed on October 19, 2008.

Synopsis

Act I

The overjoyed girls of UCLA's sorority Delta Nu, led by Margot, Serena, and Pilar, celebrate the engagement of Warner Huntington III to their perky, sweet, and strikingly blonde sorority president, Elle Woods, who is fretting over finding the perfect dress for the occasion ("Omigod You Guys"). Once she acquires her dream dress, Elle goes to dinner with Warner, where he tells her that he needs someone more "Serious" and breaks up with her. Elle is devastated and sulks for twelve days ("Daughter of Delta Nu") but decides to chase Warner to Harvard Law School to show him that she can be serious. With help from Delta Nu sister Kate, Elle studies for the LSATs. In place of writing a personal essay, Elle bursts into the Harvard admission offices backed by a squad of cheerleaders. She is accepted after revealing she is motivated by love. ("What You Want").

Elle's snobby classmates disapprove of her attire, and the only person who is willing to help her is law teaching assistant, Emmett Forrest ("The Harvard Variations"). However, he cannot protect her in class from the blood-thirsty Professor Callahan ("Blood in the Water"). Callahan kicks the under-prepared Elle out of class at the suggestion of her classmate Vivienne Kensington, who happens to be Warner's new girlfriend. This tragedy summons the apparitions of the sisters of Delta Nu, who, acting as a Greek Chorus visible and audible only to Elle, tell her to stay "Positive". Elle, deciding that being blonde is the problem, decides to become a brunette. She heads to the salon where she meets the spunky beautician Paulette, who tells Elle that when she is down, she puts on her favorite CD, and dreams of "Ireland". At the salon, Vivienne gives Elle an unexpected invitation to a costume party. Paulette sends Elle off with a costume for the party, her positivity and blonde hair still intact ("Ireland" (Reprise)).

Walking into the party as a Playboy bunny, Elle soon realizes that she was tricked by Vivienne but courageously seeks Warner in an effort to win him back, leaving him unimpressed ("Serious" (Reprise)). Elle runs from the party, only to meet Emmett, who struggles to understand Elle's love problems. He has Elle assess her priorities until she realizes it is her obsession with Warner that keeps her from earning his respect. Freed from her need to please Warner, she defeats Warner in a classroom debate ("Chip on My Shoulder"). Elle then helps Paulette in a way which proves that she is beginning to understand law. Warner and Vivienne win two of Callahan's coveted internship positions, and Warner proposes to Vivienne on the spot right in front of Elle. Before Elle's heart can break, Emmett shows her the internship list. Below the names of Vivienne, Warner, and classmate Enid Hoopes is the name Elle Woods, at which she is ecstatic ("So Much Better").

Act II

Callahan, Emmett, and the four interns are studying the workout video of their client, fitness mogul Brooke Wyndham ("Whipped into Shape"). Brooke's stepdaughter, Chutney, is accusing Brooke of murdering Brooke's much older husband. Callahan and the interns visit Brooke in jail, but are unable to extract an alibi from her, until she is alone with Elle and reveals she was getting liposuction on the day of the murder ("Delta Nu Nu Nu"). Not willing to betray her Delta Nu loyalty, Elle asks Callahan to trust her when she says that Brooke is innocent. Emmett begs Elle to break her promise, which she refuses. She takes Emmett to a department store ("Take It Like a Man"). The results impress both of them.

Back at the Hair Affair, Elle is getting a manicure when in walks the sexy new UPS delivery man, Kyle. Paulette is nothing short of stunned, but she is too shy to talk to him. As she bends down to pick up the package, Margot, Serena and Pilar are summoned by Paulette's amazing "Bend and Snap". The sorority girls tell Paulette to use the "Bend and Snap" on Kyle, but when she does, she accidentally breaks his nose ("Bend and Snap").

On the third day of Brooke's trial, Brooke's pool boy, Nikos Argitakos, shocks the court by claiming to be Brooke’s lover. Brooke denies it, and Elle believes her. Elle tries the "Bend and Snap" twice, in front of Nikos and gets no response. She concludes that he is gay, while Callahan believes him to be simply European ("There! Right There!"). The question baffles everyone until it is revealed by Carlos, Nikos' boyfriend, that Nikos is gay and European.

Later that night in Callahan's office, the interns celebrate Elle's skill. However, after dismissing Emmett and the other interns, Callahan forcibly kisses Elle, who slaps him. In turn, Callahan fires her. Warner and Vivienne both saw the kiss, though only Vivienne saw the slap. Warner mocks Elle, but Vivienne tells him to shut up and they both leave. A defeated Elle prepares to go home, even though Emmett asks her to stay, finally realizing that he is in love with her ("Legally Blonde").

