I never got a chance to see this live, but I know realize what a great show it is. I love the score, the sets, the book, and it's really funny. I bought the cast album last week, and I'm addicted to listening to it. Especially the opening, "Omigod u guys". Just wonderful. I finally got to see the whole show thanks to YouTube. Anyone else want to share their thoughts on the show? Full Show on YouTube
The issue many attribute to the Broadway production was that it took itself to seriously...while the West End production was just about having a good time.
Financially the Broadway production was also a disaster where the stairwell in the first two scenes added an extra $100,000 to the running costs....(I may be misquoting the exact number, but it added an exorbitant amount). The Broadway production, similar to that of the original Ragtime was too well Big....although it was a great show its production values took away from the wittiness of its book and lyrics. Honestly similar to Ragtime I think when it is revived in a much more stripped down fashion akin to the 2009 Ragtime revival Legally Blonde will receive the praise it did not get the first time around.
OH MY GOD, OMIGOD U GUYS BDN223 IS RIGHT. I THINK THOSE STAIRS SHOULDVE BEEN CUT TOO MUCH DOUGH THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE OH MY GOD, OMIGOD U GUYS A HUNDERD THOUSAND DOLLARS IS A LOT MAYBE A REVIVAL SHOULD BE PLANNED GET THIS SHOW THE PRAISE THAT IT NEEDS
Unlike many on these boards, I had a great time at the show...and I was sure I would hate it. It's not great theater, but it is a heck of a lot of fun.
Am currently directing it, and the entire cast is having a great time.
With all due respect how can Ragtime and Legally Blonde be put in the same stratosphere?? Ragtime is a masterpiece in musical theater, which did not garner the attention that it deserved in both it's original and revived productions. Legally Blonde as dramamama said far exceeded my expectations in that it was a really good time musical but that's where it ends. I did always feel that Legally Blonde would have fared better in a smaller house. However, considering the kind of show that it was it had a sufficient run.
Smart? The book makes a joke of a foreigner's last name. It also took the movie's funniest lines and rephrased them to no longer be funny. Most of the other jokes just referenced pop culture things like Match.com.
Not to mention the plot holes that are a mile wide.
Don't get me wrong, the music and show are fun--but I don't think they're smart.
I never said that they were SMART...I said its book and lyrics were WITTY. There is a difference.
Smart lyrics would be the beautiful poetry that is the lyrics of Spring Awakening.
When I said Witty, I mean it was great how they figured out how to include pop culture references into their lyrics without interrupting the flow of the song as well as the references they used. Look at Silence the musical its lyrics are considered extremely witty by critics, would you call them smart know but are they funny yes.
I would also agree that the book is very much the screenplay thrown on the the stage, which in most adaptations is their down fall, but in Legally Blonde's case it is its strength because the scenes they kept (Professor Callahan's classes and the courtroom scenes) were so simple yet essential to the plot. The way Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin were able to musicalize the scenes without causing the scenes to become convoluted is why many have recently praised the two for the work on Legally Blonde, noticing how great a job they actually did with the music during the stripped down West End production.
Also realize Legally Blonde was the begining of the High School Musical generation musicals opening a year after High School Musical became a phenomenon. Clearly not ready for the teenage girls screaming in the audience.
The fact that the musical also opened the same season as Spring Awakening and Grey Gardens also took away from the simplicity of the book and music, since those two shows are often considered artistic masterpieces. Curtains was Kander and Ebbs "supposed" last show, before anyone knew "The Scottsbourough Boys" existed. Mary Poppins was amazing compared to the crap adaption of Tarzan, as well as it had already proven itself successful in it's West End run running for over 2 years before the Broadway transfer (compared to the recent transfer of Ghost which had only run 3 months before its producers thought it was successful enough to bring it to Broadway).
If Legally Blonde had opened in a season similar to this past one it would have likly been given praise very similar to that of Newsies in that it is nothing special, but it is good for what it is.
Legally Blonde is very much the mmartyr of the guilty pleasure comedy stage adaptions. Think about it if Legally Blonde did not first get trashed by the critics, would they have ever said a nice thing about later adaptations such as Sister Act, Shrek, Pricilla Queen of the Desert, or even Rock of Ages...(I am not saying that I like these shows but the praised aspects of these shows are very similar to aspects of Legally Blonde the critics loathed.)
The issue many attribute to the Broadway production was that it took itself to seriously...while the West End production was just about having a good time.
That's the first I've ever heard of that explanation. Sounds like "many" didn't actually see both productions. Neither production took itself more seriously than the other. London made some subtle changes that tightened the show and toned down a few moments, but it was the smaller theatre and FAR superior casting that made a world of difference. If anything, London had the slightly more serious tone if only because they had an actress who could better deliver the range and poignancy of the character.
With all due respect how can Ragtime and Legally Blonde be put in the same stratosphere??
Oh, good Lord, they are both Broadway musicals, so they are in the same "stratosphere". And the only mention was that they both could have benefited from smaller productions than their originals (with which I completely agree).
I agree that the show is witty as well as entertaining. And after seeing it reach its potential in London, deserves to become a classic. And if you have a problem with plot holes in musical comedy, then you have to disregard 90% of the classics in Broadway history.
Mister Matt thank you for explaining that I meant that when I compared Legally Blonde to Ragtime, I was stating that both musicals benefited from smaller productions. Don't quote me on this but I believe a couple of the Ragtime revival's reviews even stated that they hated the bloated original production, but Dodge's revival made the see why so many fell in love with the show.
Second when I said the production took itself to seriously I meant to say the critics took the show to seriously.
RE: The 'smartness' - I personally think "THERE! RIGHT! THERE!" (the structure and the lyrics) are 'smart'. I mean they seem simple/clever/witty to me.
There! Right There! sounds like it could have been written by Cy Coleman and David Zippel. Much of the score reminds me of Coleman, actually, who was quite fond of infusing his scores with pop sounds/slang that were current of the day.
All musicals have plot holes, but Legally Blonde makes an art of it.
I love the score and I agree that the show has clever lyrics, but IMO the book just completely dumbs down the show. Of course, most of you are probably aware of the irrational hatred that I have for the Legally Blonde book.
I don't see major flaws in the book for legally blonde because it's a campy comedy, it pretty much has the same flaws as the movie which was just a fun piece of fluff. I actually prefer the musical and think when it's done right like it was here in the UK its a great comedy with a good heart, catchy score and witty lyrics. I was not surprised when it won the Olivier award here for Best Musical, it deserved it
I was not surprised when it won the Olivier award here for Best Musical, it deserved it
Agreed. As well as Sheridan Smith's Olivier for her performance. It was one of the best musical productions I've seen in the West End. Absolutely joyous. Sheridan was the reason I saw the West End production (been a fan of hers from years of watching Two Pints), but I was genuinely surprised at how much better the production was in London given the changes were so subtle (unlike the rocky path of Love Never Dies which still has yet to sort itself out). If only they could have moved the London production to a smaller Broadway house with Sheridan Smith so American audiences could have seen how the show should have been performed.
The best Elle by far is Sheridan Smith. I liked LBB but Sheridan found the fun and heart in the role far better. The changes for the UK were not huge but very important to make the show what it was meant to be all along
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Posted: 11/5/12 at 08:05pm