Laura Bell Bundy and the Note — Page 3

I think it's an overreaction to say that she shouldn't be on Broadway. We're talking about only ONE difficult note and not an entire performance. And has been noted in this thread I agree that the majority of the audience probably doesn't even notice.

Singing your t*ts off sounds extremely painful////

God, not to really stir things up but everyone here raved about the all-playing/all-singing revival of Company

I hated it.

They hit more sour notes than should be allowed on stage and his playing of the piano during "Being Alive" made me cringe and ruined one of the best songs ever written for the stage.

LBB just blows one note (okay maybe three)...

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Sorry Bobby but Legally Blonde ain't Sondheim so your repeated comparisons are ridicuous. It's not a deep classical piece, or any sort of drama good or bad. It's a splashy MUSICAL with an absolutely abyssmal book, so the only thing the lead and supporting cast of Blonde have to do, and do well, is SING and sell the songs, not recite text from The Seagull. Just sayin'.

Unless she is sick there really is no excuse for this kind of poor musicianship. She is creating a role in a new Musical with ticket prices upwards of $100. I know many Actresses, with and without Broadway credits, that can hit that note. Having gone through the Broadway Audition/Callback process more times than I can count, I know for a fact that Creatives try and vet actors as much as possible. The wild card, and hardest aspect of the audition process is always whether or not a person can stand the rigors of giving 100% 8 times a week. I find the use of Pitch Correction, sweeteners, and recordings, to be against everything that Broadway is. I know it is done in phantom, but a lot of that is because the actor's onstage aren't necessarily actually the actors playing the roles during the title song. This isn't the case in Legally Blonde. Short of replacing LBB, the only solution is the song needs to be lowered (which is done all the time fyi)or they need to find an alternate melody line for her. If I were to pay top dollar and she were to hit that note badly after all these months of knowing about it and hearing about it, I would be royally pissed off.

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Alright, can we take a step back from blaming the writers of this? Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems like there are a ton of roles/songs that are much, MUCH more difficult than this. I can see where people are coming from--if the creative team is witnessing night after night that she is having trouble with this one note, it might be in their best interest to change it. But I don't think they've written anything ludicrously difficult to sing. Sure it's tough, but not even close to some other shows.

Just my two cents.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Aida so much closer to an opera. Oh wait a minute, it IS an opera. Do opera singers participate - no LEAD four exhaustive dance numbers in the first act? And deliver dialog with anywhere near convincing acting? (Ever been to the Met? I have and the acting is usually... operatic).

I love people who haven't walked across a stage in LBB's shoes saying she's to blame. Change the damn note like they did for Sutton Foster and let's move on (and she won a Tony for that role, lowered note and all).

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Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida is in no way an opera. It is a contemporary Pop musical with a Script.
It is based on the Verdi Opera of the same name, but it is NOT an opera.

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blaxx-What you said was pretty much dead on. Kudos for that :)

We as MT fans and audience members should expect nothing else but the best when purchasing expensive tickets in NY. That's the reason why Broadway is Broadway. Being in a regional show/community show/school show are the chances you have as a performer to hone your craft and potential/improve/work/strive to give all you got so when you finally audition for Bway you should be close to perfection. However, complete perfection is not a realistic plateau to reach for nor is it rational. Even the pros make mistakes from time to time. You also have to be realistic and remember that even the best f*ck up once in awhile and she's human. I'm not saying "oh poor her, cut her some slack" but dear God...as an earlier poster stated its ONE note that she has some trouble with. Its not like she f*cks up the whole performance. I mean, the girl was nominated for a Tony...

I know i'm gonna piss off a lot of people on this board by saying this but...I would really love to see how a lot of people on these boards would do surviving a Bway show 8 times a week. Everyone is always talking about well this should be like this and so and so should be able to handle this, etc. If you could do it better, I would really love to see that happen. Before I get chewed out, I know no one on this board has yet mentioned that they could do it better but regardless. Personally when I saw LBB she hit the note, perfect pitch and all. I think she's a triple threat/pretty good, solid performer. And i'm sorry; with all of the crap that has been infesting Broadway lately from big name celebrities and whatnot I'd take LBB over any of them anyday. I haven't seen her do the role in awhile but if she really is having as much trouble with the note as people are saying then she should either take time off and vocally rest or they should lower it for her. I'm sure they could, since they have in the past lowered difficult musical notes for even bigger star names who don't even have talent to begin with.

You will never ever know what its like for these performers until you've lived through the same exact experiences that they have or are equal to what they have. ex. Performing on Bway 8 times a week and/or being in a regional production 6 times a week, etc. I know everyone is entitled to their opinion/view and all that crap. But when it all comes down to it, as much as I wanna state how I feel and what I think i'm not really equipped to judge.

Also, LBB isn't the only performer who's messed up vocally on a consistent basis on Broadway
ie. Idina Menzel in Wicked
Sutton Foster in Little Women & Millie
Even the most talented have their vocal problems/off nights, its a part of life and a part of being a performer.

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Updated On: 12/5/07 at 11:29 PM

what site, was this, perhaps? :)

*hint hint look at my avater

No offense, but none of the characters in Millie have quite the strenuous demands on them as the character of Elle in Legally Blonde. I still say that LBB should make a choice to protect her voice before she burns herself out, but I also think that Blonde places an INSANE demand on anyone playing Elle, and none of her understudies have played the role as many times as she has for as long as she has. It may wear ANYONE out. And most likely would.

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I've seen both Modern Millie and Legally Blonde and I really think LBB's role is much more difficult. Sure, Sutton Foster tap danced all through the show and delivered two fabulous ballads, but, y'know what? I wasn't that moved by her. She left me cold. She looked wooden and goofy. Bundy moved me. She CAN act and she IS acting in the show.

I'm sure there are loads of other people who can perform the role but from what I've seen, there are very few who can breathe life into it.

There are lots of great performers but stars ar few and far between and this girl is a star. Mary Martin was a star. Bernadette Peters is a star. Nancy Walker was a star. Apparently, Patty Lupone is, although her talent leave me cold.

Half the cast of "Evita" could probably perform the role. Very few could make it their own.

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As someone said before she's getting paid for it. Sorry to sound negative and sorry if it sounds like i'm defying the perfect "Utopia" that Broadway supposedly is, but she probably doesn't care. ONE NOTE. Is anyone else here on Broadway? Maybe 1 or 2 posters. And people who wanna bash her and say she shouldn't be on broadway...just to clarify - are you really that ignorant and so completely clueless? LBB is on Broadway. You are not. Get over yourselves.

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Updated On: 12/6/07 at 06:16 AM