Legally Blonde's Next Elle Woods to Be Named July 21
By Adam Hetrick
21 Jul 2008
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Blonde hopefuls: Autumn, Bailey and Rhiannon
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| photo by © MTV | The winner of the MTV reality casting competition, "Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods," will be announced July 21.
In the 10 PM finale episode, two of the three finalists — Rhiannon, Bailey and Autumn — will compete to succeed Tony nominee Laura Bell Bundy as the determined Harvard Law student, Elle Woods, who reaches for the top with the aid of designer shoes and her trusty Chihuahua. Bundy exited the Broadway production July 20.
The winner of the pre-taped series was determined in March and is currently in rehearsals to make her debut as Elle Woods in the July 23 evening performance at the Palace Theatre.
The winner of "Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods" will be introduced to theatre fans with her own single recording of the pop musical's first-act closer, "So Much Better," beginning July 22.
Ghostlight Records, the theatre label which recorded the 2007 original Broadway cast recording, will release the single version of "So Much Better" to coincide with the series finale.
Hosted and co-executive produced by Haylie Duff (Hairspray, "7th Heaven"), the first of the program's eight episodes premiered June 2 on the MTV network. Ten contestants were originally selected from a nationwide casting call that began Jan. 24 in Los Angeles.
Legally Blonde director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell is involved in the first and final episodes of the program, which also features members of Legally Blonde's casting team from Telsey + Co., as well as Legally Blonde book writer Heather Hach, associate director Marc Bruni and associate choreographer Denis Jones.
Seth Rudetsky serves as musical director and vocal coach for the series, with special appearances from Legally Blonde cast members Paul Canaan (one of the three judges), Nikki Snelson (Brooke Wyndham), Orfeh (Paulette), Richard H. Blake (Warner) and the musical's Tony-nominated star, Laura Bell Bundy.
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Directed and choreographed by Tony Award Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde officially opened at the Palace Theatre April 29. The production began previews April 3 following an out of town tryout in San Francisco.
Bundy, who created the role of Woods in the musical incarnation of the popular film, was nominated for a 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The triple threat made her Broadway debut in the 2002 original cast of Hairspray as Amber Von Tussle and is known for her turns in Wicked and Ruthless!. Bundy released her solo country debut recording "Longing for a Place Already Gone" last year.
Legally Blonde has music and lyrics by both Laurence O'Keefe (Bat Boy: The Musical, Cam Jansen and the Curse of the Emerald Elephant, Sarah, Plain and Tall) and Nell Benjamin (Cam Jansen, Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Mice) and a book by Heather Hach (the film "Freaky Friday"). James Sampliner serves as music director. Orchestrations are by Christopher Jahnke.
The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller and sound design by ACME Sound Partners.
The show is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.
For more information visit www.legallyblondethemusical.com.
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