If you turned on MTV this past weekend, you would be hard-pressed not to think that it was “Paris Hilton Tribute Weekend.” With pink skirts, little dogs and enough dyed-blonde hair girls shouting, “Omi God You Guys!”, one would think that MTV had changed its focus from music to the hotel heiress. In reality it was not Paris Hilton weekend and all those blonde haired girls were not Paris Hilton impersonators rather they were members of the chorus during the MTV showing of the musical Legally Blonde, currently playing on Broadway at the Palace Theatre.
Now before I begin this review I do want to throw some words of caution out there. This is not a full review of the show; instead overall I plan to review the show and MTV’s coverage of the show.
Legally Blonde is a musical based on the hit movie of the same name which opened on Sunday April 29, 2007 at Broadway’s famed Palace Theatre. It opened to lukewarm reviews which essentially stated that if you a re a musical theatre purists you’ll hate it and if you are someone wanting a good time or a tourist in New York City, you’ll love it.
In his opening night review New York Times lead theatre critic Ben Brantley described the show saying this, “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.”
And that description is exactly how I feel about the show. Now I am not calling myself a musical theatre purist by any means but Legally Blonde is the essence of playing to the crowd. It is about not taking a risk and it is about entertaining while failing to expand the art form in anyway. Normally I would not take issue with that, but that resolve seems to be the fate of the American musical currently. Shows are no longer about stretching the immigration or making ones heart feel alive again, rather they are about catering to the tourist and about producing who want a quick dollar. It juts saddens me that an art form which gave birth to such shows as Anything Goes, Sweeney Todd, Rent, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line and Annie Get Your Gun are condemned now to the ranks of Legally Blonde.
I applaud MTV for be daring enough to showcase a musical in its entirety and for taking a chance on music that is rarely heard in the mainstream. In addition I am also very proud of Legally Blonde for seeing a new market of theatre-goers and tapping into it. I just wish that with new opportunities and the ability to once again bring America back into the theatre, that Broadway do so with more enthusiasm and less candy.
This program ran on MTV on October 13 from 1-4pm.
Legally Blonde currently is playing at the Palace Theatre, see show link:
http://www.legallyblondethemusical.com/
New York Times review:
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/theater/reviews/30blon.html
Now before I begin this review I do want to throw some words of caution out there. This is not a full review of the show; instead overall I plan to review the show and MTV’s coverage of the show.
Legally Blonde is a musical based on the hit movie of the same name which opened on Sunday April 29, 2007 at Broadway’s famed Palace Theatre. It opened to lukewarm reviews which essentially stated that if you a re a musical theatre purists you’ll hate it and if you are someone wanting a good time or a tourist in New York City, you’ll love it.
In his opening night review New York Times lead theatre critic Ben Brantley described the show saying this, “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.”
And that description is exactly how I feel about the show. Now I am not calling myself a musical theatre purist by any means but Legally Blonde is the essence of playing to the crowd. It is about not taking a risk and it is about entertaining while failing to expand the art form in anyway. Normally I would not take issue with that, but that resolve seems to be the fate of the American musical currently. Shows are no longer about stretching the immigration or making ones heart feel alive again, rather they are about catering to the tourist and about producing who want a quick dollar. It juts saddens me that an art form which gave birth to such shows as Anything Goes, Sweeney Todd, Rent, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line and Annie Get Your Gun are condemned now to the ranks of Legally Blonde.
I applaud MTV for be daring enough to showcase a musical in its entirety and for taking a chance on music that is rarely heard in the mainstream. In addition I am also very proud of Legally Blonde for seeing a new market of theatre-goers and tapping into it. I just wish that with new opportunities and the ability to once again bring America back into the theatre, that Broadway do so with more enthusiasm and less candy.
This program ran on MTV on October 13 from 1-4pm.
Legally Blonde currently is playing at the Palace Theatre, see show link:
http://www.legallyblondethemusical.com/
New York Times review:
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/theater/reviews/30blon.html
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