Legally Blonde Tour: 12.07.08 - Philadelphia (Long!)

[Kelly2]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 12:00pm

So, okay. I don't think I've made it a secret that I really, REALLY like Legally Blonde. No, it's not saving any lives, but really, I thought it was a well put-together, FUN show, with a kickin' score and a badass talented cast. So, when the tour was rolling into Philly, it was a total duh to go and check it out, and let me just say? For someone who fell HARD for the original Broadway cast...the tour was FANTASTIC. If you have a chance to see it, absolutely go. Don't be put off because some of the sets were downsized or anything because it just works and it's a great production.

As far as the production values go, yeah, I kinda missed the big opening with the windows and everything, but the show just flowed. The cast had great chemistry as a group and within their relationships with each other. Everything just meshed and even the people who I didn't necessarily enjoy their character interpretation still gave 110% energy and worked well with the rest of the group, which was seriously lacking in the last few months of the Broadway production.

For me, the standout was Natalie Joy Johnson as Paulette. DAMN, woman! She was AMAZING. Honestly, for me, she was the best Paulette I've ever seen. And that's hard for me, because I LOVEEEE me some Orfeh. And I will admit, Orfeh probably sang it better, especially during "Bend and Snap". But Natalie's ACTING, and her comedic moments, and her transformation...I mean, she really did feel un-confident, and dowdy, and sort of pathetic at the beginning, and then when she does Bend and Snap, the confidence is so much more of a change! It's great. I just felt like she fit the role much better than Orfeh, and gave such a well-rounded performance. And for all the catty bitches complaining about her wearing the tight outfits? Natalie has thinner legs than me and I'm a size 4!!! She looked HOT!

Becky as Elle was also wonderful. I find her slightly less...charming? Than Laura Bell. But she's a true triple threat, and nails the singing, dancing, and acting of the role really perfectly. I really like how she makes Elle seem much more intelligent than it's written in the book for her to be. I felt like she really overcame a lot of the flaws in the book with her acting, and that was really great to see. She's also so funny. I just loved her. Great, great Elle. I wish she'd been bumped up on B'way rather than Bailey closing the show, but, I'm glad she's getting a chance to make the role her own here.

D.B. Bonds as Emmett...SWOOOOON. God, he was SO CUTE. He's WAY dorker than even Christian Borle's Emmett, but he's just so spot-on with her acting, and he has SUCH a great voice, and he's a cutie. Loved him.

Jeff McLean as Warner...sigh. I thought he was a painfully bad actor at times? But his voice is SO BEAUTIFUL and he was very pretty to look at. And I don't think Warner has THAT much acting to do, so he was fine. He and Becky had great chemistry though.

Megan Lewis as Vivienne...color me disappointed. I went in wanting to love her because my friend saw her in Grey Gardens and thought she was great, but she just dropped the ball for me. For the first act, it felt more like she was making fun of Vivienne than playing her as a character? But she really improved in the second act, and DEFINITELY had the vocal chops for the LB Remix, there were just some questionable acting choices made in the first half of the show.

Ken Lands was also a fine Callahan. He has a VERY deep voice, it was really intimidating, lol, and I liked a lot of his comedic acting choices.

Coleen Sexton...WOW. I know NOTHING about her, really, and last night I came out a huge fan. She was SUCH a great Brooke, and sang it like nobody else really did before. She brought something totally new to the character, and she looked HOT in the costumes. Love, love love her!

Cortney Wolfson, Rhiannon Hansen, and Crystal Joy are FANTASTIC. All three of them! Rhiannon especially, I thought, had GREAT comedic timing. It was the first time since the original cast that I felt like the three girls worked well together and had a great chemistry TOGETHER. They were conscious of one another onstage and each of them had a distinct personality, and it was great. Crystal Joy has a GREAT voice, and brought that husky lower harmony that I missed so much when Asmeret took over, and Rhiannon had that goofy energy that Annaleigh had, and was just SO earnest and likeable onstage, and Cortney Wolfson was just fierce. I thought she sort of over-enunciated when she sang? But other than that, she was really great. And VERY pretty. I never really got the "hype" about UMich kids or anything, but Cortney was really good.

