Hey everyone! Sorry to add another post about the crazy Legally Blonde tour but I saw the opening performance last night in East Lansing, and went to the cast party at a local restaurant. There are some other things going on behind the scenes, some of which I'm sure you know. Anyway here we go.
Review:
Laura Bell was in fact on as Elle, and she was a little sick, but cute and impressive as always. During "Serious" her dress got stuck to the chair and she ripped part of it!
?format=auto&width=600 She said some lines low to save her voice and they came out funny. "Maybe not to yo' face," she said in a "ghetto" voice. Little things like that gave her performance a little quirk. I noticed a few lyric and line changes (I assume these are in all of the tour shows). Notably, about Vivian in "Positive." There were a TON of understudies. I don't remember most but I know Tiffany Engan was added to the swing, and there was a delta-nu track empty (they used a handbag as the "S" when they spelled ELLE WOODS). Over all, I thought the show was pretty smooth, although I missed some things from the original Broadway run (sets and such).
The "Cast Party" was pretty cool. Laura Bell was a little passive, trying not to talk and such to save her voice. She said it was cool to be back in the role, but weird. Lauren Zakrin is a friend of a friend of mine, and she was so happy to be home in Michigan! She went home for the first time in 6 months! She was just adorable! (And amazing in the show. She is that ensemble member that catches your eye.) Becky and Paul Cannan were there, too!
News:
At the cast party we got an awesome chance to meet the cast, so all of this is straight from the inside. Laura Bell Bundy is going to be Elle, until this Friday. All of the weekend show's will have Lauren Ashley Zakrin as Elle. Rihannon is definitely out for most of the St. Louis run. I don't know if a lot of you know this, but there is a workshop "Take It From The Top" where Laura Bell and Paul Cannan show people how to prepare an audition. Laura told us Becky G. would be doing this for the East Lansing stop, as Laura is in the show.
Questions:
So here are the questions I'm posing. Just bare with me, and think about these things. I'm not trying to make anyone look bad, just trying to figure this out!
A- Rihannon is out, broke her tibia. But then why is Lauren (the Margot u/s), not going on as Margot? My guess is because they know she will (and has) gone on as Elle.
B- Why is Laura not doing the workshop? I heard she was playing Elle simply because she was already in East Lansing for the workshop. But now Becky is doing it. I assume the pressure of both was just too much.
C- Why did LBB come back? Not that I didn't love seeing her again, but she just seems done with this role. I think it might have something to do with the TV show, and it closing on Broadway, and the tour needing help.
Any Ideas?
WHOA! OK, that was far too long! Hope this clears some things up. I'm going to see Lauren as Elle on Sunday. I'll keep you posted!
