OMG, MTV!
By Robert Simonson
"Search for Elle Woods" host Haylie Duff and winner Bailey Hanks. photo by Todd Pitt/courtesy of MTV
The
Legally Blonde producers stressed that they wanted a casting process that approximated the steps of how a show is actually cast, so
Legally Blonde creators were put front and center in the series.
People intimately involved with the stage show were made judges, including a mostly off-camera Mitchell, and an on-camera panel of casting director Bernie Telsey, librettist Heather Hach and ebullient ensemble member Paul Canaan. Many of the contestants' on-air challenges involved members of the show's cast or creative team; performers Orfeh, Andy Karl, Nikki Snelson, Kate Shindle and Richard H. Blake offered wisdom or served a scene partners, while associate director Marc Bruni and associate choreographer Denis Jones helped stretch muscles.
Moreover, the winner would be selected by the judges, not (as is the case with some reality TV contests) the viewing public.
Caskey admitted that there was some worry among the producers and creative staff that they would end up with a performer who wasn't up to the task. Anchoring a Broadway musical is not child's play. "There was definitely that concern when we were initially discussing the reality show," she said. "But when our creatives understood that at the end of the day it would be a decision made by them, especially Jerry Mitchell, and not a voting audience, there was some comfort level in that. Our hope going into it was that it would be that diamond in the rough. Some girl would show up who would surprise us and delight us."
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Luftig, too, was excited about the idea of finding a complete unknown that also had the necessary talent. "We thought, wouldn't it be a hoot if we could find somebody who could really do this role, but had never been on a plane, had never been to New York, had never seen a Broadway show. Remember when Michael Bennett found Jennifer Holliday? She basically was working at the phone company. She had sung in her local choir. She had never been to New York."
Luftig made an appearance at the studio about once a day, but largely he left the series up to the television professionals. "This is why I don't do film or television," he said. "There is a lot of sitting around. That drives me crazy. The only time we sit around in theatre is during tech rehearsal. And even then, you don't sit around for huge stretches of time."
Both Luftig and Casky voiced satisfaction with the choice of Hanks, an Anderson, SC, native and musical theatre student at Coastal Carolina University, who gave her first performance on July 23.
So, is that the end of the Legally Blonde -MTV marriage? Well, maybe not. Luftig said he has floated the idea of doing a movie of the musical with MTV. "You mean the Hairspray route?" he was asked by this reporter. That John Waters film was turned into a hit Broadway musical, which was then turned into another film. "Exactly," said Luftig.
Bailey Hanks as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde .
photo by Andrew Walker