Elle heads to the Hair Affair to say goodbye to Paulette, but before she can leave, Vivienne convinces Elle otherwise ("Legally Blonde Remix"). Elle discards her lawyerly navy suits, dons a fabulous pink dress and leads a parade back to the courtroom. They meet Kyle on the way, who takes a liking to Paulette, and reveals himself to be the Irish man of her dreams, prompting a Riverdance amongst the ensemble. Back at the trial, Brooke fires Callahan and hires Elle. Chutney goes to the witness stand and her testimony is damning, but Elle triumphs by revealing Chutney's lie with her knowledge of hair maintenance ("Omigod You Guys" (Reprise)). Chutney accidentally confesses that she was the one who killed her father. Warner proposes to her, having been dumped by Vivienne. Elle gently refuses, claiming to have been changed by the experience ("Find My Way").

Three years later, Elle ends up as the valedictorian of her class. Paulette tells the audience that Enid practices family law, Vivienne is training for the Peace Corps, and Warner pursues a modeling career. Callahan ran for governor but was defeated, and his wife hired Emmett to handle their divorce. Paulette married Kyle, had two kids, and is pregnant with a third. They live in Worcester, Massachusetts and Paulette bought a new salon. At the end of the graduation, Elle proposes to Emmett, and Emmett accepts ("Finale").

Musical numbers

Act I

• Omigod You Guys — Elle, Serena, Margot, Pilar, Company
• Serious — Elle, Warner
• Daughter of Delta Nu* — Serena, Margot, Pilar, Company
• What You Want — Elle, Serena, Margot, Pilar, Kate, Company
• The Harvard Variations — Emmett, Aaron, Enid, Padamadan, Harvard Students
• Blood in the Water — Callahan, Company
• Positive — Elle, Serena, Margot, Pilar, Greek Chorus
• Ireland — Paulette
• Ireland (Reprise) — Paulette
• Serious (Reprise) — Elle, Warner
• Chip on My Shoulder — Elle, Emmett, Greek Chorus, Company
• So Much Better — Elle, Greek Chorus, Company

Act II

• Whipped Into Shape — Brooke, Callahan, Company
• Delta Nu Nu Nu* — Brooke, Elle
• Take It Like a Man — Elle, Emmett, Salespeople
• Bend and Snap — Elle, Paulette, Serena, Margot, Pilar, and Salonfolk
• There! Right There! — Elle, Callahan, Emmett, Brooke, Vivienne, Warner, Enid, Judge, Nikos, Carlos, Company
• Legally Blonde — Elle, Emmett
• Legally Blonde Remix — Vivienne, Elle, Enid, Company
• Omigod You Guys (Reprise)* — Elle, Judge, Serena, Margot, Pilar and Company
• Find My Way/Finale — Elle, Paulette, Emmett, Company

During its San Francisco run, the musical included a song "Love and War" in place of what is now "Positive". The song featured, at times, similar lyrics and choreography to the current version, with a different melody and harmonic structure. Another predecessor to "Positive" was "Beacon of Positivity," which had the same general idea, but lacked a dance break.

Where Paulette's song "Ireland" is now, was the song "Good Boy", in which Paulette and Elle bond over the idea that men are like dogs and should therefore be treated as such.

Two songs for Professor Callahan have also been cut from the final version of the musical: one entitled "Rock Star", in which he tells Elle about his first job (as the legal representative of a rock star); and one entitled "Name Your Price", in which he gives career advice to Elle. These songs were used in the scene before Callahan kisses Elle.

* Not featured on Original Broadway Cast Recording

Productions

2007 Broadway

After a tryout at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre from January 23 to February 24, 2007,Legally Blonde opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 29, 2007, following previews from April 3. The production was directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, with set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, and lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller. The original Broadway cast included Laura Bell Bundy in the lead role of Elle Woods and featured Christian Borle, Orfeh and Michael Rupert. The show received mostly positive reviews and was nominated for seven Tony Awards but did not win any.

During the week ending June 24, 2007, the Broadway production achieved a milestone, joining the millionaires' club for weekly Broadway grosses, by grossing $1,003,282. The musical was filmed for television in front of a live audience on September 18, 2007, as well as two other dates where it was filmed in an empty theatre. The three performances edited together were broadcast on MTV on October 13 and 14, 2007 with subsequent air dates on November 3 and 14, 2007. MTV's involvement with the musical continued with a reality show program called Legally Blonde - The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which aimed to cast the next actress to play Elle Woods on Broadway, replacing Laura Bell Bundy. The show was hosted by Haylie Duff, and premiered on June 2, 2008 on MTV. The competition was won by Bailey Hanks, age 20, from Anderson, South Carolina. The results were first aired on July 21, 2008 on MTV. Her debut as Elle Woods was on July 23, 2008. The runner-up, Autumn Hurlbert, also debuted on Broadway in this show as a sorority sister in Delta Nu.

