legally blonde

After work last night, I made my way to midtown to check out the new Broadway show, LEGALLY BLONDE. First, I want to congratulate fellow Columbus native, Lindsay Chambers, for being cast as one of the swings of the show. (If you don't know what a swing is, go here.) LEGALLY BLONDE is a fun show. It captures the feel of the film, and has some incredibly funny moments. The show is well cast, and the dancing is insane. I thought that Orfeh was particularly funny as Paulette (the beautician) that Elle befriends, and her romance with the UPS guy (and real-life husband Andy Karl) is both sweet and hilarious. There were several great numbers including "Bend and Snap", and my particular favorite, "Gay or European?" The voices in this show are HUGE! The music is light and fluffy, and works for this production, but are not particularly memorable. In fact, I can only remember the melody of one song, and I think that is only because my roommate has been singing it non-stop for the last week-and-a-half...since he saw the show. As I mentioned before, the dancing/choreography in this show are crazy. Jerry Mitchell does a great job creating fabulous moments. Mr. Mitchell also directed the show, his first one. Overall, I thought it worked, however, there were some moments with an empty stage that I felt didn't work. I almost wish that this show could have been in a smaller theatre, as it sometimes seemed to be lost/overwhelmed by the huge Palace Theatre.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times said, "This high-energy, empty-calories and expensive-looking hymn to the glories of girlishness, based on the 2001 film of the same title, approximates the experience of eating a jumbo box of Gummi Bears in one sitting. This may be common fare for the show’s apparent target audience — female ’tweens and teenagers who still believe in Barbie. But unless you’re used to such a diet, you wind up feeling jittery, glazed and determined to swear off sweets for at least a month. " Truth is, I kind of understand what he's saying here. But honestly, who hasn't enjoyed on occasion sitting and eating the Gummi Bears?

photo credit: www.playbill.com