Wichita College Censors 'Derogatory' Lyrics in LEGALLY BLONDE

Newman University in Wichita, Kan., made changes to its production of LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL, according to an article in the student newspaper The Vantage, due to the "appropriateness" of some of its content. The show opened on November 20th and ran through the weekend.

Read the original story here.

The alterations included "at least six lyric changes to the musical, as well as multiple dialogue changes, in order to make the play more appropriate for all audiences...The changes involved taking out any sexually derogatory remarks, references to sex and drugs, any use of the word 'Christ,' and most all cursing," according to the paper.

Provost Michael Austin told The Vantage, "When we do plays, we are inviting not just the campus, but the community to come watch. We have to be very careful to represent the values of the institution."

Senior theatre major C.L. Smet, who plays 'Paulette' in the show, said: "To me, it's almost silly. At the collegiate level, we shouldn't have this strict set of rules about what words we can and cannot say." She continued, "I feel like it's really insulting to the Theatre Department and to the people in it. It's one thing if the changes were coming from my director and they were from her own artistic interpretations. It's another when they're coming from administration. They shouldn't be able to force a director's hand."

Musical Theatre International holds the rights to LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL, and under federal law, "you may not make changes of any kind, including but not limited to changes of music, lyrics, or dialogue...no changes may be made to the play without written consent of the authors."

Austin told The Vantage he saw the changes as within the perameters of the contract.

BroadwayWorld will keep you up-to-date on any further developments!

With music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach, LEGALLY BLONDE is based on Amanda Brown's novel and the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon. It follows Elle Woods, a sorority girl who gets accepted to Harvard Law School and tries to win back her ex-boyfriend, only to end up realizing that she is better than others have painted her and successfully defends fitness celebrity Brooke Wyndham in a murder trial.