Omigod, you guys! Two Elle Woods & two 'Legally Blonde' moms on-hand for opening night at TPAC

June 26, 12:50 PMNashville Entertainment ExaminerJonathan Pinkerton

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Two Elles, Lauren Ashley Zakrin & Laura Bell Bundy

Legally Blonde, the musical adaptation of the movie based on Amanda Brown's 2001 novel, has stopped in Nashville this week to close out the 2008-2009 Broadway season at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC). As if one Elle Woods wasn't enough, two actresses, Laura Bell Bundy and Lauren Ashley Zakrin are sharing the role while the show plays Nashville through the weekend.

For TPAC Marquee members, the night began prior to the show at a pre-party hosted by The Arts Company.  Nashville resident, Mrs. Betty Witherspoon, mom of original Elle, Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon, stopped by the pre-party.  I had an opportunity to speak with her, having met her and her husband, Dr. Witherspoon years ago when I worked as a buyer for a Tower Books here in Nashville.  Mrs. Witherspoon filled me in on Reese's latest project by saying, "She's in Washington filming, a softball movie about a love triangle."  I did a little digging and found out the untitled film, with a projected December 2009 release date, is being directed by James L. Brooks, and co-stars, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson.

But back to Legally Blonde: The Musical.  The Nashville dates began Tuesday night with Bundy in the role of Elle Woods, a role for which she received a Tony nomination. Laura Bell stepped back into Elle's pink stilettos in January of this year as a temporary replacement for Becky Gulsvig while Becky recuperates from an injury. A native our neighboring state of Kentucky, Bundy now calls Nashville home and is currently recording a new country album with Universal Music Group.

Fans of the 2008 MTV reality-competition show Legally Blonde-The Musical: The Search for The Next Elle Woods are also in for a treat during the Nashville leg of the tour, as finalist Lauren Ashley Zakrin will take on the lead role during matinee performances. In addition to Lauren, Rhiannon Hansen, who also competed in the MTV reality show is part of the cast, playing Margot.

Of the other principals in the cast, Warner is played by chiseled-jawed Jeff McLean as the sort of unintentionally smug man-about-campus you find yourself liking despite his being a total tool. D.B. Bonds is perfectly cast as the guy-next-door and unlikely hero, Emmett. The role of Emmett was played on Broadway by Bundy's current off-stage boyfriend, Christian Borle, who was in attendance at Tuesday's opening night. I was glad to see Natalie Joy Johnson, who plays beauty shop owner Paulette, wasn't just a carbon copy of  Jennifer Coolidge, who played Paulette to the hilt in the movies. Instead, Natalie Joy was a combination of Kathy Najimy circa Veronica's Closet and SNL alum Victoria Jackson. Megan Lewis' Vivienne was perfectly evil and seemed to revel in that fact. I was interested to see how the character of Brooke, the exercise guru accused of murdering her much younger husband, would transition to the stage. Coleen Sexton's last name fits her perfectly. As Brooke, she exuded perky sexiness reminiscent of 80s TV star, Ann Jillian.

Laura Bell Bundy as Elle in Legally Blonde

Taking its plot directly from the movie, the show began with thunderous applause at the first glimpse of Laura Bell Bundy as she and the girls of Delta Nu appear at the Sorority House with what is probably Legally Blonde's most recognizable number, Omigod You Guys. In the next scene, we meet Elle's boyfriend, as the duo send mixed signals with Serious. It's during this song that Warner dumps Elle, telling her she's more of a Marilyn and less of a Jackie. He reveals that he needs to find a girl more fitting to his career choice and social status. A reference to his brother's fiance being a Vanderbilt didn't get the audience response I thought it would in Nashville.
 
One of the film version's funniest moments, Elle's video entrance application to Harvard also gets a tad lost in the musical adaptation, and the remainder of the first act comes off as being a bit like a really good high-school theatre production. Laura Bell is great in the role, but the dialogue and songs in the first act just aren't what I expected. Bundy is cute, perky and reminds me of a young Kristen Chenowith, voice and all. I kept waiting for some of the hysterically funny one-liners, but it seems Heather Hatch, who wrote the book of the musical steered clear of the expected laughs and instead reworked them to lesser success. You know things are slightly amiss when Elle's dog Bruiser gets bigger applause that some of the jokes.
 
