LEGALLY BLONDE: Best Movie Musical since Hairspray- Page 3

[BroadwayPenguin2]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 6:07pm

It's called "Positive" It's not "Beacon of Positivity".

They basically cut up L&W and glued bits and pieces of it into "Positive".

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 6:14pm

Positive was better because it was not as dark as love and war.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 6:16pm

POSITIVE is a perfect example of the unmemorable songs in the score.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 7:59pm

I'll bump this because....well, I like the debate.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 8:27pm

Threadjacking here, but bought tix today for June due to the nice buzz on the boards... B.O was packed !!! (SO WAS THEATRE!)

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:16pm

Good to hear. It deserves to succeed.

[jbdc]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:24pm

Yankeefan, I'm fascinated that you didn't like Laura Bell Bundy, because I so often agree with you. I thought she was the best part of a bland show. hmmmm.... you're making me rethink things...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:32pm

Only rethink if you're unsure.

But I will say this about Laura. I think she's very talented, I think she's perfect for the show, but as the standby. Having rewatched the movie earlier today (good ole TBS), it's evident that Laura doesn't have the charm or charisma Reese Witherspoon had.

Laura's a great performer, one of the best new talents around, but I just don't think she's ready to carry a show of this size.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:43pm

I hope Cheno will take over the part at one point during its run...I think she would be PERFECT for the part.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:45pm

I agree that she'd be perfect....but she's about ten years too old now. She's not as youthful looking as she was in her 'Charlie Brown' days.
Updated On: 4/8/07 at 10:45 PM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:48pm

Yeah, girlfriend's pushing 40.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:50pm

I see where you're coming from yankee and I do agree (even though I liked her performance more than you did) she is in a BIT over her head. The role is demanding and I saw her losing a bit of steam during "So Much Better" which is going to become the next "Defying Gravity" I think. When Idina sung DG at least she kept belting out the notes the whole time and pushing her way through the song...it was almost as if LBB realized she was putting too much into it and began to pull back. If she really wants to get better and better in the role (which I think she will), she will have to keep trying new things and keep going a bit over the top. It was almost as if she had her comfort zone and didn't take one step out of it for the whole two-and-a-half hours (which again, relates back to how I said her portrayl of Elle is a bit too similar to Witherspoon's). She should try new things with the part and make it her own...

I wonder if she's going to be taking leave a lot...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 10:57pm

It's funny that you mention Defying Gravity. Having listened to the demo version of So Much Better, I kept thinking how the song could have been much more interesting if it had one of those DG riffs at the end.

Elle Woods isn't that hard a part, for someone like Chenoweth, Maddigan, etc. They've done toughies (though I'd hardly call Elle a toughy). Someone like Bundy isn't ready to be thrown in just yet.

I have no doubt that she'll get better (and she's a hot blonde, so we know Brantley's gonna explode), but right now, she just didn't impress me.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:01pm

*yawn*

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:02pm

Chenoweth at this point in her career won't be coming into any shows.

I am not sure that So Much Better will become the new Defying Gravity.

Besides Chenoweth what Hot Blondes does Brantley like?

Edit: How old is Brantley? Updated On: 4/8/07 at 11:02 PM

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:05pm

hey all-im friends with LBB-she read this thread and cried her self to sleep....

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:05pm

^ What?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:06pm

Kelli O'Hara, Brooke Shields (and the multitudes of other, non-blondes: Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy). He loves his strong females. Go figure.

Neddy - he's probably in his mid-forties, I'd guess? He's certainly not a dinosaur like Clive Barnes.
Updated On: 4/8/07 at 11:06 PM

[jbdc]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:12pm

Tell LBB she's fantastic. I hate everything, and I loved her performance. I think it's a more intimate story than the garish production values would have us believe, and they get in the way of the story at times. But LBB gives Elle the arc that gives us a reason to come to the theatre--to grow and change with her. And remarkably, learn something in the process. She's not Reese Witherspoon, and Hallelujah for that because I already saw that take on it. LBB gives us a new reason to experience Legally Blonde.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:16pm

If you actually believe it, though, for arguement's sake, let me again clarify.

It's not that she's terrible. Far, far from it. She's a very talented performer who's just not giving a big enough performance.

It's almost as if she seemed a bit too tentative, maybe a bit too nervous to take some risks?

Chew the scenery, go all out. Be HUGE. Grab the show by the balls and twist 'em. The audience is in the palm of her hand from the moment she steps on stage. Work it.

She'll grow. Updated On: 4/8/07 at 11:16 PM

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:19pm

i totally agree that the performance isnt for her. its just seems like its all about "emmett" to me .....

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:30pm

^What?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 11:56pm

Like you said, it's her first show being a lead, so I would just give her time to grow. We know she's got the talent to do it, but I imagine it's pretty daunting walking into that HUGE theater and seeing your mug up on the marquee. I think once she goes through the paces and gets use to how things flow, she'll be better and let things go. I mean the songs are pretty much tailored to her voice, right? so she shouldn't have that much trouble with the songs.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 8:12am

It's not about having trouble with the songs, it's about being able to stand out.

[CirqueDuFreak2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 8:19am

I feel like Emmett is the unwanted star as well (see my questions on the Easter post), but good lord... Laura Bell can hold a show... she is a star in the making. She is one of very few crop of young girls who can dance, sing and deliver a joke (I know some of you include Kelli O'Hara in that clique, I don't. But I do include Mary Faber and Natalie Joy Johnson), I agree give her time and hopefully the creative team will trust her a little more.

In regards to energy, that diva works it out... singing, AND dancing, which is WAYYYY more then we can say for Elphaba. Not to discredit the role of Elphaba in anyway, but she climbs a gurney and lifts into the air. Elle, does a drumline routine, a bend and snap number, the parade number and belts her face off... it's a pretty demanding evening on any young girl, and not many others would be up to the task. Just my thoughts.