Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
#1Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 8:38am
I think it's pretty safe now to discuss the results of the MTV broadcast... It's clear the producers were looking for long-term results, and it has been almost 2 years...
Even though it closed on Broadway a year after the broadcast, the tour is doing phenomenally well (and is booked til 2011), and a London production opens in December. Is it safe to say this was a brilliant move? Should more shows do the same during their run when business slows down?
#2re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 8:47amI really think it has been a good idea. Alot of my friends in the UK who wouldn't have known about it otherwise have told me they have youtubed it and want to see the show when it opens in London.
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#2re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 10:12am
"I think it's pretty safe now to discuss the results of the MTV broadcast..."
Well, I don't think the reality show helped the production that much. It did help increase recognition in the show, sure, but did not exponentially increase the show's fan base. I think the show would have found similar successes without the reality show.
frapperia
Leading Actor Joined: 6/26/09
#3re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 10:27amI agree with Mark_E, it was a very clever idea. I refused to see it when I was in NY years ago cos I was mega mega snobby about it, but then I saw the MTV broadcast (thought it was a good way of checking it out without having to pay) and fell in love. Showed it to my best mate, who was also a bit snooty, and she just absolutely loved it too! Have booked over a dozen tickets for me and a posse of girlies to see it in London. Wish I'd seen it when it was on Broadway.
#4re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 10:41am
It would have been a more interesting test if they had used a show that was .... good.
Legally Bland was such a waste.
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#5re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 10:45am
Oops, I got confused and thought of the reality show. Even so, I don't think it helped build a huge fan base. Interest died down eventually.
I didn't like the broadcast that much, including some of the camera angles, etc. I liked seeing it in person better when I could get a view of the entire stage.
frapperia
Leading Actor Joined: 6/26/09
#6re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 11:08amYes, but if you didn't have the chance to see it live, it was a very clever idea to build buzz for the tour - and it's definitely helped for the London opening, it's given us the opportunity to see what it's like and go 'yes, actually, wow, that's a lot of fun, I'm going to book some tickets'!
#7re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 11:09am
I think showing a Broadway show on TV a very limited number of times, or only once works to increase its appeal. First of all anyone who would watch it and then say, "well Ive already seen it on TV, so I wont see it again" is not the demographic you are looking for.
You are looking for people like frapperia and myself who saw it and enjoyed it to the point that we'd then want to see it live. Also, it introduces some people to musical theatre who never viewed it as an enterainment option. I think it is a nice thing to do.
However, I don't think Legally Blonde recouped so I am not sure it was successful as the producers had hoped. I think the reality casting idea on Broadway is hopefully over and LB shuttered shortly after Bailey Hanks took over and Grease was lame from the get-go with its show. The other reality is is that teens just don't have the disposable income for 100 dollar shows so I sort of think they are the wrong demographic to be reaching.
I think going one step further and releasing the shows on DVD could help producers re-coup their money. I still don't understand the logic behind not releasing a show on DVD. The cast will never be replicated, so why worry. I mean all films are on DVD and that does not hurt re-makes.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#8re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 11:12am
I didn't like the broadcast that much. I thought it was much better live.
That's an oxymoron statement. ITS A BROADCAST OF A LIVE PERFORMANCE! OF COURSE ITS BETTER LIVE!
#9re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 12:58pm
"I still don't understand the logic behind not releasing a show on DVD."
From http://www.broadwaycaptured.com/?page_id=538
"The success of broadcasting Legally Blonde on MTV, combined with its spin-off reality casting show that named Bailey Hanks the new Elle Woods, seems like it would be perfect packaging for a DVD, right?
Not if you think about it. ?It?s one thing to have a film come out, which is quite different from what you experience when you see it onstage,? says Caskey. ?In this instance, the MTV special was, obviously, what you see onstage, so as long as the show is running, we didn?t really have any interest to have a DVD out there for the general public to purchase. Our interest is in having them come see the show, either on Broadway or on the national tour. And, if at some point further down the line, years from now, if that becomes of interest, we would have to go to the studio and all of the different unions to see if this is something everyone wants to do.?"
#10re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 1:40pmI guess there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen if a DVD is to be released. Well, they all got together for a telecast, so hopefully more shows will make it to DVD or being simulcast in theatres.
beautywickedlover
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
#11re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 2:01pmI wish "9 to 5" would've done this.
#12re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 2:03pmI still watch it from time to time though the audience is a little annoying.
#13re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 6:09pm
The MTV airing was a great idea. Like frapperia said, it's a good way to sample what you'll be seeing. I only wanted to see the show live after seeing the MTV broadcast.
Not to mention that it's nice to have a professional recording of any show, to watch whenever you want.
I think one of the main things that killed Legally Blonde was LBB leaving. That's a case of making the role too much your own, so no one else can play it, and no one wants to see anyone else play it. And then they replaced her with Bailey Hanks, an unknown unless you watched the reality show, which many people did not. (It also appears to me that Autumn Hurlburt was more popular with the people who did watch it...)
So, MTV airing worked well, reality show did not. (We all know how well reality shows work for getting new shows to run for long periods of time. COUGH 'Grease: You're The One That I Want'...)
Updated On: 8/22/09 at 06:09 PM
timote316
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
#14re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 7:02pm
I think one of the main things that killed Legally Blonde was LBB leaving. That's a case of making the role too much your own, so no one else can play it, and no one wants to see anyone else play it.
Seriously? The audience wants to see a mostly no-name actress play a role that she can't even sing? Even though a vast majority of the audience has no idea that its not "the girl from the TV show"? Don't tell that to the large portion of people who see the show on tour, seeing Becky Gulsvig, and finding her to be lightyears better than LBB, myself included.
