Bailey - and just be analytical

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 3:58pm

I am in Los Angeles and can't get back any time soon to see Bailey Hanks as Elle Woods, but I have a question:

I have seen her perform "OhmyGod" with the cast members on the MTV series and I was very impressed. Up close, she actually added some nice flurishes to the performance. It seems like she's a very good actor and knew how Elle Woods would react.

And yet... I saw the youtube footage of "So Much Better" from a live performance at the Palace and I must admit, she seemed to miss half the marks, have little or no choreography (everyone does the twirls after pulling the note off the bullitenboard: LBB, Becky, Haven and I'm sure Annaleigh) and yet Bailey? Nothing?

My opinion is, we're seeing an excellent example of why you really can't give starring roles in Broadway shows to actors who have never worked Broadway before.

LBB came into the role having spent literally years on Broadway and she knows how to emphasize the lines, deliver the jokes and put a button on her movements that Bailey seems to lack.

Up close, she seems to be giving a real performance, but it seems to me as if she lacks the knowledge and experience to project this performance to 1700 audience members. Up close on the MTV show, LBB and Orfeh seem like denizens of Dogpatch, but from a seat in The Palace, that cartoonishness seems to have helped get the character across.

That's not to say I hated Bailey's performance - what I have seen of it - she brings some nice changes and nuance to the part, but she just seems to not yet know how to sell the role on Broadway.

Updated On: 8/5/08 at 03:58 PM

[BroadwayBelle2]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 4:33pm

I saw that clip too - and was also expecting the "twirl", but I give her credit for how she has handled the role so far. It's easy to copy LBB, but she's making the role her own. Being a newcomer and having the starring role on broadway is not easy, she'll get better with time. At least she's had stage experience in the past. I wouldn't worry.

Updated On: 8/6/08 at 04:33 PM

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 4:46pm

You can't really fairly judge Bailey on one youtube clip.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 4:52pm

Although she's a whole step lower, it's nice to see she's hitting and holding the note fine.

[jake6970]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 4:56pm

I sat in the last row of the mezz and loved her.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 5:05pm

I too agree that it is hard to judge a performance based on a youtube clip of one song.

I did catch her on her opening night and I thought that she did a good job. I couldn't tell of any opening night jitters or anything like that at all.

I honestly got the opinion that she was fine and will get better as time went on.

[Grand Motel]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 5:31pm

I'm sure I'm the last person you want to hear from allmylife but are you suddenly going to go off a YOU TUBE clip? I suggest you see for yourself and not worry too much about the lack of "twirl". Bailey is much younger and less experienced than Bundy but she's already giving (IMO) a more nuanced performance. Is she incredible, no, not yet but she's off to a surprisingly decent start.

To the person who said the note was a whole step lower, the key to "the hardest song ever to be sung on Broadway" was lowered long ago *for* Bundy.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 5:35pm

Thanks. THIS is the type of discourse I enjoy.

And you're right about the one clip not being a definitive.

As for the twirl, I assumed as everyone does it that it was party of the set choreography, that's all.

Now I actually have seen about ten minutes more (I have a friend who is a little more sophisticated than the cellphone cameraman/woman) so I feel my opening remarks have some validity.

It's just interesting how well she did on the MTV footage which could get in so close and capture her facial expressions and how she hasn't yet learned how to project that performance to the middle of the audience.

However, considering the fact she's never been on a Broadway stage before and she's come this far, this fast, I suspect they actually may have managed to find the real thing here.

We'll have her in for an assessment in a few weeks and make a determination then (as opposed to the "I hate her" crowd who were knitting sweaters at the base of the guillotine on her opening night.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 5:54pm

I saw her first show and I really think she is imitating LBB quite a bit. She might have cooled it recently but I also don't really think she's acting. She thinks she IS Elle and so she's just being Bailey up there.

I'm really not the type to give her any special treatment since she was on a reality show. I paid for my ticket. It's a broadway show. I'm expecting excellence.

[brochatkid]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:14pm

Can I get a link? I tried to find this on youtube and couldn't. Thanks so much.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:14pm

I know the key was lowered for Bundy too. What does that have to do with Bailey being able to hit it. If they were comfortable with Bailey hitting it in the original key 8x a week, I'm sure they would have tried it. Unless the key change is permanent for the show.

[ejgirls89]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:26pm

after reading the first post i just have to say one thing - they all have to start somewhere! yeah, lbb had lots of broadway experience before, but she started out somewhere too..and im sure bailey will do great things, its only the start

(sorry if this sounded cheesy!)

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:32pm

Brochtakid. We aren't allowed to post links to bootleg clips. It's not hard to find at all.

[brochatkid]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:42pm

I'll keep trying. I tried several things and all I get is her singing her recorded song and lots of photo images or her from the MTV show.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:43pm

Yes. They all start somewhere but people don't usually start as the lead in a broadway show. She is starting in a position that will afford her more possibilities (I'm sure Jerry would cast her as Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray) than others but that also comes with more criticism. If you're going to be at the top then you take the good and the bad.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:46pm

Let me take a minute to thank the very nice person from the "Legally Blonde" production who PM'd me with a clarification about the twirl after Elle grabs the paper.

Apparently, this was a Bundy move, copied by the Bunderstudies.

The wise (and I have said from day one hugely talented) director told Bailey to make the role her own.

And yes, I have seen the show live. There really is no other way. If I wasn't under contract out here, I'd be somewhere under the mezzanine of the Palace Theater ASAP.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:52pm

Search her name and the song title.

[Danielle87]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 7:00pm

I can't judge her acting based on the clip I've seen because you couldn't see her face or anything, but vocally, she's improved a lot and she hit the note. I also didn't hear her accent come out like it did during the So Much Better performance in the reality show finale.
Updated On: 8/5/08 at 07:00 PM

[brochatkid]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 7:04pm

Thanks. I found it. I guess I didn't scroll down enough before.

She sounds pretty good...better than she used to, I think. (I still like Autumn better. Oh well.) I think the problem is the recording mostly.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 7:22pm

Way to read, Danielle. Bootleg clips from youtube are NOT allowed to be posted on this board. Discussion is allowed these days, but the links are NOT.

[stace2star]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 8:17pm

I saw Bailey this past Saturday night and was quite impressed. Her singing was great and the character was definitely there. Her comedic timing seemed just a tad off in some places but I'm sure that will tighten with a few more weeks of performances.

One thing I did notice is the age of the sorority girls. Since Bailey is the correct age for the character it really made the age of the older sorority girls stand out to me. How often do they recast Broadway shows?

All in all - I think Bailey was the right pick for Elle.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 8:19pm

Thanks, Bailey.

Now get off the computer and back on stage!

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 8:31pm

can some one past the link to the youtube clip?

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 8:32pm

You obviously cannot read either. The link isn't allowed to be posted. Just search her name and song title. It's not hard to find.

[stace2star]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 8:45pm

oh that was a leg slapper.