Blonde comes to London
Blonde comes to London
#1Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 2:53pm
well it looks like its popping over the pond to london for sure
the uk site is there (though its just a holding page at the moment)
http://www.legallyblondethemusical.co.uk/
#2re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 2:55pmGood for Legally Blonde!
#2re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 3:17pmHopefully you'll get a fit leading lady.
#3re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 3:28pm
Aww i like LBB, it would be great if we get Sheridan Smith (love her)
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#4re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 3:33pmAs much as I like LBB I don't know if her performance merits an equity trade off.
#5re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 3:35pm
As much as I like LBB I don't know if her performance merits an equity trade off.
It doesn't. Transferring Orfeh would be much more justifiable.
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#6re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 3:51pm
I just think that a lot of producers think that when mounting a London production of a Broadway show that bringing on the original Broadway lead is going to sell tickets over there.
The fact is that Bundy isn't enough of a draw or a name for that matter for tickets to be sold based on the ads of her being the original Elle Woods.
The same thing happend for Idina Menzel and Wicked. Despite having a tony award under her belt for doing the show, her name was virtually unknown to the average joe London theatre goer.
#7re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 4:04pmidina was a huge pull in london for wicked
#8re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 4:31pm
I always find it sad that any mention of "Legally Blonde" draws the people who despise Laura Bell Bundy out into the light to hurl a few more darts at her.
Despite the fact that she - and not Becky Gulsvig - was chosen to play the lead role. Now that we have some really high def footage of Gulsvig on youtube, it's my turn.
I've seen more lively performances in granola.
The woman is wooden, mechanical and lifeless and she has the non-stop smile of a Stepford Wife.
Had enough?
The role of Elle Woods is the lead role in a wonderfully silly musical fable. It's not Tolstoy, of Brecht or Sondheim. It's a cartoon. And Laura Bell Bundy hits the exact right pitch.
But now I'm on a roll. While I'm at it, since she was mentioned, let's talk about Idina Menzel; perhaps the singularily most overrated actress to hit the Broadway stage in the last three decades.
I have neighbours who have cats that can screech like wailing banshees. Johnny Weismuller and Carol Burnett did a Tarzan yell better and the woman looks like a Baldwin brother in drag?
I could go on, but I feel I made my point.
This was a discussion of Legally Blonde in London, not a target range for the LBB haters.
Besides, it's all rather a moot point. I fear the British won't get the joke. They didn't understand or appreciate "The Drowsy Chaperone" even with their greatest musical star in the lead role.
#9re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 4:37pm
allmylife i love ya to bits but if you dont think that Legally Blonde will work here you are sorely mistaken.
Its exactly the kind of show that does well here, fun, young easy and accessible shows.
The theatre i work has just had the UK premiere of the Wedding Singer and it's gone down a storm.Every night it was on i thought the audience were going to give it a standing ovation after each song.
Not to mention that the film and its sequel are on UK TV every other day, the film grossed a LOT of money here, and the fact Footloose, Fame, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Dirty Dancing have all been huge hits here and not a patch on Legally Blonde.
We love this stuff, as well as the more theatre audience based shows, we love the fun stuff..hell Flashdance the musical is about to open here
As for drowsy, it was down to how quiet the opening of that show was and that they did not seem to promote it, its also not an established brand so cant be compared to LB
#10re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 4:41pm
songanddanceman
Thank you thank you THANK YOU.
I love this show and I'll be damned if I can figure out why. It just makes me so happy. And if you think it will go over big in London, I'm on the next plane.
I just got back to Los Angeles - which is very gloomy because ANOTHER stike is looming. They need a little Christmas, some Comedy Tonight and one hell of a shot of the Bend and Snap.
#11re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 4:42pm
"This was a discussion of Legally Blonde in London, not a target range for the LBB haters."
Yea. And it's also not an Idina haters discussion. I agree that people shouldn't bash LBB just to bash her, but if you're going to berate people for doing it you should follow your own advice. The Idina hating from you was just as unneccessary.
#12re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 4:44pm
Watching Orfeh sing "Ireland" is almost as much fun as watching the Great Wall of Shindle crack and shudder and shake and rock and roll during The Remix.
And my god, I was blown away that every woman in that show has an amazingly strong voice. Four women belting (now there's a title) is a sound to behold indeed.
And the bit with the dog is wonderful.
bestfreakinshoes
Stand-by Joined: 1/5/08
#13re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 5:10pm
Thanks allofmylife for that rant, I appreciated it. I, too, get sick of people always picking on LBB and Legally Blonde in general. No, it may not be the next big thing in theater, but it's fun.
Also, if Blonde was playing in London when I'm going to be there (this month!) I would be there in a heartbeat.
broadwayboy522
Leading Actor Joined: 5/6/06
#14re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/2/08 at 9:29pmI think the note Kate Shindle hits in Legally Blonde Remix merits an Epuity trade off! But I'm selfish and want her to stay here!
#15re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 11:33am
Pascal/Menzel/Bundy
Satire.
I was mocking Idina to show how much it hurts when one mocks LBB.
Idina has great taste and talent and a cool hubby and needs no praise from me.
shesamarshmallow
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/06
#16re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:05pmYou can't judge Becky from a video on YouTube, no matter how good the quality.
#17re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:19pm
Having seen Becky, Laura Bell, Annaleigh, and Haven all LIVE as Elle Woods, I'll just go and say that Becky is the best of all of them (though after last night, with a few more shows to get comfortable, Haven could take that title). Elle doesn't HAVE to be a cartoon, and in a show like Legally Blonde, where everything is so campy and over the top, Elle works much better in the show when she's played in earnest, and not so much as a characature, but as a real person. Becky and Haven are the only two that really do that. Laura used to be much better (I thought she was much less "cartoon-ish" over the summer) and her voice used to be much better, but her vocals and performance seem to have only gotten steadily worse since the show opened.
And no, you can't judge a performance from a youtube video, no matter how "high-def" it is. I know Laura has a lot of fans, and I understand why. She's VERY funny, her comedic timing is impeccable, and when she's not damaged, she has a really nice voice, I like listening to her sing, and I like her Elle. But, again, I think the show as a whole works ten times better when Elle is not a cartoon or a joke.
#18re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:30pm
OK well im just going of the video on You Tube and an audio i have but i think becky sounds dreadful, she may hit the big note (even if her voice does go right through me0 but she misses so many other notes during So Much Better.She also seems static and motionless.
Thats just like i say though from the vid and audio
#19re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:36pmWho's Becky?
#20re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:49pm
Becky Gulsvig is Laura Bell Bundy's understudy in Legally Blonde. :) She's fabulously talented.
And songanddanceman, I've never heard her hit a bad note, and I don't know what performance you're listening to, but to be fair, a bootleg audio/video is never an accurate measure of someone's performance.
#21re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:58pmI know its not fair to judge of that thats why i said i was only going off the vid and audio i had heard, but the clips on You Tube clearly show at the beginning of So Much Better shes flat, and i say again its obviously not a legal copy (unless the camera man was drunk lol) but the copy wont change the performance
3allthatjazz
Chorus Member Joined: 2/2/08
#22re: Blonde comes to London
Posted: 3/3/08 at 1:51pm
"Transferring Orfeh would be much more justifiable."
definately. none of the other characters are as memorable
it's going to be hard enough replacing her on broadway
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