Omigod! - Legally Blonde 1st Night in DC (Review)

[bwaynewbee]

Posted: 12/17/08 at 6:03am

Well I have read other reviews for other shows here on the board and all were really good.. I am new here so please be kind for I will try to make mine half as good as others.

I had the privilege of seeing LB on its first night here in DC. I am like the girl from Philly who is a really big LB fan so again it was a no-brainer for me to see it..

The venue was in the Opera House of The Kennedy Center in DC. Let me just tell you that walking down that red carpet is awe inspiring in itself. I got there a bit early for a 7:30pm showtime, and I had awesome seats!!

The show started a bit after 7:30pm and did not disappoint IMO. They had a few tiny problems with the Audio during "Serious" where you couldn't hear Becky Gulsvig's responses to Warner that well but other than that things went smoothly. It was a bit odd for me anyway the way "Omigod You Guys" is set up and I wish they had the house and stairs on tour but it was great the way it went!

The audience at The Kennedy Center is a bit more "to-do" so during the the really good numbers people were a bit unsure if they should clap (but I did!)

Stand-Out Performer of the Night: Natalie Joy Johnson (Paulette) she was FANTASTIC!! Paulette is so perfect for her and her voice is amazing. The song "Ireland" was never one of my favorite songs cause I thought it really didn't make sense in the show (still do) but Natalie Joy singing it was SUPERB!!!

Becky Gulsvig (Elle) and D.B. Bonds (Emmett) were wonderful as well the "PMS Girls" Margot, Serena, Pilar (rhiannon, courtney, crystal)

The second act seemed to flow "so much better" (no-pun intended) and the audience that seemed a bit shy in the first act let loose in the second. The audience really seemed to enjoy themselves esp. during "Whipped into Shape" Colleen Sexton rocked the number along with cast and got everyone excited. Ven Daniel as the UPS Guy also got cat calls from the audience!

All in all I would go see it again (and probably will) while it is here in DC (for almost a month) which makes the cast happy BTW!!

Oh.. and for those who want to know there is a "Stage Door" as you enter "The Kennedy Center" main hallway called the Hall of Nations it is the first door on your right (it is indoors) and the security guard will usually let you in!!

I almost forgot the highlight (at least for me) was "Stage Door" I got to meet almost everyone and had autographs from them too.. all of them were super nice... (Becky,D.B,Megan) some were a bit rushed "sign, say hello and go" but were nice anyway!

I think the cool part was I had a chance to talk to most of the cast on the "Kennedy Center Shuttle" and on the Metro (DC Subway) for a bit and I had a really nice chat with Natalie Joy Johnson (Paulette) and I would like to Thank her personally here even though I doubt she will read this.. she was so gracious and even though she was exhausted she was pumped to be in D.C and excited to have a few weeks without packing up again.

Well that's it.. hope you enjoyed my first review.. if you didn't that's okay I am still learning to do these right!

See Legally Blonde in DC if you can!!

~BNB


PS: Nick Dalton (owner of the LB National Tour Blog.. was also really sweet) and looks so much like "Sylar on Heroes" its scary!! :P

PSS: thanks Becky for the pic w/you! :)

[godspell]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:01pm

I happen to know Natalie very well!!! She "is" aware of the review you have so gracously written about the show and the wonderful things you said about her. When I spoke to her about your complements, she was very pleased to hear them and then she told me how much she enjoyed the time she spent with you after the show. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness and the sharing of you feelings! She intends to be around for a longggggg time.
P.S. She is a native of Baltimore
Thanks again!!! Happy Holidays

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:05pm

yeah i saw it second night
ok so the lyric changes were very odd....
and the first act wasn't anything special, and some of the people in my row never came back after intermission because I heard them discussing how they hated it so much
but the second act was REALLy good

basically everyone was super good
but elle (becky) was just ok
she never really stood out at anything, but I agree NJJ was AMAZING!!
also, I didn't know how vivienne was going to sing.. she could SING! omg her note at the end was PHENOMENAL!

