LB: Gay or European?

[zamedy]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 2:07pm

Just wondering if anyone knows if there is a reason why the song "There, Right There!" from the LEGALLY BLONDE soundtrack isn't entitled "Gay or European?" After listening to the song (which has some very clever lyrics) I couldn't help but wonder why they went for the more subtle title.

I have to admit... a lot of the songs have really grown on me, and I'm looking forward to seeing the touring production in October.

[Craig]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 2:08pm

Just a guess.. but I'd say maybe because they didn't want to ruin the punchline?

[Pippin]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 2:09pm

I think you just said it right there. they wanted a more subtle title, especially for newcomers to the show reading the playbill for the song titles in the show. They didn't want to give to much away.

[koolaid mustache]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 2:16pm

I am assuming because of the punch line...

just as in A Chorus Line, they called the song dance:ten; looks:three, instead of tit's and ass, to save the punchline...

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 2:48pm

And so that in this day and age of computer title searches, a song that makes fun of homophobic attitudes wouldn't get lumped in with "I Kissed a Girl" on GLBT subject lists. Actually very gay-positive of those straight writers.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 3:03pm

I think they called the song There, Right There as to not ruin the punchline. I think that as far as Dance: Ten Looks: Three, I think that calling it Tits and Ass was too out there for that point in time. So, they wanted something a little more subtle.

[ragg_ballad]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 3:12pm

Regarding Dance:10 Looks:3, In "What They Did For Love" they talked about how before, when the song was called "Tits and Ass," it just wasn't getting many laughs. So the producer (or director?) decided one night to go sit in the audience, and watching people read the song list in the Playbill, realized why there were few laughs: the audience knew the "punch line" already. So they changed the name of the song to "Dance:10, Looks:3" as to not give away why the song was supposed to be funny. I'm guessing that's the same reason LB decided to go with "There, Right There!" and not "Gay or European."

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 3:24pm

Wasn't it called "Gay and European" during the San Fran tryout?

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 5:36pm

Gay AND European?

Why not call it "Anthony Perkins is His Own Mother?"

[degrassifan]

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

It was called "Gay or European" during the workshops, but was changed to "There! Right There!" when the show started to play. I guess it was changed because the title would have given part of the plot away. Granted, the movie also had the whole gay pool boy part, but such an obscure song title would leave people guessing whether that part of the movie would be in the stage show.
Updated On: 8/5/08 at 05:43 PM

[FlyingMonkey1223]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:29pm

I saw the show in SF and the song was called "There, Right There!" as it is currently known. It was not called "Gay, or European" during the SF run, but the song "Postitive" was not in the show. Instead, there was a song called "Love & War" which was a similar song to "Positive" and it had the same dance routine at the end.

[Taryn]

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

It was definitely a smart move. When I saw Legally Blonde, I totally wasn't expecting the punchline and thought it was hilarious. Totally wouldn't have happened if the song had been listed as "Gay or European" in the Playbill.

Sadly, that level of humor doesn't really last in the song after the punchline has been divulged.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 6:58pm

There are some very clever and funny lines in the song. Everyone looking at Warner is a hoot and Kate's lines are very funny, trying to be PC but inadvertantly playing into the homophobic thing. I laugh all through it.