The production closed on October 19, 2008 after playing 30 previews and 595 regular performances.

2008 1st North American tour

A U.S. touring production started on September 23, 2008. Becky Gulsvig, who appeared in the ensemble of the original Broadway cast and understudied the role of Elle Woods, leads the first national tour as Elle Woods. Lauren Ashley Zakrin and Rhiannon Hansen, both finalists of the MTV reality show, are in the national tour with Zakrin as Elle's understudy and ensemble and Hansen as Margot. For six weeks following January 13, 2009, the lead role was alternated by Laura Bell Bundy and Zakrin due to an injury suffered by Gulsvig.

Rhiannon Hansen (Margot) played Elle Woods in the tour. In the past, the actor playing Margot has the chance to play Elle Woods (e.g., Annaleigh Ashford, Haven Burton and Kate Rockwell).

In October 2009 Lauren Ashley Zakrin (Leilani, u/s Elle Woods) left the show. She was replaced by Kathleen Monteleone, who was a contestant in the reality show "Grease: You're The One That I Want". Monteleone will also be understudying the role of Elle Woods. On December 18, 2009 Gulsvig stated on her Facebook fan page that the tour will end in August, 2010.

2009 West End

The West End production opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 13, 2010, following previews from December 5, 2009. The original London cast includes Sheridan Smith in the lead role of Elle Woods and features Duncan James, Alex Gaumond, Jill Halfpenny and Peter Davison.

In October 2009, Sheridan Smith, with other cast members, recorded a pop video to the song "So Much Better". Recordings of the songs "Omigod You Guys", "Serious", and "So Much Better" sung by the original Broadway cast are available on the official Web page. Most of the West End cast performed a medley from at the BBC Television Centre on 19 November 2009 during the Children In Need telethon.

Legally Blonde is the only West End show to offer a ticket lottery. The trend is popular on Broadway but had never been used for a West End production. The show has taken £2 million in advance sales.

2009 South Korea

A Korean production opened at the Seoul Samsung-dong CoEX Atrium in November 2009. It stars Jessica Jung of the Korean girl group Girls' Generation as Elle Woods,with Lee Honey and Kim Ji-woo alternating the role.

2010 Philippines

Philippines The Philippine production, to be staged by Manila-based Atlantis Productions, has been announced. The English language production is scheduled to premiere in June 2010 with direction by Chari Arespacochaga.. Filipina singer, actress and television host Nikki Gil will play Elle Woods. Nyoy Volante will play Emmett Forrest and Gretchen Barretto will play Exercise Queen, Brooke Wyndham.

2010 The Netherlands

Fall 2010, a Dutch production will begin playing. The role of Blonde Elle will be played by the redhaired singer/actress Kim-Lian Van der Meij. She will wear a wig for this role. The role of Warner will be played by Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat undersudy Roy van Iersel.

Casting

The principal original casts of the major productions of Legally Blonde.

Character	Original Broadway Cast	Original US Tour Cast	Original London Cast
Elle Woods	Laura Bell Bundy	Becky Gulsvig	Sheridan Smith
Emmett Forrest	Christian Borle	D.B. Bonds	Alex Gaumond
Paulette Bonafonté	Orfeh	Natalie Joy Johnson	Jill Halfpenny
Professor Callahan	Michael Rupert	Ken Land	Peter Davison
Warner Huntington III	Richard H. Blake	Jeff Mclean	Duncan James
Vivienne Kensington	Kate Shindle	Megan Lewis	Caroline Keiff
Chad/Dewey/Kyle	Andy Karl	Ven Daniel	Chris Ellis-Stanton
Brooke Wyndham	Nikki Snelson	Coleen Sexton	Aoife Mulholland
Enid Hoopes	Natalie Joy Johnson	Gretchen Burghart	Suzie McAdam
Serena	Leslie Kritzer	Cortney Wolfson	Susan McFadden
Margot	Annaleigh Ashford	Rhiannon Hanson	Amy Lennox
Pilar	DeQuina Moore	Crystal Joy	Ibinabo Jack
Kate/Chutney	Kate Wetherhead	Alex Ellis	Roxanne Palmer

• The cast for the TV airing, filmed in mid-September, 2007 , consisted of the entire original Broadway cast, except for Tracy Jai Edwards taking over from Leslie Kritzer and Asmeret Ghebremichael replacing DeQuina Moore. Moore departed from the production in July, 2007 and Kritzer in August that same year .

