LEGALLY BLONDE to Close on October 19, 2008

After 595 performances and 30 previews, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL will play its final performance on Sunday, October 19, 2008. The show opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets) on April 29, 2007 following preview performances that began on April 3, 2007. The musical will continue to play across the country, in over 35 cities, on its first national tour.

"Producing Legally Blonde has been one of the highlights of my career. Much like Elle Woods, the entire company, creative team and crew has worked with heart, wit, enthusiasm, integrity and style throughout the entire, thrilling run. I can't wait for the rest of the country to be able to experience the show live," said LEGALLY BLONDE's lead producer Hal Luftig.

At the helm of the creative team of LEGALLY BLONDE is Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, who made his Broadway directorial debut and also choreographs. Music and lyrics are by both Tony Award nominees Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Tony Award nominee Heather Hach. James Sampliner serves as music director. 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.

Heading the cast of LEGALLY BLONDE is Bailey Hanks, as Elle Woods, who won MTV's reality show "Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods", and made her Broadway debut on July 23, 2008. Joining her are Christian Borle as Emmett, Orfeh as Paulette, Richard H. Blake as Warner, Kate Shindle as Vivienne, Nicolette Hart as Brooke, and Michael Rupert as Professor Callahan. Also featured in the cast are: Tracy Jai Edwards, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Kate Rockwell, Lucia Spina, Barry Anderson, April Berry, Kyle Brown, Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Beth Curry, Amber Efe, Tiffany Engen, Stephanie Fittro, Josh Franklin, Jason Gillman, Rod Harrelson, Eric Hatch, Manuel Herrera, Autumn Hurlbert, Nick Kenkel, Cara Massey, Rusty Mowery, Emily Padgett, Kevin Pariseau, Jody Renard, Dani Spieler, BRyan West.

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, ten 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 Original Broadway Cast Recording for LEGALLY BLONDE was released on Ghostlight Records, an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records, and has impressively sold over 100,000 albums.

In June, MTV premiered "Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods", an eight episode reality series to cast Broadway's next Elle Woods. The judges of the program and Jerry Mitchell - not America -decided on the July 21, 2008 Finale episode that Bailey Hanks was the winner, and she made her Broadway debut two days later. The reality show represented the musical's second venture with MTV. 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.

LEGALLY BLONDE is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.

The first national tour of LEGALLY BLONDE kicked off on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at Rhode Island's PPAC. Other venues for "the funniest, most fabulous new musical" (WWOR-TV) include: Baltimore, MD (September 30-October 12, 2008); Buffalo, NY (October 14-19, 2008); Rochester, NY (October 21-26, 2008); Cleveland, OH (November 11-23, 2008); Schenectady, NY (November 25-30, 2008); Philadelphia, PA (December 2-7, 2008); Hartford, CT (December 9-14, 2008); Washington, DC (December 16, 2008-January 11, 2009); East Lansing, MI (January 13-18, 2009); St. Louis, MO (January 20-February 1, 2009); Austin, TX (February 3-8, 2009); Houston, TX (February 10-22, 2009); Des Moines, IA (February 24-March 1, 2009); Memphis, TN (March 3-8, 2009); Orlando, FL (March 10-15, 2009); West Palm Beach, FL (March 17-22, 2009); Greenville, SC (March 24-29, 2009); Naples, FL (March 31-April 5, 2009); Clearwater, FL (April 7-12, 2009); Durham, NC (April 14-19, 2009); Charlotte, NC (April 21-26, 2009); St. Paul, MN (April 28-May 10, 2009); Chicago, IL (May 12-31, 2009); Pittsburgh, PA (June 9-14, 2009); Dayton, OH (June 16-21, 2009); Nashville, TN (June 23-28, 2009); Kansas City, MO (June 30-July 5, 2009); Atlanta, GA (July 14-19, 2009); Dallas, TX (July 21-August 2, 2009); Ft. Worth, TX (August 4-9, 2009); Los Angeles, CA (August 11-September 6, 2009); Costa Mesa, CA (September 8-20, 2009). More cities - and continents - to be announced soon.

All tickets ($121.50-$41.50) can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 212-307-4100, or in person at the Palace Theatre box office, 1564 Broadway. The performance schedule is Wednesday - Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm and Sunday at 7pm.