“Legally Blonde: The Musical” makes a stop in Eugene’s Hult Center this Saturday. Fans of the book, movie and play get an opportunity to view the musical twice on Saturday, once at 3 p.m. and the second at 8 p.m.
The story of the musical is taken from the 2001 novel “Legally Blonde” by Amanda Brown and the 2001 movie of the same name staring Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon. The movie sequel, “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde,” is not featured in this weekend’s stage version.
Played out in two acts, the plot of the musical revolves around its main character, Elle Woods. Woods is a senior at UCLA and member of the sorority Delta Nu.
Coming off as playfully ditzy, Woods is a fashion-obsessed student expecting her long-term boyfriend, Warner, to propose to her. On the night of what she believed to be her engagement dinner, her boyfriend breaks up with her instead, citing maturity and seriousness as reasons. Determined to prove him wrong, Woods applies to her ex-boyfriend’s law school, Harvard, in hopes of showing him she can indeed be serious and mature.
Now at Harvard, Woods finds out Warner has a girlfriend, while also realizing her Southern California sense of style and attitude don’t mesh well with Ivy League society. Through a series of events, Woods comes to realizations and life understandings and makes positive gains much like in the book and movie, including a new love interest beyond her ex-boyfriend. The story climaxes with Woods’ new knowledge that she has a good grasp on law, as she actually works as the defense in a high-profile murder case.
“Legally Blonde: The Musical,” which was featured on Broadway from April 7, 2007, to Oct. 19, 2008, will form an integral part of the 2010-11 Broadway in Eugene season. Since its Broadway run, “Legally Blonde” has had international productions in such countries as South Korea, England, France and the Philippines, and has gone two U.S. tours.
During its various productions, the musical has received favorable reviews overall. In its first year on Broadway in 2007, “Legally Blonde” was nominated for seven Tony Awards and 10 Drama Desk Awards. The Broadway cast recordings from the musical landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Cast Album Chart and No. 86 on the Billboard Top 200.
Although a different take on a Broadway musical altogether, reviewers described the experience of watching it as an upbeat and fun time. Both the dance sequences and music accompanying the dancing are felt to be enthusiastically entertaining alone, while having catchy melodies.
The music and lyrics for the production are by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin while the libretto was written by Heather Hach.
The production reached possibly its greatest success in 2007 when MTV premiered the production, with behind the scenes features, to a national audience. The viewing was a huge success and attracted 12.5 million viewers.
For fans of the film and novel, expect a show that will bring the “Legally Blonde” story in a new, entertaining format.
Tickets to the event start at $30 and top off at $52.50.
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‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ brings Broadway fame to Eugene
Daily Emerald
February 2, 2011
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