What did this board think of Legally Blonde the musical? — Page 2

Fruit punch colonic perfectly describes this piece.

I saw it once with Laura Bell, and while she worked her ass off, you could see and hear all the effort she was putting into it. It was not an effortless performance by any means. It always struck me as a perfect example of how and why not everyone can carry a show.

Aside from a few moments, I could not possibly recall a single thing about the show or score. It was mindless fun.

I liked the Broadway production, but it seemed to be swallowed by the theatre. A catchy score and a solid book but a lead that just didn't sparkle in a role known for its sparkle. Then I saw it again in London and LOVED it. The show became a classic musical comedy that deserves its place in the musical theatre canon.

I think it was a clever move to scale the show down to its bare essentials by Sonia

It wasn't bare essentials. The sets were just a bit smaller due to the size of the theatre, but that was about it. The direction and book were much tighter than the Broadway production and casting a lead with star quality greatly improved the show. But it wasn't scaled down to "bare essentials". I don't see how this led to any sort of trend. The London production of Shrek looks a bit like the US tour which received stronger notices than the Broadway production. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels doesn't look scaled back at all. The Broadway production used the turntables, but wasn't lavish or grandiose. Quite the opposite. The set often looked too small and sparse in design for the space. The changes in set design for Legally Blonde were hardly perceptible. Pretty much just the opening facade missing a couple of windows and the expanded second story of the house interior, which really only existed for one clever sight gag which wasn't missed in the London production.

Is it safe to say that the tradition referred to 8 years ago is no longer a thing?

It can only loosely be referred to as a "tradition". It certainly wasn't a rule as Riedel's article would lead you to believe.

@gypsy101; The tradition pretty much ended in 2008 when they did an entire segment dedicated to the other (currently running) shows that weren't nominated for Best Musical.

2008:
The Little Mermaid
A Catered Affair
Young Frankenstein

2009:
9 to 5: The Musical

2010:
Promises, Promises
Come Fly Away
Everyday Rapture

2011:
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

2012:
Ghost the Musical
Godspell

2013:
Motown: The Musical

2014:
If/Then
Rocky
Cabaret
Bullets Over Broadway

2015:
Finding Neverland
Gigi
It Shoulda Been You

I saw the tour and remember absolutely nothing about it.

Updated On: 5/26/15 at 01:41 PM

When I saw Laura Bell Bundy she was on fire! Saying she couldn't lead the show is preposterous. Maybe her performances weren't consistent or something. But when i saw her, she carried the show like a star and brought such a genuine heart to Elle. She'll always be the definitive Elle for me. I didn't care for Sheridan, could't get into her voice.

I really like the song "So Much Better" and thought if the rest of the show was more like that, it'd be a lot better. However, I don't like Laura Bell Bundy's rendition of the song as she seems too much like a cartoon (actually throughout the whole show). They bloated up scenes that worked well in the movie and made them lose all of the charm and humor. The movie's portrayal of law school and how it works was tolerable if inaccurate. The musical was written by someone who had no idea how law school works, and that just made it almost unwatchable to me. Elle was re-written in a way that made her much ditzier, annoying, and dumber. Hell even Orfeh's Paulette was devoid of any real character, and it's painful because Orfeh's "Bend and Snap" is seriously fierce. Too bad they turned Paulette into a total idiot and made Orfeh overact the entire part. Talk about broad humor gone wild.

Laura Bell Bundy did not deserve that nomination because she made it so obvious she was working hard, her humor was flat, and she gave nothing to the performance. I think a really good comedienne who knew how to balance the humor and the seriousness (so the dramatic or at least the less zany parts actually land) could make Elle Woods a great theatre role. With Bundy, all I saw were missed opportunities to turn in something great. However, I will say that if Bundy was mediocre at best, then Bailey was not ready for ANY spotlight.

Updated On: 5/28/15 at 11:10 AM