Legally Blonde Tour St. Louis 1/30

[ggersten]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 2:54pm

We (me, wife, 14 year old daughter, 7 year old daughter, my dad and his wife) had mezzanine seats for the Friday night 1/30 show in St. Louis. According to the message board and insert, they brought in a new person, someone named Laura Bell Bundy, played Elle. (Cue screams from my daughters).

Lots of teenage girls in the audience. At intermission, several (10?) started chanting. "We got pink, yes we do. We got pink, how 'bout you."

We enjoyed the show. Although, now that I've seen it live as opposed to on MTV, I can see how the show doesn't work at all times. The non-musical "comedy" isn't very funny for quite a bit. (And as a lawyer, I still wince at its representations of law school and firms and the errors in all of it). The audience seemed very dead during Act I. But the audience really got into it in Act II beginning when Ven Daniel strutted across the stage as Kyle. Accordingly, Bend and Snap was probably the best received number, although the Irish line dance in Legally Blonde Remix got a lot of reaction as well. Then again, the Fox theatre seats, I think, 4000 people, and was probably 75% full. (The side balconies were empty behind us).


I missed the magic rope in Whipped into Shape, but still so admire the talent of the dancers in it. Brooke was performed by, I believe, Leslie McDonel. Colleen Sexton was out. Leslie was good in her drama/comedy scenes. Her singing was too soft.

Natalie Joy Johnson was a joy as Paulette. I never really liked the Ireland number until this performance. It's hard to match up this performance with her Enid! Amazing that they are the same person.

Ken Land as Callahan was pretty good. He seemed slimy from the beginning, but Blood in the Water still is not as good a number as it should have been (and that goes back to the music/lyrics).

Jeff Mclean as Warner was really bland. It's a bland character, but as he played him, Warner was even emptier than written.

D.B. Bond as Emmit was cute. He held his own on stage.

Rhiannon was Margot and was really much better than I thought she'd be. She has developed more presence than was on the TV Reality show. Courtney WOlfson rocked out as Serena. But, Crystal Joy as Pilar didn't seem into it.

Megan Lewis as Vivienne disaapointed only in that she didn't go up that extra note to bring the house down in Legally Blonde Remix.

China's Rufus got more applause than Frankie's Bruiser.

Ok, on to this Bundy person on the insert. She dominated the stage and her scenes. Even with some of the restaging, she just took over. She was on a higher level than the rest of the cast. Her voice was good - she didn't go for the "note" in So Much Better - and took a breath in the middle. She spoke "drive" in Legally Blonde instead of singing it. She was really winded after "What You Want" even with the Harvard Variations break. I thought she gave a more grown up performance than preserved on MTV. Bundy seems to recognize Elle is a self confident person at heart and is not stupid. Elle may choose not to know some things, but that is her choice. Elle can do whatever she puts her mind to. We really enjoyed and treasured getting to see Ms. Bundy.

Let's see, A few other things. Elle's white dress for OMG was really loose and untied in the back, so you could see the pink one underneath when she turned. Of course, I sort of knew to look for it, so maybe it wasn't THAT noticeable. In So Much Better, the first Delta Nu's sweatshirt had no E on it. So, they spelled out "LLEWOODS"

While my younger daughter missed the stairs and windows of the Broadway production, the restaged opening really works better for me. It showcases the sisters much more.

After the show, we waited at the stage door. It was about 15 degrees outside. Ms. Bundy, however, had a private party inside, so we left after a half an hour. However, there was a surprise person exiting the theatre, Mr. Step It Up and Dance, Jerry Mitchell! My older daughter got his autograph. He was very accomodating and talked to several people. I know that directors check up on shows every now and then. Interesting for him to be there on a Friday night with LBB as Elle, so I don't know what he was looking at that night, other than general check in.

It's not the best show I've ever seen, but it is a fun show to see.

[FlyingMonkey1223]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 3:03pm

That "high note" in Legally Blonde Remix is difficult to hit, and only a small fraction of female singers can hit it.

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 6:21pm

Leslie told me that she was on as Vivienne, not Brooke.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 6:44pm

Her voice was good - she didn't go for the "note" in So Much Better - and took a breath in the middle.

They changed the key of that song near the end of Laura's Broadway run. Since then, all Elles have sung the song in the slightly lower key. Thus, the "note" is not even an option to hit anymore.

[Randwhich]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 7:27pm

You probably saw Sara Andreas as Brooke.

[ggersten]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 8:09pm

The Brooke replacement was a Board and an announcement, and not an insert. So, if I mixed up Leslie and Sara, then I apologize. There was no announcement of any change in Vivienne.

So, what was Jerry Mitchell doing there on Friday?

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 8:26pm

Never mind about Leslie as Vivienne. She was Vivienne on Saturday. I got the day of the week mixed up. And Sara was Brooke.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 10:14pm

Saw the show both Thursday night and Saturday night. You could clearly tell Laura Bell was sick, but she did her best. Jerry is such a sweet guy! Glad to hear he was nice at the stage door.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 2/1/09 at 10:35pm

Are we sure Laura Bell is sick? She ruined her voice in Legally Blonde and I don't think she's been away from singing long enough for it to improve. Too often fans say their idol was sick when in reality she has damaged her voice. Unless Laura Bell has been sick for the last few weeks and Idina was sick throughout her run in Wicked? Sorry, this is just a pet peeve of mine.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 2/2/09 at 9:59am

Yes, she truly was sick. Everytime I saw the show and even friends of mine who saw the show commented about it. Hopefully she will feel better over these next couple weeks as she continues the tour.

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 2/6/09 at 7:37pm

hi. megan lewis (vivienne) here. i've only not gone up to the Aflat twice since tour began. once in providence and i believe the other city was boston. it's quite possible you didn't hear it. oddly enough, it's a common complaint. it's a sound thing and the end of the number sits beautifully in everyone's register, so if the sound isn't perfect, you won't have a snowball's chance in hell of hearing me.i was quite sick that friday and still sang the note. i strive to maintain vocal health because i know, for many, all the work i do in the rest of the show doesn't matter if that Aflat doesn't happen. BUT on that friday it did.

[brandontwin2]

Posted: 2/6/09 at 9:38pm

Go Megan!

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 7:47am

Megan-
You are fabulous as Vivienne! I saw you back in October. You definately portrayed the role perfectly and NAILED that note!

[ggersten]

Posted: 2/7/09 at 10:32am

Hi, Megan. Glad to read your thoughts and explanations. We were up in the Mezzanine in that cavern of a theatre, so that may be why we didn't hear it. But, regardless, we really did enjoy your performance as Vivienne that night - certainly couldn't tell you were sick. I distinctly remember how well played the scene where you see Callahan hit on Elle, as well as the interplay after Blood in the Water. (My 7 year old thought you were very mean). Continue to have a great tour, and we might see you again in Chicago.