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Blonde, Chihuahua-toting fashion-student Elle Woods is devastated when her fiancé Warner Huntingdon decides to abandon her in favour of his legal studies at Havard. So, determined to prove she is more than an empty- headed bimbo, she also enrols at Havard. Clashing with snobby classmates and appalled professors, especially the supercilious Professor Callahan, she eventually saves the day as a legal intern working on a scandalous murder case where she wins the case by forcing a witness out of the closet (Is he gay or European?). Along the way she solves the romantic problems of Paulette, a lovelorn manicurist and Kyle, an hilariously macho delivery-man; gets support from a celebrity fitness instructor; and finds true love for herself in the shape of the geeky but lovable Emmett Forrest.

Act I
The overjoyed girls of UCLA's sorority Delta Nu, led by Margot, Serena, and Pilar, celebrate the engagement of Warner Huntington III to their perky, sweet, and strikingly blonde sorority president, Elle Woods, who is fretting over finding the perfect dress for the occasion ("Omigod You Guys"). Once she acquires her dream dress, Elle goes to dinner with Warner, where he tells her that he needs someone more serious ("Serious") and breaks up with her. Elle is devastated and sulks for twelve days but decides to chase Warner to Harvard Law School to show him that she can be serious. With help from Delta Nu sister Kate, Elle studies for the LSATs. Instead of writing a personal essay, Elle bursts into the Harvard admission offices backed by a squad of cheerleaders. She is accepted after revealing she is motivated by love ("What You Want").

Elle's snobby classmates disapprove of her attire, and the only person who is willing to help her is law teaching assistant, Emmett Forrest ("The Harvard Variations"). However, he cannot protect her in class from the blood-thirsty Professor Callahan ("Blood in the Water"). Callahan kicks the under-prepared Elle out of class at the suggestion of her classmate Vivienne Kensington, who happens to be Warner's new girlfriend. This "tragedy" summons the apparitions of the sisters of Delta Nu, who, acting as a Greek Chorus visible and audible only to Elle, tell her to stay positive ("Positive"). Elle, deciding that being blonde is the problem, decides to become a brunette. She heads to the Hair Affair salon where she meets the spunky beautician Paulette, who tells Elle that when she is down, she puts on her favorite CD, and dreams of Ireland ("Ireland"). At the salon, Vivienne gives Elle an unexpected invitation to a costume party. Paulette sends Elle off with a costume for the party, her positivity and blonde hair still intact ("Ireland (Reprise)").

Walking into the party as a Playboy Bunny, Elle soon realizes that she was tricked by Vivienne but courageously seeks Warner in an effort to win him back, leaving him unimpressed ("Serious (Reprise)"). Elle runs from the party, only to meet Emmett, who struggles to understand Elle's love problems. He has Elle assess her priorities until she realizes it is her obsession with Warner that keeps her from earning his respect ("Chip on My Shoulder"). Freed from her need to please Warner, she defeats him in a classroom debate. Elle then helps Paulette in a way that proves she is beginning to understand law. Warner and Vivienne win two of Callahan's coveted internship positions, and Warner proposes to Vivienne on the spot right in front of Elle. Vivienne accepts, with a kiss and a yes. Before Elle's heart can break, Emmett shows her the internship list. Below the names of Vivienne, Warner, and classmate Enid Hoopes is the name Elle Woods, at which she is ecstatic ("So Much Better").

Act II
Act II begins with fitness queen, Brooke Wyndham, and her fitness team's workout video, which is being viewed by Elle, Callahan, Emmett, Vivienne, Warner, and Enid ("Whipped Into Shape"). Callahan tells the legal team that Brooke is accused of murdering her billionaire husband. The "video" then turns into a scene from the jail, where Brooke leads the inmates into a fitness frenzy. Brooke then privately tells Elle her alibi, that she was getting liposuction, but makes Elle promise not to tell anyone ("Delta Nu Nu Nu"). Because of Elle's loyalty to her client and refusal to state the alibi, Elle and Emmett are shunned by the group. To cheer Emmett up and to increase his chances of impressing Callahan, Elle gives him a makeover ("Take It Like A Man").

