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last updated: July 23, 2008 |
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Episode 5: Broadway star |
Episode 8: Finale July23, 2008 on MTVV One girl got her name on the list. One. One girl moved to New York several months ago – the show was pretaped and ended March 18 – and donned a black wig and dark glasses when she went out and about the streets of New York to rehearsal. |
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One girl, but let me muddy the waters by saying two girls won that night. Two girls attended performances for weeks, sitting in the audience. Two girls got to rehearse. Two girls were present back stage at Laura Bell Bundy’s final performance to a packed house. Confused by one, then two? Easy. They took my advice (Episode 7) and cast one of them as the understudy. They won’t be alternating performances (that was my bright idea) but they both will have the experience of a lifetime. Then there was the final performance, Sunday night, July 21. Among those seen that night: Nikki Snelson, the original Brooke Wyndam, taking a day off from her starring role as Cassie in the national touring company of A Chorus Line to hold court with fans lining up from her seat in the box next to the stage (you know, those mezzanine boxes that only hold maybe four people and hang over the stage kinda), all the way to the lobby, trying to get her autograph and to tell her how much they miss her in the show. (Don’t mean to sound mean, but her replacement is so dull compared to the sparking Ms. Snelson. She was great doing that killer dance number "Whipped into Shape," but she flattened out with her acting scene with Bundy.) Beautifully dressed in a pink suit and sporting a blonde coif of her own, Lorna Bell Bundy-Jones, Laura Bell’s mother, held court in the lobby and graciously greeted the masses who, of course, knew exactly who she was. There, right on the aisle maybe eight rows back, in a becoming summery dress was Heather Hach, the librettist of Legally Blonde and now, to us dedicated Search for Elle Woods watchers, a celebrity judge. I didn’t spot Bernard Telsey anywhere, but Paul Canaan, the third judge was prominent on stage as part of the cast. This night was all about Laura Bell Bundy. A genuine Broadway star/diva took her leave of the show with another classy performance. Her first entrance – a thriller in any circumstance – brought down the house. It was pandemonium with everyone standing, clapping, hollering, crying… and she hadn’t even opened her mouth yet. At least, not that anyone could hear. It was a glorious, super-charged moment, one of those moments you can get only at a live performance. She brought the house down again at the close of the first Act with “So Much Better,” a show-stopper in the Broadway tradition. When she got to the Legally Blonde number, it was starting to hit her and all of us that she was really leaving. Everyone was quiet. You could hear a tear drop. Now it’s over. Getting a glimpse of Laura Bell coming through the stage door, dressed in shorts and a green halter top, cell phone to ear for her matinee performance. All those hoards of people lined up outside the stage door after every performance, to get an autograph or at least a glimpse of their hero. The back-and-forths from facebook to godknowswhatall… is all over. Will the next Elle Woods command that kind of loyalty and following? Time will tell. So who is the next Elle Woods on Broadway? Who’s the understudy? And who got cast as Elle’s understudy for the road tour. Who got cast as Elle’s best friend Margot in the touring company? I’m pleased. Three of my original fav four got a job out of all this. Lauren Zakrin is understudying Elle on the national touring company, and Rhiannon Hansen, still my top pick, will not have to jump right into a leading lady debut on Broadway, but will start out in the touring company as Margot. This is much better for her development in a small role where she can learn and get seasoned and build endurance for the grueling work it takes to perform eight shows a week. Oh, did I tell you? Bailey Hanks is the next Elle Woods on Broadway and Autumn Hurlbert will be her understudy and perform in the ensemble as one of Elle’s Delta Nu sorority sisters. Whew! What a ride it was for all of us! Wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Now isn’t that all so much better? Check out Bailey recording the big number, "So Much Better." Check out an interview with Bailey.
written by Mary D. Turner add your own comments on Krank's Korner blog |
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Legally Blonde: The MTV Tryouts