[bwaynewbee]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 10:12am

WOW! Thanks Godspell! I was hoping she didn't think me some kind of freak!! I had gone by myself (w/o kid or hubby) so I could enjoy myself and talk (I talk way to much!! esp when meeting famous people)

She was so nice to me and that makes a difference to me.. believe me!!

BNB

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 11:13am

I saw the show Friday night and enjoyed it somewhat. As I've been battling a cold since Thursday, I was nodding off a lot during the first act. This is no reflection of the show. The audience response was enthusiastic and I'm definitely going to give the show another chance before it leaves DC.

I thought Becky Gulsvig was wonderful as Elle. Natalie Joy Johnson has quite the singing voice on her. I really enjoyed her performance. Ven Daniel as Kyle was perfect!!

The choreography (especially the jump rope number) was a bit sloppy at times.

[philly03]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 3:10pm

I saw the tour here in Philly and agree it was excellent, but I'm still by my judgement of "second-best" cast they could have possibly found. And that's not a bad thing at all, they were all marvellous, but I'm in agreement: Becky was OK. NJJ/DB Bonds were awesome, and of course COLEEN (haha ONE L) was my favourite part of the show...but there's the Jekkie/Coleen fan in me :).

In Philly, in regards to the stagedoor, they told us to be "agressive, but nice" to the actors, as many did just leave (Coleen and Megan did, but I caught Coleen the second time). And The choreography for me was most sloppy during Positive, I'm sorry but especially Becky.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 4:02pm

What are the lyric changes specifically?

[Anakela]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 7:10pm

Becky was OK. NJJ/DB Bonds were awesome, and of course COLEEN (haha ONE L) was my favourite part of the show

Hee- lol at the ONE L there, the official Blonde tour website still has her first name spelled as Colleen.

PiraguaGuy2- lyric changes:

Omigod You Guys: there's no sliding down the pole so "don't take the freeway"/"hey wait for me" has been replaced by "fashion crisis to supervise"

Positive: "Girls, Girls
Violence is never wise
Not the way to win back guys
Anyway she's twice my size
who's got a Plan B?"

is now

"Girls, girls-
fighting is not Delta Nu, plus
who knows what the heck she'll do,
some debutante J Crew Kung Fu?
who's got a Plan B?"

Ireland: "Irish bagpipes" are now "Highland bagpipes"

Chip: "Roxbury slums" was "Dorchester slums" when I saw the tour in Boston, but I'd heard that was a Boston-only change.

There Right There: "you were not yesterday" is now "you watch Project Runway."

...those are just the ones I remember, I'm sure there were others.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 7:20pm

What does Emmett sing during the LB Ballad since they now sing it directly to each other in the courtroom? It wouldn't make much sense for him to sing of opening a door that isn't there.

[Anakela]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 7:42pm

Oh, and one I forgot: the "Emmett, is that you?" "You look sharp." "Chalk one up for Elle." dialogue all now happens in the dress up Callahan scene. (The Dress up Callahan scene- it's what I call the filler scene that was added between going from The Hair Affaire/Bend and Snap to the courtroom/There Right There. It happens in front of a curtain, and its the interns dressing up Callahan- Vivienne gets him his coffee, Warner puts on his jacket, Enid lint brushes his shoulders, etc. The scene does nothing except scream PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT WE'RE FILLING TIME WHILE WE MOVE SETS AROUND BEHIND THIS CURTAIN.)

Anyway... Legally Blonde staging in the courtroom I actually really liked!
First of all because Vivienne and Warner are center stage to see the Callahan pass; you can see them from wherever you're sitting (versus the Broadway staging where, with them being on the side, sometimes you didn't see them).
And then the Legally Blonde lyrics: Emmett says "I should have told you before" in place of "please won't you open the door" and "Is it too late? Can I just say, how much I want you to stay?" instead of "If you can hear, can I just say..."