Legally Blonde: The Musical opened at London’s Savoy Theatre a couple days ago after past performance runs on Broadway and a U.S. Tour. It was up in the air whether London’s opinionated theater critics would embrace the kitschy, frivolous and over-enthusiastic musical which is a homage of American college culture and Greek life. Perhaps they would miss (or find very un-funny) many of the jokes parodying said culture which had American musical audiences guffawing over. To our delight, it appears that these fears were unfounded because most all of the London’s theater critic population are giving the Legally Blonde musical warm reviews and a positive reception.

The stage show is based on the 2001 comedy of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon. The musical’s narrative follows the film plot very closely; it tells the story of a beautiful, bubbly and (very) blonde sorority girl named Elle Woods who enters Harvard Law School to chase after the man of her dreams. Originally hailing from Malibu, California,  Elle starts her journey on a date with her steady college boyfriend, Warner, whom she is expecting to propose. Unfortunately, it seems that the anticipation of attending Harvard Law has pushed him to re-evaluate his future in favor of someone more “serious”… so he dumps her. Not one to give up so easily on something she wants, Elle puts her brains and originality to the test and surprises herself by also gaining admittance to the prestigious school in order to redeem Warner’s affections. From there, Elle embarks on a hilarious, vibrant, touching and fashion-filled road to discovering her inner strength while making others realize there is more beyond the blonde exterior.

The team of Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin developed the score for the musical with the book by Heather Hach. The producer of the London show, Sonia Friedman, was quoted as saying: ”Elle is a great role model for women. She shows that there’s nothing wrong with wearing pretty clothes and lipstick, while still being a strong woman.”

During previews in London, throngs of enthusiastic females showed their support for the musical and embraced the light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek humor of the show. Many of the critics admitted that despite themselves, they were charmed by the “sheer cheek” of the musical which seemed to know it was overdoing everything, yet reveled in the fact.

Daily Telegraph’s Charles Spencer said, ”I tried, I really tried to hate this show, but resistance is futile.” Paul Taylor from The Independent joins in his praising chorus by stating, “Oh my god, I’m like so totally going again.”

However, not all of London’s critics were won over as some deemed the musical “preposterous.” But even among the dissenters they all agreed that the stage version was better than the film.

Judge for yourself and enjoy the song, “Serious” performed by the original Broadway cast. (It’s the scene where Warner attempts to get “serious” about life and his future.)

Legally Blonde: The Musical first opened on Broadway in April of 2007. It ran for a year and a half before closing in October 2008. Currently it is playing in London’s Savoy and is on a U.S. Tour.

If you like what you saw, consider owning the DVD (for only $9.99) or obtaining the Original Broadway Soundtrack for $14.99. OMG!

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Yesterday on Nov.18, Oprah welcomed part of the cast for the upcoming film musical “Nine” to her show. “Nine” is the film adaptation of the original stage musical of the same name. The original musical first debuted in 1982 and is based on Frederico Fellini’s autobiographical film “8 1/2.” The musical’s story recounts the life of film director Guido Contini celebrating his recent and greatest cinematographic success. However, Contini’s success is juxtaposed against the background of the director’s fortieth birthday and impending midlife crisis which saps his creative energy and ensnares him in a web of romantic difficulties in 1960s Venice. Original lyrics and score were composed by Maury Yeston for the musical. Apparently Yeston penned the title as “Nine” for the stage show because he decided that with music, the story of 8 1/2 would be “half a number more.”

The beautiful women of "Nine"

We’re very excited that Hollywood is undertaking a film version of this sultry stage musical – particularly because choreographer and director Rob Marshall will be at the helm. The last time that Marshall took the reigns and convinced an all-star cast to sing and dance he brought in 13 Oscar Nominations. Of course we’re referring to the film hit “Chicago” starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere. Interestingly, the cinematic style “Nine” adopts looks very close to what we saw in Marshall’s last success. From the trailer peeks it looks like there will be fantasy/imaginary musical numbers going on in Contini’s mind just like we saw take place in Roxy’s world in “Chicago.”

This time around, the star-studded cast includes: Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead as Guido Contini, Marion Cotillard as his wife, Penelope Cruz as his mistress, Judi Dench as his confidante, Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson as his first sexual experience with a whore, Kate Hudson as his admiring American writer, Nicole Kidman as his muse, and Sophia Loren as his mother.

The film tries to highlight the glamor and glory that was Italian cinema in the 60s, as well as Guido’s struggle to write a script while his world is spinning out of control – all the while finding some comfort and inspiration from the different women in his life.

Enjoy the trailer below and get excited for the film’s release this December:

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