Critical response

The musical received mixed reviews but was praised for being a fun and upbeat production. Ben Brantley, reviewing the musical in The New York Times, wrote that the show was "high-energy, empty-calories, and expensive-looking hymn to the glories of girlishness"; he praised Laura Bell Bundy: "she sings and dances flawlessly, and she delivers silly lines as if she meant them." Clive Barnes, in his New York Post review, wrote that he loved the "effervescent and radiant Bundy" as well as others in the cast, and that the "dances certainly have a slick snap, crackle, and pop". Elysa Gardner in the USA Today wrote that the musical was an "ingratiating trifle", and the "game cast ensure that the proceedings, however patronizing, aren't irritating." Jeremy McCarter in New York Magazine wrote that the musical unfortunately "doesn’t summon memories of Tracy Flick, the steely student-council campaigner that Reese Witherspoon played in Election before starring in Legally Blonde. The fleeting glimpses of a Flickish manic drive just below Elle’s silly Malibu surface are what I liked best in the film. It’s the kind of freaky detail that no amount of cheery blandness can replace." When it opened in the West End of London in January 2009, Tim Walker wrote in The Sunday Telegraph: "It is a great big empty vessel of a show that makes a lot of noise and not much else, and would have been better entitled 'Irredeemably Bland'. I was aware that for the whole of the two hours and 25 minutes that it ran, I was sitting among a group of people with vacant smiles on faces that otherwise seemed entirely numbed.That was how I looked, too. It is the expression that registers when what one is seeing doesn't entirely sync with what is going on in one's brain."

Recordings

The Original Broadway Cast recording was recorded on May 7 and 8, 2007 and released on July 17, 2007 by Ghostlight Records (an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records). During the week of July 23, 2007, the cast album made its debut on Billboard's Cast Album chart, placing at #1 and charted at #86 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 93,000 copies as of May 2008.

Before previews, a promotional sampler CD was released featuring "Omigod You Guys", "So Much Better", and "Take It Like a Man", featuring a slightly divergent cast, arrangement and lyrics of that of the final shows'. These songs were rerecorded for the cast recording.

During the development phase of the musical, a demo recording was released with twelve songs featuring Kerry Butler and others as Elle. The demo featured the versions of "There! Right There!" (called "Gay or European"), "Blood in the Water", "Omigod You Guys", "Serious", "What You Want", "Legally Blonde", "Legally Blonde Remix", "So Much Better", "Take It Like a Man", and also featured two songs that are not present in the final show. These included "Beacon of Positivity" which would become "Love and War" and eventually "Positive", and "Good Boy", a song in the place of "Ireland".

Bailey Hanks, who won the reality show The Search For Elle Woods, recorded the song "So Much Better", which was released as a single on July 22, 2008. In 2009 Sheridan Smith who is to portray Elle in London recorded a pop video of "So Much Better" with members of the cast. This was used as promotional material.

Awards and honors

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
61st Tony Awards	Best Book of a Musical	Heather Hach	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin	Nominated
	Best Leading Actress in a Musical	Laura Bell Bundy	Nominated
	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	Christian Borle	Nominated
	Best Featured Actress in a Musical	Orfeh	Nominated
	Best Choreography	Jerry Mitchell	Nominated
	Best Costume Design of a Musical	Gregg Barnes	Nominated
2007 Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Musical		Nominated
	Outstanding Book of a Musical	Heather Hach	Nominated
	Outstanding Actress in a Musical	Laura Bell Bundy	Nominated
	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical	Christian Borle	Nominated
	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Orfeh	Nominated
	Outstanding Choreography	Jerry Mitchell	Nominated
	Outstanding Director of a Musical	Jerry Mitchell	Nominated
	Outstanding Lyrics	Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin	Nominated
	Outstanding Music	Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin	Nominated
	Outstanding Set Design of a Musical	David Rockwell	Nominated
2007 Outer Critics Circle Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Musical	Orfeh	Nominated
2007 Drama League Awards	Distinguished Production of a Musical		Nominated
	Distinguished Performance	Laura Bell Bundy	Nominated
	Distinguished Performance	Christian Borle	Nominated
Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs	Outstanding Broadway Chorus		Won
Daytime Emmy Award (for the MTV airing)	Outstanding Special Class Direction		Nominated
	Outstanding Special Class Special		Nominated
Helen Hayes Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Non-Resident Production	Becky Gulsvig	Nominated
Touring Broadway Awards	Best New Touring Musical		Won
	Best Design of a Touring Production		Won
	Best Choreography of a Touring Production	Jerry Mitchell	Won

External links

• Official website
• Official UK Website
• ​Legally Blonde​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• New York Times review
• New York Post review
• MTV's page on Legally Blonde: The Musical