"Legally Blonde" World Premiere

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to opening night of "Legally Blonde," a musical based on the hit movie, and bound for Broadway. The scene at the Golden Gate Theater (once you got through the Tenderloin spectres outside) was electric. Great crowd, lots of buzz in the lobby beforehand. A handful of minor celebrities in the crowd, Michael Bolton being the most major of the minors.

My overall impression of the show is that it will be the pinkest thing to hit Broadway in, oh, forever. They may not have to rename the street "The Great Pink Way," perhaps, but New York is going to have to reckon with Elle Woods. Though Laura Bell Bundy does a mostly terrific job in the role, it's the character of Elle that stands out, not the actress inhabiting her. As she was in the movie, Elle is ditzy but smart, insightful in a subtle way, and always true to her heart, with great courage in her convictions. (Or acquittals, as it turns out.)

The show has a lot of what Broadway audiences want -- I laughed quite a lot, smiled most of the rest of the time, and walked away happy. There are some wonderful dance numbers (especially the act two opener, "Whipped Into Shape" and "Bend and Snap), and the sets are great. The costumes are fun, as long as you love pink (and blue and gold -- Elle's a UCLA girl).

Some of the music is a little predictable and cliched, but the lyrics are fun and clever, and Jerry Mitchell has done excellent work in the staging of the show. I especially liked "What You Want." In the film, Elle sends a video of herself in lieu of a personal essay. Here, director Jerry Mitchell has turned the video into a live performance -- and a pretty good one at that.

I do think Mr. Mitchell needs to cut 10-15 minutes from the show, as it drags occasionally in the exact same way that "Jersey Boys" doesn't. I might suggest Jerry take the axe to one or two of the weaker songs, such as "Ireland" or "Chip on My Shoulder" or "Take It Like A Man"), but I think overall the show is a winner. It won't do what "Wicked" has done, but it can certainly have a run like "Hairspray" had. The audience certainly ate it up tonight -- I don't know when I've been to a premiere where the audience was more amped.