Not even the introduction of beauty shop owner, Paulette could totally save the first act, but she was certainly a welcomed distraction.  As Paulette, Natalie Joy Johnson was flirtation and funny all the while being sweetly sensitive to Laura Bell's feisty love-sick Elle. Ireland, is an odd number that doesn't really fit the play, but thanks to Natalie Joy's comedic timing and great stage presence, the number ends with cheers from the audience. While at Paulette's salon, The Hair Affair, Vivienne invites Elle to a party, but in the true spirit of Mean Girls, tells her it is a costume party, knowing Elle is just the type of girl who loves costume parties, and seeing this an another opportunity to embarrass our heroine.
 
When she arrives at the party, dressed in a Playboy bunny outfit, she doesn't let the situation get the better of her. The reprise of Serious serves to begin the real transition of the character the play itself. From that point on, with stronger numbers: Chip on My Shoulder, in which those of use in the first few rows could actually see Bundy mustering real tears as she played the scene with Bond, a non-musical but fun to watch scene at Paulette's ex's trailer, and the act-ending So Much Better, the show became just that, so much better!

Lorna Bell and Betty Witherspoon, Legally Blonde Moms

After the intermission, the play resumes with a little number called Whipped Into Shape. Whipped is a cleverly choreographed sequence from the women's prison where exercise guru, Brooke is currently being held. It's a touch He Had It Comin' from Chicago and that scene in the Cybill Sheppard Martha Stewart telepic where she is teaching the inmates to craft. Take it Like A Man is next as Elle and Emmett go shopping.  Had to wonder if the set designer didn't realize you can totally see Emmett strip down to his undies in the mirrored wall behind the set as he changes into a suite Elle buys him.

The best line of the night and a fan favorite from the movie comes when  Kyle the delivery guy, played by the muscle-bound Ven Daniel struts into The Hair Affair and proclaims, "I've got a package."  Next up is a major highlight of the second act, Bend and Snap.  If Omigod You Guys owns the first act, Bend and Snap reigns over the second act. With Bundy, Johnson, Courtney Wolfson and Crystal Joy expanding on the memorable film moment when Elle and the Delta Nu's boosts Paulette's confidence, by applauding her perfected technique of the Bend and Snap.  Crystal Joy and the other girls in the cast shine throughout the play, but this number really showcased them.

There, Right There, which should be called, Gay or European is a little sing-songy number that elicited cheers from the audience the subsequent non-musically flamboyantly gay plot exposition in the courtroom and at the Windham mansion continues to entertain the audience. Another highlight from act two is the show's title musical number, Legally Blonde, a surprisingly poignant song when Elle that goes beyond the surface of Elle's perfectly perky blonde exterior. Legally Blonde, the remix brings the entire cast onstage for a fantastically choreographed number, but the bizarre River Dance inspired sequence is just odd.  Omigod You Guys (Reprise) and the sweet final number Find My Way  and the Finale wrap up the story, or make that package in a nice bow, pink of course.

As the cast took their curtain calls on Nashville's opening night, Mrs. Betty Witherspoon, took to the stage to welcome Laura Bell and presented her with a bouquet. Mrs. Witherspoon spoke briefly about Reese sending her the original script for Legally Blonde to get her opinion on the story, and even jokingly referred to numerous visits from her own delivery guy as subsequent versions of the script arrived to her home.

Tuesday night ended with the Marquee members and cast gathering for the final Marquee event of the season to celebrate not only a great opening night, but a successful Broadway season at TPAC.  Again, Marquee members and the show's cast were in for an added bonus as Dr. and Mrs. Witherspoon  and Laura Bell's mom, Lorna Bell were all on-hand after the show at a private cast party hosted by TPAC high atop Nashville's skyline at The Nashville City Club.  The cast party afforded friends, family, fans and TPAC season subscribers the chance to mix and mingle, chat and get photos with their favorite cast members. My friends and I had a great time talking Nashville, New York and theatre with the accommodating cast.

Legally Blonde continues tonight through Sunday, with two performances Saturday and Sunday. CLICK HERE for tickets. 

Couldn't make it to Nashville for the tour? The tour continues until June of 2010. CLICK HERE to see where Elle and company are heading next. 

Still can't get enough Legally Blonde? CLICK HERE to purchase the new DVD, Legally Blondes, a new direct-to-dvd film starring Milly and Becky Rosso of Disney's Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Just a warning, while the dvd proudly touts, "Reese Witherspoon Presents: Legally Blondes," the actress doesn't appear in the film, which is the story of Elle's twin cousins and their move to California from London.