'Legally Blonde' to Headline CLO 2009 Season

Broadway mega-hit and seven-time Tony® nominee Legally Blonde The Musical will headline Pittsburgh CLO's 2009 Summer Season June 9-14 at the Benedum Center. America goes Blonde with the First National Tour kicking off at Rhode Island's PPAC Sept. 23.

"We are excited to have Legally Blonde The Musical headline our 2009 Summer Season," Pittsburgh CLO Executive Producer Van Kaplan said.

The show follows sorority star Elle Woods, who 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.

 Beginning on October 13, 2007, MTV gave the nation a rare look at a Broadway show by premiering Legally Blonde The Musical in its entirety on the network.  The unprecedented airing reached more than 12.5 million viewers nationwide and ranked #1 in its time period among ages 12-34.  The special included a behind-the-scenes look at the musical and a Pink Carpet extravaganza hosted by the cast of "The Hills," live from the Palace Theatre in New York City.

Following the success of the original Broadway production, MTV again joined forces with the Legally Blonde The Musical team to search for a talented singer/actress/dancer to take over for Laura Bell Bundy, the Tony®-nominated Broadway star who originated the role of Elle Woods. The show was called "Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods."

The winner was 20-year-old Bailey Hanks, who beat out nine other contestants to succeed Bundy as Elle Woods in the New York production of Legally Blonde The Musical. Hanks made her debut on July 23.

In addition to Hanks, fellow reality show contestants Rhiannon Hansen and Lauren Zakrin impressed producers enough to be cast in the First National Tour. Zakrin, the youngest participant, will understudy Becky Gulsvig, who stars as Elle Woods on tour, and will be a member of the ensemble. Hansen will play the role of Margot, Elle's best friend.

In its first year on Broadway, 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 musical also ranked in the top ten list of the most requested Ticketmaster "Arts & Theatre Events" for 2007.     

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 No.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 soaring to the top 10 albums list (of any genre) on iTunes once the show premiered on MTV.

As on Broadway, Tony® Award-winner Jerry Mitchell will direct and choreograph the National Tour of Legally Blonde The Musical. Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach.

Legally Blonde The Musical is produced by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.   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 one of several successful Broadway, London and National Tour productions that Pittsburgh CLO has invested in as a member of the Independent Presenter's Network (IPN), an association of presenters, theaters and performing arts centers from across the country.

Other recent Pittsburgh CLO investments have included Monty Python's SPAMALOT, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Bombay Dreams, Def West Big River, and Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple, which headlined the 2008 CLO Summer Season.

 

If you are not a current subscriber, call 412-281-2822 to get on the priority subscription list for the 2009 Summer Season. The remainder of the CLO's 2009 Summer Season schedule will be announced in early fall.

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