Legally Blonde: The Musical

I was in San Francisco last weekend (Feb 10-11), one excuse being that Legally Blond: The Musical was having its pre-Broadway tryout there but another great reason being that San Francisco Ballet was actively in the midst of its season. Dashing from show to show kept me busy for those two days up north, and I was also desperately trying to ward off another cold – so I was pretty well occupied.

Legally Blonde
Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco
February 10, 2007, 8pm

I just had to go see Legally Blonde, being the musical theatre junkie that I am, especially since it will be one of the Broadway theatre season’s major productions. And really – it was playing so close (relatively speaking)! At work, we got the demo CD a few weeks ago, which was silly and a bit horrifying. The first song is called “Omigod You Guys” and it’s literally, ‘Oh my god, oh my god you guys!’ over and over in the most insanely catchy and repetitive manner possible.

The show was absolutely ridiculous and fabulously fun. One could ask: why in the world do we need a musical adaptation of that fluffy Reese Witherspoon movie. But watching the show, one asks – why the hell not? The show itself is so irresistibly earnest that I couldn’t help but get drawn in.

I will say that they have a lot to work on. For the first 2/3 of Act One, I was constantly rolling my eyes, and was decidedly un-captivated. Then something changed. I’m not sure what it was, but suddenly I liked Elle Woods. She was a sweet, sensitive gal with a golden heart under all that lip gloss and pink cotton – and so was the show. The songs and the jokes in Act 2 were markedly better than they were in Act 1, and it was all so much fun. They’ll need to do some significant tightening to the show: it would help if they didn’t over stage many of the moments (the set keeps flying, gliding or sinking away every three or four lines) and several character relationships need to be strengthened. But it’s a huge, infectious and energetic show.

I’ve had a smile on my face ever since I saw the show, and have been unashamedly singing “Omigod you guys” to my roommates and playing it on my iPod as well. (The producers put up an mp3 of the song on the show’s web site – go get it if you really want it.)

Legally Blonde plays San Francisco until Feb 24, and starts on Broadway April 3.

Other thoughts: the Golden Gate Theatre, where Legally Blonde is playing, is in the middle of the San Francisco skid row. It was interesting coming out of the theatre and being accosted by homeless people. Meanwhile, barely two blocks away: the glamour of Union Square. Quite the contrast.


(1) Production photo by Paul Kolnik; Laura Bell Bundy (center) with Kate Shindle, Richard H. Blake and Michael Rupert. (2) Camera phone photo of the show curtain, plus the view from the upper balcony. (3) A bad camera phone photo of curtain call. Note the neon-lit proscenium.

Thoughts on SF Ballet in part II of the San Francisco adventures...