#1
Posted: 4/11/07 at 1:19pm
For all its glitz, energy, pyrotechnical dance numbers, Legally Blonde disappoints. I caught the Sunday Matinee April 8 at 2 pm.
When I saw Legally Blonde the movie, I didn't expect to like it, but Reese Witherspoon embraced her blondeness, was in on the blonde joke from the get go, was over the top blonde and when she lost her boyfriend, we realized she was a real person with real feelings and we felt for her. Such is the magic of a good director and a camera that zeroes in.
No so in the musical. The musical opens with a cutsiepie number called Omigosh with a plethora of obnoxious sef involved valley sororiety girls. After the number, Elle Woods joins the groups with dog in hand and becomes one of the insipid masses of blonde vapidness. When she loses her boyfriend, I felt nothing except good that a little pain came into the insipid woman's life. (I believe Avenue Q instructs that this is Shaudenfraude) The musicals fails here where the movie suceeds in letting us want to side with Elle Woods. That is the biggest problem with the show. You don't care about Elle Woods.
Hairspray, the musical, achieves this so much better when we zero in on Tracy Turnblatt in the opening number of the musical and we fall in love with her from moment one. Sweet Charity, the musical achieves empathy when we focus in on Charity from moment one. Not so with Legally Blonde.
Although "Ohmigosh" is a visually stunning number with unfortunately eye rolling and embarrasing lyrics, it works against the main character in the opening position of the show. I recommend they move this number until after we meet Elle Woods.
Give Elle the first moments of the show and make us fall for her.
I don't think it's Laura Bell Bundy's fault but the director and the book writer and how they set her up. Laura Bell Bundy does a decent enough job but she is missing a directorial hand. This brings us to Jerry Mitchell.
I have been a big fan of Jerry Mitchel for many years admiring his choroegraphic work on La Cage, Hairspray, Full Monty and others, but he is missing the directorial eye focussing instead (as many choreographers turned directors do) on the energetic dance number. Let's disquise mediocrity with great numbers.
Another problem with the focus of the show can be fixed very easily. There are a trio of "sorority sisters" aka "the greek chorus" which is behind Elle. Well one of them is blonde and she steals too much focus. She has a better wig than Laura Bell and she is prettier than Laura Bell. They should make this girl a red head or a brunette. They should also give that girls wig to Elle Woods as Elle's wig looks fakey and the sororiety sister simply has a better wig. It seems as if they are dead set on having a carbon copy of Reese Witherspoon's hair which looks just like that; a fake carbon copy of Reese Witherspoon's hair. (Thankfully, Laura Bell's hair or wig is much improved in Act Two)
I found the music a great disappointment as well adding very little to enhance the movie enjoyment. Thank g-d for Jerry Mitchell's choreography to camoflauge this second rate score and lyrics. Jerry Mitchell is a choreographic genius. Now, if he could just focus a little as director, he may be able to fix the proceedings.
As for the supporting cast, I think Michael Rupert as the curmudgeonly lawyer does a great job. Chistian Borle (who was so wonderful in Spamalot) is not used to best advantage as a character actor. Orfeh and Nikki Snelson are energetic and fine. All of the cast are fine performers but the major character trait is "energetic" and they lack a real director's hand.
I think Legally Blonde will please 12 -14 years olds but will dissappoint thinking adults. When a musical doesn't add or improve on the movie, and I don't care about the main character...what is the point? For all its glitz and glamour, I was legally bored.
When I saw Legally Blonde the movie, I didn't expect to like it, but Reese Witherspoon embraced her blondeness, was in on the blonde joke from the get go, was over the top blonde and when she lost her boyfriend, we realized she was a real person with real feelings and we felt for her. Such is the magic of a good director and a camera that zeroes in.
No so in the musical. The musical opens with a cutsiepie number called Omigosh with a plethora of obnoxious sef involved valley sororiety girls. After the number, Elle Woods joins the groups with dog in hand and becomes one of the insipid masses of blonde vapidness. When she loses her boyfriend, I felt nothing except good that a little pain came into the insipid woman's life. (I believe Avenue Q instructs that this is Shaudenfraude) The musicals fails here where the movie suceeds in letting us want to side with Elle Woods. That is the biggest problem with the show. You don't care about Elle Woods.
Hairspray, the musical, achieves this so much better when we zero in on Tracy Turnblatt in the opening number of the musical and we fall in love with her from moment one. Sweet Charity, the musical achieves empathy when we focus in on Charity from moment one. Not so with Legally Blonde.
Although "Ohmigosh" is a visually stunning number with unfortunately eye rolling and embarrasing lyrics, it works against the main character in the opening position of the show. I recommend they move this number until after we meet Elle Woods.
Give Elle the first moments of the show and make us fall for her.
I don't think it's Laura Bell Bundy's fault but the director and the book writer and how they set her up. Laura Bell Bundy does a decent enough job but she is missing a directorial hand. This brings us to Jerry Mitchell.
I have been a big fan of Jerry Mitchel for many years admiring his choroegraphic work on La Cage, Hairspray, Full Monty and others, but he is missing the directorial eye focussing instead (as many choreographers turned directors do) on the energetic dance number. Let's disquise mediocrity with great numbers.
Another problem with the focus of the show can be fixed very easily. There are a trio of "sorority sisters" aka "the greek chorus" which is behind Elle. Well one of them is blonde and she steals too much focus. She has a better wig than Laura Bell and she is prettier than Laura Bell. They should make this girl a red head or a brunette. They should also give that girls wig to Elle Woods as Elle's wig looks fakey and the sororiety sister simply has a better wig. It seems as if they are dead set on having a carbon copy of Reese Witherspoon's hair which looks just like that; a fake carbon copy of Reese Witherspoon's hair. (Thankfully, Laura Bell's hair or wig is much improved in Act Two)
I found the music a great disappointment as well adding very little to enhance the movie enjoyment. Thank g-d for Jerry Mitchell's choreography to camoflauge this second rate score and lyrics. Jerry Mitchell is a choreographic genius. Now, if he could just focus a little as director, he may be able to fix the proceedings.
As for the supporting cast, I think Michael Rupert as the curmudgeonly lawyer does a great job. Chistian Borle (who was so wonderful in Spamalot) is not used to best advantage as a character actor. Orfeh and Nikki Snelson are energetic and fine. All of the cast are fine performers but the major character trait is "energetic" and they lack a real director's hand.
I think Legally Blonde will please 12 -14 years olds but will dissappoint thinking adults. When a musical doesn't add or improve on the movie, and I don't care about the main character...what is the point? For all its glitz and glamour, I was legally bored.
