Butler or Bundy?
Butler or Bundy?
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#1Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:04am
"Best of all is Butler, who probably will not get a Tony nomination, though she far surpasses Laura Bell Bundy, whose sinister smile beckons from ubiquitous posters shilling for "Legally Blonde: The Musical.""
This line from the Hartford Courant's review of Xanadu is exactly what I've been saying. I wonder how many of the critics agree.
Updated On: 7/11/07 at 08:04 AM
#2re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:21am
yawn yawn (sorry yankefan)
I cant help thinking all the criticism to Laura Bell Bundy is uncalled for she is fine in the show,when i watched it last i was really impressed with her and thought she was much stronger than before.
Butler was great to
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#3re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:26am
Performers undoubtedly get stronger over time.
Thing is, you only have one real opportunity to judge the performance. If they're not that good in that one instant, you always remember it. (Does this make sense?)
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#4re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 8:46am
Let's not get nuts. There are so many leading actress in a musical performances yet to come. No reflection on her performance, but how can anyone be sure that Kerry Butler is going to be guaranteed a nomination? It's way too early, but there are great female roles, particularly in the musical revivals, coming up. You have Jenna Russell in Sunday in the Park with George, Kelli O'Hara in South Pacific, Adelaide actress TBA in Guys & Dolls, and Vera Simpson actress TBA in Pal Joey, not to mention unknown quantities like Leslie Kritzer or Faith Prince in A Catered Affair, Sierra Bogess in The Little Mermaid, Sutton Foster in Young Frankenstein (if the Prince or Foster roles are considered leading). And say that Gypsy moves for a limited run to the conveniently vacant Imperial. Patti would surely get a nomination. That's just for starters...
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#5re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 10:19amEven if Butler doesn't get a nomination, she does get to originate a leading role in a hit show. I agree with others who have said that Kerry Butler has that elusive star quality that Laura Bell Bundy lacks.
"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie
musicalsFan
Broadway Star Joined: 3/3/04
#6re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:03am
I agree with others who have said that Kerry Butler has that elusive star quality that Laura Bell Bundy lacks.
You have got to be kidding.
Neither of these two actresses have shown me "star" quality.
They're both good. They are both leading actresses on Broadway, but a "star" is something else.
#7re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:07amIs Pal Joey happening this season, Smaxie?
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
yankees1253
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/07
#8re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:08amLaura Bell Bundy.....I was impressed with her as elle woods.
#9re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:10amYankees i agree , i think she did a great Elle Woods
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
Julian2
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/10/06
#10re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:23ammusicalsFan, how are you defining star? I don't think anyone is saying Kerry is Ethel Merman, just saying she has the "it" factor to where she can lead a show, and that Laura Bell Bundy dosen't.
I have several names, one is Julian2. I am also The Opps Girl. But cross me, and I become Bitch Dooku!
#11re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:27am
I enjoy both.
Bundy is fantastic as Elle, she has a great voice and has charm to her.
Butler, is just a bull of energy with a great voice and a great Clio/Kira.
"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.
#12re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:52am
Bundy has one of the most generic, lackluster voices I've listened to.
I pick Butler.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
yellibean2
Featured Actor Joined: 5/17/06
#13re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:54amRegardless of whether or not she gets a nod, Butler is undoubtedly better than Bundy. Just the fact that Kerry has the ability to act goes a long way over Laura's squealing and looking "cute".
don logan
Leading Actor Joined: 8/30/06
#14re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:55am
I'm so sick of all the Legally Blonde haters. It's a good show. I personally think people who hate the show do so because they have this attitude of " the producers are just trying to make money by making a show out of a successful movie" . Laura Bell is very talented, and according to Ben Brantley, who is meaner than all of you put together, "sings and dances flawlessly"
"Never before has an American president been so closely tied to a foreign power that harbors and supports our country's mortal enemies."
#15re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 11:59am
I know the LB hate is so (well expected on here) but stupid
My friends watched Bundy in LB and one of them was a huge Resse and Blonde fan and was hugely impressed.
She plays a the character really well and i think she comes across very endearing and it made me route for elle.
Maybe she doesn't have star power(i don't think Butler does either) but she plays that role very successfully and as many of the critics pointed out she is a great triple threat.
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
musicalsFan
Broadway Star Joined: 3/3/04
#16re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 12:25pm
To Julian2,
Yes, the "it" factor. Which neither actresses have.
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#17re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 12:43pm
LBB doesn't have half of the voice that Butler does. I'm sorry, but it's true. And I like the LB musical. Also, LBB just isn't likeable enough as Elle: you have to have the right person playing her or else it's just "Pfft, why should I care about this spoiled valley girl." LBB doesn't make you hate Elle, but she doesn't make you root for her at all costs either, IMO. I think her dancing's pretty good, though. Many times, I do think about what could have been had they kept Butler for LB (I know that she's older, but she comes across as young onstage IMO.)
People do have to consider, though, that Butler's older. She's had more years to hone her craft.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
#18re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 12:49pm
She made me care for the character
and ugh but after hearing Butler screech though the workshop recordings of Legally Blonde Im glad it went to LBB.
Her voice grated me in the LB workshop , especially on Legally Blonde and Beacon Of Positivity
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#19re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 12:54pm
"...goes a long way over Laura's squealing and looking "cute"..."
Which is how you are supposed to act when playing Elle.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#20re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 1:12pm
songanddanceman2: You cared about her, but I don't think on the level that you did with her as played by Reese Witherspoon. She needs this natural charisma and loveability, of which I don't think LBB has enough. Also, I don't think that LBB makes Elle's development as plausible as it was in the movie.
Here's how Matthew Murray put it: "Whereas Witherspoon made a smooth transition from deceptively smart girl to resourceful woman, Bundy treats the entire role with the plastic seriousness of an audition for Wicked. (Which, for the record, she’s already been in.)"
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
yankees1253
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/07
#21re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 1:24pmsongandanceman & also millie i agree with both of you. shes a totally sweet person and her voice is not like that when you talk 2 her at all.
DrTheatre
Broadway Star Joined: 9/23/05
#22re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 1:25pm
I am not too sure if Butler would get a nod...the show may close between now and when the Tony awards come along for 2008, and by then most voters may have forgotten about her. Hopefully not!
"In the U.S.A.
You can have your say,
You can set you goals
And seize the day,
You've been given the freedom
To work your way
To the head of the line-
To the head of the line!"
---Stephen Sondheim
#23re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 2:13pm
I prefer Butler onstage (as a performer)
But prefer Bundy offstage (as a person)
Yeah :)
My 2007/2008 Season:
Grey Gardens (7/5)
110 in the Shade (7/6)
Mary Poppins (7/7)
Xanadu (7/7)
Deuce (7/8)
Spamalot (7/8)
Jersey Boys (8/25)
The Year of Magical Thinking (8/25)
Mauritius (11/2)
Young Frankenstein (11/3)
Rock 'N' Roll (11/3)
Pygmalion (11/4)
Mauritius (11/10)
Mauritius (11/21) Mauritius (11/21)
Sunday in the Park with George (3/6)
South Pacific (3/7)
Gypsy (3/8)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (3/9)
#24re: Butler or Bundy?
Posted: 7/11/07 at 2:18pm
No question Butler. I don't see anything special about Bundy. Bundy is pretty much another generic blonde. Nothing is special about Bundy's voice and she doesn't have much star quality. Kerry has a phenomenal voice that can keep an audiences attention. I agree with whoever said that Butler has the star quality Bundy lacks.
Updated On: 7/11/07 at 02:18 PM
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