Ven Daniel...sigh. I was so biased towards him, but he was REALLY funny as Dewey. I thought his Kyle was a little corny and trying too hard to be funny? But he wasn't bad, and the audience LOVED him, so, I'm gonna say that it's just my bias toward Andy Karl that made me enjoy him less.

So, that's basically the cast, but I wanna give a special shoutout to Gretchen Burghart as Enid who was SO ADORABLE and so funny and Alex Ellis, who was FANTASTIC as Kate/Chutney. Oh my godddd, she was ridiculously funny. Loved her. It just goes to show that you can do A LOT with a supposedly "small part".

Other notes...I really liked the way they re-staged the Legally Blonde ballad. I prefer that, with Elle HEARING Emmett say he loves her, to the way it was done on Broadway. I liked seeing the chemistry between the cast and the energy, and I just thought it was SO well put together and well-cast and just...so much fun.

Also, sidenote? Woah, walking into the Academy of Music was SERIOUSLY trippy. It looked so much like The Palace! The orientation of the theatre and the design of the place, AND the way that the lobby was laid out. Really weird! Me and my friend were like ...did we go back in time? Is Legally Blonde still open? Where are we?

Anyway, if you get a chance, DEFINITELY go check it out, if only to see Natalie Joy Johnson TEAR it up as Paulette, but really, the whole cast is worth seeing. :) I cannot say enough good things.

Oh, and if the changes haven't been discussed on here:
- "Violence is never wise/Not the way to win back guys/Anyway she's twice my size/Who's got a plan B?" has become "Fighting is not delta nu/Who knows what the heck she'll do?/Some debutante, J. Crew kung fu/Who's got a plan B?" presumably because Megan Lewis isn't very tall.

- "I'm straight" "You were not yesterday" has become "I'm straight" - "You watch Project Runway." Which got a much bigger laugh, to my surprise.

- The Legally Blonde ballad is restaged so Elle and Emmett are singing to each other the entire time, with no door/wall/set piece between them.

- The opening is just the girls running around and stuff before launching into the song. A little underwhelming, but it's cute and it works.

- Between "Bend and Snap" and "There! Right There", there is a scene with Callahan where the various interns hand him his suit, coffee, newspaper, and brush his jacket with a lint thing. I dunno why they added it in/changed it? But it was cute.

I think that's mostly it? I'll stop making this even more unbearably long now.

Updated On: 12/8/08 at 12:00 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 12:03pm

I'll be seeing it in DC on the 19th.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 12:16pm

Thanks for your review!! I'm seeing it in DC a month from today! Can't wait!

[Kelly2]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 12:55pm

No problem! :) And yay, I'm glad y'all are gonna go see it!

[NJgirl]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 1:00pm

Very very similar to my thoughts on seeing it yesterday. Did not like Megan Lewis at all cept for her voice during the remix. And agree...Jeff McClean's voice made up for any shortcomings anywhere else.

[jennamajig]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 1:01pm

I saw it in Boston and loved it as well. Though I had the same thoughts about Jeff McLean.

Becky's attendance has been great (and she is wonderful in the role!), though I did wish while it was in Boston seeing Lauren take on Elle. I'm assuming Lauren hasn't gone on yet as either Elle or Margo?
Updated On: 12/8/08 at 01:01 PM

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 1:55pm

Thanks for sharing your review! I can't wait to see it next month!

[theminutepast]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 1:57pm

I have a feeling Becky isn't going to miss any shows unless she's sick or auditioning for something new. In interviews, it seems like she has wanted this role for a long time. I don't see her missing performances any time soon.

I'm surprised people thought Megan Lewis redeemed herself in the Remix. Her voice was still quiet and meek; she doesn't come close to Kate Shindle's fierce belting. On a side note, the night I saw the show, the woman playing Enid belted an off-key note in the beginning of the Remix and then her voice cracked on that same bad note. Ouch!

