BroadwayWorld.com has confirmed the news that Laura Bell Bundy will be briefly returning to the role of Elle Woods, taking over the part on tour, temporarily replacing Becky Gulsvig who has broken a toe. Bundy (now a Nashville, TN resident) is currently flying to Washington, DC, the tour's current stop through tomorrow and will begin performances on January 13, 2009 in East Lansing, Michigan, the tour's next stop. The length of her stay has not yet been revealed but it's noted that Bundy is to be a Miss America judge on January 24, 2009.
Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.
Laura Bell Bundy has been performing lead and feature roles in New York and in Regional Theater since the age of nine. She is most familiar to Broadway audiences for originating the roles of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical, and Amber Von Tussle in the Tony Award winning musical, Hairspray, as well as a stint as Glinda in the smash hit, Wicked. In addition to her work in the theater, Ms. Bundy has also appeared as Marah Lewis in "Guiding Light" from 1999-2001 as well as guest appearances on "Cold Case," "Veronica Mars," and Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy." She can also be found in such films as Dreamgirls, Life With Mickey and Jumanji. She covers everything from rockabilly to Dixie-flavored pop on her debut CD, Longing for a Place Already Gone, which she co-wrote and co-produced.
In its first year on Broadway, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, 10 2007 Drama Desk Award Nominations, a 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award and the chorus of the musical was honored by Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) with the first ever ACCA Award. The musical also ranked in the top ten list of the most requested Ticketmaster "Arts & Theatre Events" for 2007.
In the fall of 2007, MTV aired Legally Blonde The Musical in its entirety to stellar ratings and was subsequently nominated for two 2007-2008 Daytime Emmy Awards.
The Original Broadway Cast Recording for "Legally Blonde The Musical," was released on Ghostlight Records, an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records, and captured the #1 slot on the Billboard Cast Album chart and charted at #86 on the Billboard Top 200. The album has continued its success, charting every week as one of the top-selling Broadway cast recordings and soared to the Top 10 albums (of any genre) on iTunes once the show premiered on MTV.
As on Broadway, Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell is the director and choreographer. Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach. The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and sound design by Acme Sound Partners.
LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.
