Bailey exiting Blonde? — Page 5

This is the whole surrounding passage of that article.

"Consider "Grease." Max Crumm as Danny and Laura Osnes as Sandy won their roles last summer on the NBC series, telecasts that helped boost the revival's advance before opening to $15 million.

"Max and Laura definitely have fans from the TV show, it's pretty clear," says Nick Scandalios, executive vice president of the Nederlander Organization, one of the producers of "Grease."

"They get entrance applause (at the beginning of each performance). People invested in Max and Laura because they voted for them. They felt like they contributed somehow to making 'Grease' happen. Here were two kids, first time in New York, and it wasn't part of their deal to have a car but we had to get them a car service from the theater because of the crowds at the stage door, and people would follow them."

When Crumm and Osnes leave the show in late July -- Crumm to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film; Osnes to stay in New York to audition for more theater -- who will replace them? Derek Keeling and Ashley Spencer, who were the runners-up in the TV competition.

"Many people voted for them, too," Scandalios explains. "And because the long process they went through, we knew they were capable of playing the parts." And it's helped the box office, too, with the show only a whisper away from recouping its $9 million-plus production costs.

For "Legally Blonde," box-office grosses have risen steadily in the last month, climbing to more than $786,000 last week, up from nearly $448,000 for the last week of May. Whether the increase is due to summer (and more tourists and kids in town), the MTV show or a combination of both, Luftig, for one, isn't sure."

Are you sure it isn't talking about Grease recouping? Because that's what it looks like to me. I'm not a LB hater at all, I love the show and want it to recoup, but I think they were talking about Grease recouping, not LB. Plus, didn't LB cost 12 million, not 9 million?

Updated On: 8/8/08 at 11:08 AM

As Paulette would say, "Oh Crap." How did that happen?

You are correct.

On the other hand, "Legally Blonde" will almost certainly make money in the long run because, like "Grease," it is almost ideal for regional, amateur and high school productions which will be playing long after I am dead.

The show - and I have no absolute proof of this - probably got some nice cash infusions from MTV for the original run and probably something for the "Search for Elle." There had to be some incentive for the producers to take such a huge risk beyond potential advertising.

AND there's the involvement of Fox Theatricals, who may have put up more than just rights such as deferred investment in return for the film-of-the-musical rights.

The simple fact is, we all know nothing.

And apparently, I don't know how to read a newspaper articles.

("Damn," he mutters, "I really wanted to ram that article up a few of these know-it-all guys' butts. Stuuuuupid me")

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