[jennamajig]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 2:17pm

"I'm surprised people thought Megan Lewis redeemed herself in the Remix. Her voice was still quiet and meek; she doesn't come close to Kate Shindle's fierce belting. On a side note, the night I saw the show, the woman playing Enid belted an off-key note in the beginning of the Remix and then her voice cracked on that same bad note. Ouch!"

Megan Lewis didn't come remotely close to Kate Shindle's fierce belting when I saw it. I thought she played an okay Vivian, but then again the role is rather poorly written as well and doesn't give any actress much to work with. However, when she got to the Remix, I was disappointed in her belt. I didn't expect Shindle-like awesomeness, but I expected more, I suppose.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 12/8/08 at 2:24pm

I don't think she redeemed herself, but I thought she was good for the second act. The first act, I spent the entire time questioning her acting. She didn't sound as fantastic as Kate, obviously, but I liked her voice. It wasn't as powerful as Kate's, but it was nice.

[bwaynewbee]

Posted: 12/9/08 at 8:26pm

I am seeing LB in DC on opening night... by myself cause I couldn't get anyone to go with me Does anyone know if there is a "stage door" at The Kennedy Center where one could get an autograph possibly...

Oh and this is my first post on the BW Boards so be kind :)

[philly03]

Posted: 12/9/08 at 8:48pm

Haha just a stagedoor tip, we were told in Philly (or atleast I was on the two different nights) to be "agressive, but more than kind." Which is true, Coleen Sexton, my sole purpose of stagedoor left without signing for anyone on Tuesday night, so I learned my lesson the second time and waved my playbill and she came right over :). Only seems like Rhiannon, Becky & DB Bonds are fully prepared to stagedoor for everyone. Lauren did not come out on Saturday night (the ensemble was apparently collecting for BCEFA and whatnot, so I'm not sure if that was the cause), and Tuesday it was too cold/didn't stick around long enough after Coleen left hahaha (shockingly Saturday was colder down here)!

Sorry, but haven't seen a show in DC in ages so I can't help with the SD location!

[florida theatre kid]

Posted: 12/9/08 at 9:57pm

I have a random question. With all the "down-sizing", at the end of So Much Better, do the girls still get lifted up when the spell Elle Woods?

[jessica0414]

Posted: 12/9/08 at 10:22pm

The Kennedy Center seemed enormous to me each time I was there so I imagine you'll have some difficulty catching performers after the show. But, ask ushers or people at the info desk(s) (or maybe someone here knows lol), they must have a stage door but I'm guessing it will be pretty hard to find.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 12/9/08 at 10:36pm

@ florida theatre kid: Yes, they still rise up at the end.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 12/9/08 at 10:37pm

I too wish Becky would've been bumped up. I was dieing to see her, and never got the chance. The third time I missed her by one show, I went to a night one, she did the matinee, that was her last day with the Broadway cast.

[misto625]

Posted: 12/10/08 at 12:56am

Since they don't have enough girls for the end of So Much Better, why can't Brooke be there or a guy in drag? I don't like how it's done on tour right now.

Kennedy Center has a stage door, it's on the inside by one of the entrances, I don't really know how to describe it. I was there in the summer so I can find it myself but can't explain to other people without pointing.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 12/10/08 at 1:39pm

@ misto: Someone else explained that in another thread. The actress playing Brooke can't be in "So Much Better" because of her contract. She is in other ensemble numbers before appearing as Brooke, but she still has a leading actor contract (I don't know the right terminology). If she was in "So Much Better," they would have to lower her contract to ensemble status which also means less money.

[epicamends]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 3:03am

According to the LB tour blog, Lauren and Rhiannon will be splitting a week playing Elle when the tour goes to Houston, because Becky will be taking a vacation.

I'm a bit excited to see the reviews of their performances and see how they take on the role.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 3:27am

I hope they get Rhiannon some voice lessons before they make a paying audience sit through her Elle.

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 5:58am

Coleen is in So Much Better. She is the one that holds up the purse

[lusciouslace]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 12:25pm

I saw it twice on Broadway and I'm going to see it on the 18th in DC. (Sounds obsessed, but I just wanted to compare the difference casts.) I'm very excited to see the differences.