#15re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/22/09 at 7:20pm
Legally Blonde has/had rabid fans who were also rabid LBB-as-Elle fans. Laura Bell also did have at least a little bit of a Broadway rep. ('She played the blonde chick in Hairspray!') And I'm sure that some of the tourists who saw LBtM knew a little bit about the show. Tourists also want to see original cast members, regardless of if they're famous or not. I'm sure many people in the audience of Wicked when it first opened had never heard of Kristin Chenoweth, but after she left, tourists were disappointed that they weren't seeing the original. (Some of them are still disappointed when they get to the theater and find out that they won't be seeing her...)
Let's also not forget that when it was announced that Laura Bell Bundy would join the tour when Becky broke her toe, that all the tickets for the tour were snapped up so fast that I'm sure the people at whatever website was selling tickets got whiplash.
Updated On: 8/22/09 at 07:20 PM
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#16re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 12:07am
"ITS A BROADCAST OF A LIVE PERFORMANCE! OF COURSE ITS BETTER LIVE!"
I clarified my statement. Even if it was a broadcast of a live performance, I liked it better live (aka me being there) when I saw the entire stage. The TV broadcast left me bored and underwhelmed, especially with some of the camera angles and such.
#17re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 12:52am
Two years later and the Legally Blonde haters are still here on Broadwayworld.com. I suppose by tomorrow, the main culprits will have chimed in and slathered on their contempt for the show, just like they did back then.
Nothing ever changes.....
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#18re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 12:59am
"I think one of the main things that killed Legally Blonde was LBB leaving. That's a case of making the role too much your own, so no one else can play it, and no one wants to see anyone else play it."
I disagree. The average person does not know who Laura Bell Bundy is. In fact, I thought Bailey Hanks did a better job than Laura. I liked the show and have seen it three times, including the original cast, Bailey Hanks and the tour.
#19re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 10:51am
Wow, kids. Wow. Back to the OP's question:
I think the producers' strategy was brilliant and perfect. They aired the show allowing people to see it who cannot make it to NY. They aired the reality show which got people talking about LB on a weekly basis. And thus a fanbase was built for the tour.
The buzz for LEGALLY BLONDE has died down across America...BUT once high school student Tina from Texas sees a piece of advertising for the tour saying it's coming near her hometown, she's then gonna say "OMG I loved that show when I saw it on MTV! And all my friends did too! I'm gonna make my parents buy me tix for my birthday!" She then tells her friends Debbie, Jessica, Mel, and Ashley and voila! You have five families going to see the tour.
The MTV broadcast saved the tour from dying after it's first leg. It couldn't do for Broadway what it can do for the tour.
And I BET you that in 2011, MTV will re-air LEGALLY BLONDE and shove advertisements in every commercial spot saying it's now available on DVD. And if you order that day from the MTV online store, you'll get a free LEGALLY BLONDE t-shirt (leftover from the tour).
--Aristotle
#20re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 11:01am
I suppose it's debatable how much benefit Legally Blonde derived from its MTV broadcast and reality show, but I don't think anyone would argue that having the show broadcast caused ticket sales to immediately plummet because no one wanted to pay to see something they could just watch on TV.
I would like to see every Broadway show make a commercial DVD, perhaps only to be released a year or two after the show closes. There are endless cable, satellite and on-line outlets in desperate need of good content, and here we have some of the best singing, dancing and acting in the world that generally gets lost forever the day after a show closes.
I wish I could watch a DVD of Gray Gardens, Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close, even The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and so many other lost treasures. (Legally I mean!) I find it endlessly frustrating that the Broadway's creatives, producers and unions aren't better able to pursue the many opportunities for synergy in the age of digital media.
#21re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 11:05amI don't think there's any doubt that the show extended the shelf life of the Broadway production by about 4 months. Also, it certainly helped generate interest and buzz in the tour, which has been a financial gold mine. I know the show never made back its money on Broadway, but given how well the tour has sold, I assume it must be turning a profit now. Does anyone know for sure?
#22re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 11:26am
The tour is doing extremely well, way better than hoped for. I'm sure most of the crowd filling those seats saw the show on MTV or know someone that has and heard good things about it based on the broadcast.
This could truly benefit a show in my opinion, and it's a shame more shows didn't follow this path yet. RENT did it, and the tour is also selling like crazy, now extending to 2010. Broadway producers should stop being so scared to film their shows and look into these figures!
degrassifan
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/23/08
#23re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 2:09pm
"'OMG I loved that show when I saw it on MTV! And all my friends did too! I'm gonna make my parents buy me tix for my birthday!' She then tells her friends Debbie, Jessica, Mel, and Ashley and voila! You have five families going to see the tour."
The funny thing is that's exactly what happened to my cousin. She saw the show on MTV, became obsessed, watched the reality show, became obsessed some more, saw the tour was coming to her city, then got tix for her birthday.
Many of my friends watched both the airing and the reality show. When the tour came to my city, many people were seen wearing LB t-shirts and singing "Ohmigod, You Guys!". I predict the same will happen for The Little Mermaid on tour.
#24re: Two Years Later: Results of Legally Blonde's MTV Broadcast
Posted: 8/23/09 at 7:48pm
"I don't think there's any doubt that the show extended the shelf life of the Broadway production by about 4 months"
I do. Everyone is basing whether the MTV broadcast was helpful, or not, by speculation/on poor inductive generalisations ("My friend saw the the broadcast and wanted to see the show" - ok but you can't conclude this is true for the majority of other people who saw the broadcast), and then you even put a number on the success (4 months!?).
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