Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
When you mention "Wicked" and "Hi-Fi" are you talking artistically or financially?
And Wannabe Foster, I still don't get it, sorry. I don't get your point, and I don't really care. Is it that time of month?
I never saw or heard any of High Fidelity, so I can only comment on it from a financial perspective. If Legally Blonde manages to punch up some of its weaker numbers during its out of town tryout I think it will do at least as well as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels did, and there's no way it's going to close right after opening like High Fidelity.
I have seen Wicked, and I like much of LB's score better, although that's not saying much. Wicked truly is a phenomenon, but I think LB with its "girl power" message will appeal to the same demographics. What I've heard of Legally Blonde is some really funny, well written musical comedy interspersed with some forgettable derivative pop songs.
For now, anyone who'll rhyme "man at ease" with "Kennedys" has my support.
"Serious" is one of my favorite songs. Laura and Richard sound so great together and it's very funny and catchy. I also like how the song exposes the softer side of Richard's singing.
As for naming the song "Legally Blonde remix" I think they had to do that because the first "Legally Blonde" is a ballad between Emmett and Elle and the second one is nothing like it. It's upbeat and catchy, but it's really not a reprise. Just the same tune and general melody, so it's not a reprise, but it's not a different song either.
What about "Legally Blonde Redux?" No? No, didn't think so. Ah, well.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/29/04
"As for naming the song "Legally Blonde remix" I think they had to do that because the first "Legally Blonde" is a ballad between Emmett and Elle and the second one is nothing like it. It's upbeat and catchy, but it's really not a reprise. Just the same tune and general melody, so it's not a reprise, but it's not a different song either."
Ah, I wasn't aware there was a previous song called "Legally Blonde." Thanks for clearing that up.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
No, the naming makes total sense, just a "dumber" way of naming of it, but I guess it does make sense with the show.
And Wicked is a phenom because the score really isn't that strong. Most of the people I know only enjoy a handful of songs from the show, but Wicked has comedy, it has drama, and it has spectacle. This show just doesnt seem like it makes you care for the characters at all. It's a hard sale because it's hard to care for a character again.
RentBoy, get back to me after you've dug yourself out from that closet.
OK, Rentboy, you probably did not mean it but comments like "is it that time of the month?" is the reason why the United States remains a patriarchal heteronormative white-male dominant country. Topic for a totally different thread, but had to say it, that comment was both offensive to women and gay men (not that Wanna Be Foster necessarily belongs to either group)
EDIT: More on topic, comparing Wicked and Legally Blonde is not entirely accurate because of reasons already mentioned in this thread, the target audience is different, the marketing of Wicked is much more coherent, and as maligned as Wicked it can't be argued that it knows how to capture a mainstream audience.
Judging from those clips (guess what, the clips are there for us to create an opinion on the show, the producers KNOW they are running that risk), the show is another The Wedding Singer waiting to happen. Perhaps, Jerry Mitchell turns out to be a great out-of-town doctor, perhaps they gave us the worst three clips of the show, but what it boils down to is that with that sort of advertisement they will not fill the Palace every week for X amount of months it'll take them to turn out a profit.
You can try to say it will do as well as Dirty Rtten Scoundrels but remember, that was at the Imperial. Never mind the fact DRS had an incredible set, a very strong cast with charisma to spare, catchy numbers, some very good reviews besides the Times, a Tony Award winning leading performance, and the star pull of Lithgow.
Legally Blonde is going to be playing the Palace, one of the biggest theaters on Broadway. Trying to put a mediocre show in there with no star pull is ASKING for trouble.
Stand-by Joined: 3/31/05
Saw the video and I can't imagine this is the BEST they have to offer. The show looks wildy lack luster, the choreo is weak, and "Chip on your shoulder" is actually hard to get through. Laura Bell Bundy sounds nice. Kate Shindle blew the headset off my ears with "You've got the best friggin' shoes" I'll qualify that as the line you'll hear sung around town (especially in Chelsea). Orfeh sounded great as usual but looks uncomfortable doing the choreo. If you don't believe me please look at her "Bend and snap" after she sings "I depend on my friends" If you compare her to Leslie Kritzer (Brunette to the left of your screen) Orfeh looks more like she's doing the funky chicken.
And last but not least, is this musical set in the present day? These costumes are not at all the quality I was expecting. Orfeh looks like Cyndi Lauper while NONE of Bundy's costumes live up to Elle's persona. Why build costumes when you can buy the hottest designer lables on the rack right now? Or at least copy what's out there. I guess they want her to look tacky. I think that really shows how this creative team is scratching the surface of this show. Think Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada when she gives "Emily" the speech "But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean...so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room" Wouldn't it be amazing (and all the less shallow) if this is how the designer's approached this show and it's characters, instead of thinking let's get drunk and bedazzle everything?
That being said...I'm sure this show is entertaining. I imagine they'll work out kinks before it moves to New York and I certainly wish them the best.
"You can try to say it will do as well as Dirty Rtten Scoundrels..."
I'm not just going to try to say it, I will say it: Legally Blonde will do at least as well as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels did. I saw DRS and found it to be entertaining, but the only thing catchy in that score to my ears was "Great Big Stuff", mainly because it seemed like a effective ear training tool to remember what a diminished triad sounds like.
Did DRS have a cute little dog? Case closed.
We'll see in a year or two.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/10/04
dirty rotten only did well because of john lithgow and norbert. look how well it did when john left. went from 90% to 75%. and when norbert left it closed in 2 months. the tour couldnt even make it 5 months before they had to tier it. the show blows.
legally blonde: 6 months tops. wont win any tony's. after that the show will squeak out the summmer and close on labor day.
I enjoyed DRS, but it's a good point that the show needed a big star to work. I don't think Legally Blonde will have that problem, as long as the dog doesn't decide he wants to direct.
>legally blonde: 6 months tops. wont win any tony's. after that the show will squeak >out the summmer and close on labor day.
I'm not saying that I think Legally Blonde is the most brilliant piece of musical theater ever, or even this year. I do think it's going to be an easily marketable, fun bit of musical comedy. My LB prediction: 2 years, a best musical nomination and one or two Tonys, a succesful national tour and productions in Germany and Japan. (You can't miss with blondes in Japan!) Eventually there'll be a low low budget non equity tour that will make piles of money, and beyond that this show will be perfect for high schools everywhere.
I wish I was an investor.
TechEverlasting, I cannot tell whether or not you're being serious.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
Nor can I, but two years? doubtful.
Yes, I'm being serious, at least with regards to my predictions.
At least two years, because this show is what the market wants.
I'm going to go out on a limb and also predict two years of people posting on this and other boards complaining about how this sort of dreck keeps running while Spring Awakening and Grey Gardens have long since closed.
Just which one or two Tonys did you have in mind for this show to take home?
Are dogs eligible for supporting actor awards?
I suppose it could be what the market wants, but it just seems too cutesy, and "high school" for my taste.
This is one I won't see....but then what do I know, I hated Gypsy with Bernadette
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/06
It could get costumes if Grey Gardens doesn't. That's pretty much it, though. I can see it getting a decent amount of noms, though.
It has Grey Gardens, Mary Poppins, Curtains, and LoveMusik (a period piece), I doubt it'll get a costumes award over those four shows.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
Best Musical Nominations:
Grey Gardens
Spring Awakening
LoveMusik
Curtains
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
As I've said before, I think that it would have been clever if they'd made the sorority music more poppish, and then when she gets to Harvard, the music could be more classical. Vivienne I think should have been a legit soprano.
Then again, I'm not a composer.
^You mean like in "Princesses?"
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
Yeah, something like that I suppose.
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