Back at the Hair Affair, Elle is getting a manicure when Kyle, the sexy UPS guy, walks into the salon to deliver a package to Paulette. Paulette is in complete awe. When he leaves, Pilar, Serena, and Margot are summoned by Paulette's amazing "Bend and Snap" when picking up the UPS package. The sorority girls tell Paulette to use the "Bend and Snap" on Kyle, but when she does, she accidentally breaks his nose ("Bend and Snap").

In the courtroom, we see Nikos, Brooke's pool boy, being questioned by the D.A. about his "love affair" with Brooke. After doing the Bend and Snap in front of Nikos and getting no attention, Elle is convinced that Nikos is gay. Callahan and her teammates do not believe her, simply thinking that he is just European ("Gay or European!"). Emmett decides to question Nikos on the stand, and successfully makes Nikos slip and state his boyfriend's name Carlos. Niko quickly covers that he misunderstood the word "boyfriend" as "Best Friend." Carlos, Niko's Boyfriend, appears at the end of the courtroom, fed up with the closeted nature of his boyfriend, and proclaims Nikos's homosexuality. At the end of the song, Nikos confesses that he is indeed gay AND European.

Later that night in Callahan's office, the interns celebrate Elle's skill. Warner finds problems with calling a finely tuned awareness of homosexuality a legal victory. Callahan, annoyed with Warner's behavior, sends Warner out of the room to fetch a coffee. Callahan dismisses Emmett and the other interns but requests Elle to remain for a few moments. Callahan forcibly kisses Elle, who slaps him. In turn, Callahan fires her. Warner and Vivienne both saw the kiss through the door of the room. Warner turns away in anger, leaving Vivienne to be the only one to witness the slap. After Callahan leaves, Warner re-enters the office and mocks Elle, but Vivienne tells him to shut up and they both leave. A defeated Elle prepares to go home, even though Emmett asks her to stay, finally realizing that he is in love with her ("Legally Blonde").

Elle heads to the Hair Affair to say goodbye to Paulette, but before she can leave, Vivienne and Enid convince Elle otherwise ("Legally Blonde Remix"). Elle discards her lawyerly navy suits, dons a pink dress (or pink lawyer suit) and leads a parade back to the courtroom. They meet Kyle on the way, who takes a liking to Paulette, and reveals himself to be the Irish man of her dreams, prompting to Irish Dance amongst the ensemble. Back at the trial, Brooke fires Callahan and hires Elle. Brooke's stepdaughter Chutney goes to the witness stand and her testimony is damning, stating after she got out of the shower she saw Brook covered in her father's blood. After Chutney states she received a perm the day of the murder, Elle realizes a flaw in Chutney's alibi and suggests that the entire court should be moved to the scene of the crime - the bathroom where the murder took place ("Scene of the Crime"). As a demonstration, Elle asks Paulette to give Enid a perm, and asks Enid to step into the shower upon entering the crime scene. Relying on her knowledge of hair maintenance, Elle's demonstration is successful as Enid walks out of the shower with completely flattened hair—revealing that Chutney could not have possibly gotten a perm because her hair was still intact. Under Elle's intense questioning, Chutney accidentally confesses that she killed her father. Warner proposes to Elle, having been dumped by Vivienne. Elle gently refuses, claiming to have been changed by the experience ("Find My Way").

Three years later, Elle ends up as the valedictorian of her class. Paulette tells the audience that Elle is not one to brag about her valedictorian status, so she decided to allow Paulette to play "Where are they now" during her speech. Paulette says that Enid practices family law, Vivienne is training for the Peace Corps, and Warner dropped out and pursues a modeling career. Callahan ran for governor but was defeated, and his wife hired Emmett to handle their divorce. Paulette married Kyle, had two kids, and is pregnant with a third. They live in Worcester, Massachusetts and Paulette bought a new salon (the Worcester detail was taken from the London script, and replaced with the detail that a child of hers was named Seamus) At the end of the graduation, Elle proposes to Emmett, and Emmett accepts ("Finale").

Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and 2001 film version starring Reese Witherspoon

Broadway (2007-2008)
After a tryout at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre from February 6 to February 24, 2007, following previews from January 23, Legally Blonde opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 29, 2007, following previews from April 3. The production was directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, with set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, and lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller. The original Broadway cast included Laura Bell Bundy in the lead role of Elle Woods and featured Christian Borle, Orfeh and Michael Rupert. The show received mostly positive reviews and was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Leading Actress in a Musical, but failed to win any.

During the week ending June 24, 2007, the Broadway production achieved a milestone, joining the millionaires' club for weekly Broadway grosses, by grossing $1,003,282. The musical was filmed for television in front of a live audience on September 18, 2007, as well as two other dates where it was filmed without an audience. The three performances edited together were broadcast on MTV on October 13 and 14, 2007 with subsequent air dates on November 3 and 14, 2007. MTV's involvement with the musical continued with a reality show program called Legally Blonde – The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which aimed to cast the next actress to play Elle Woods on Broadway, replacing Laura Bell Bundy. The show was hosted by Haylie Duff, and premiered on June 2, 2008 on MTV. The competition was won by Bailey Hanks, age 20, from Anderson, South Carolina. The results were first aired on July 21, 2008 on MTV, and her debut as Elle Woods was on July 23. The runner-up, Autumn Hurlbert, also debuted on Broadway in this show as a sorority sister in Delta Nu.
The production closed on October 19, 2008 after playing 30 previews and 595 regular performances.

North American Tours (2008-2011)
First National US Tour The first national tour started on September 21, 2008. Becky Gulsvig, who appeared in the ensemble of the original Broadway cast and understudied the role of Elle Woods, is featured as Elle Woods. Lauren Ashley Zakrin and Rhiannon Hansen, both finalists of the MTV reality show, appeared in the national tour. The original tour closed on August 15, 2010 in Vienna, Virginia at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
Second National US Tour After the first US National Equity Tour ended, the tour closed for a few months and reopened with an all new non-equity cast. The tour launched in Jackson, Mississippi on September 21, 2010. Nikki Bohne led the cast as Elle Woods, with Nic Rouleau (Emmett Forrest), Jillian Wallach (Paulette), Hannah Rose DeFlumeri (Vivienne Kensington), and Kahlil Joseph (Professor Callahan). The tour closed on May 15, 2011 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.

West End (2009-2012)
The West End production opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 13, 2010, following previews from December 5, 2009. The original London cast included Sheridan Smith in the lead role of Elle Woods, with Duncan James, Alex Gaumond, Jill Halfpenny and Peter Davison. In the London production, the lyrics to Ireland were changed.
In October 2009, Sheridan Smith, with other cast members, recorded a pop video to the song "So Much Better". The West End cast of Legally Blonde performed a medley from the show at the BBC Television Centre on 19 November 2009 during the Children in Need telethon.
Legally Blonde is the first and so far only West End show to offer a ticket lottery. The trend is popular on Broadway but had never been used for a West End production. The show had taken £2 million in advance sales before it officially opened. It extended its booking period from the earlier date of October 2011 until the March 31, 2012.
Replacing Sheridan Smith as Elle was Irish actress Susan McFadden (from January 10, 2011), who was replaced by Carley Stenson on July 11, 2011. Other notable replacements included Richard Fleeshman, Simon Thomas and Ben Freeman as Warner, Denise Van Outen, Natalie Casey and Sorelle Marsh as Paulette, Lee Mead and Stephen Ashfield as Emmett, Carley Stenson and Ellie Kirk as Margot and Siobhan Dillon as Vivienne.
The West End show won three Laurence Olivier Awards on March 13, 2011 - 'Best New Musical', 'Best Actress in a Musical' (Sheridan Smith), and 'Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical' (Jill Halfpenny). The show began a UK tour in Liverpool in July 2011. The show has had more success in the UK than it achieved in the USA, with the London production being one of the most popular shows in the West End.
The show closed in London on April 7, 2012, after 974 performances, significantly more than it played on Broadway.

First National UK tour
The first UK tour began on July 8, 2011 at The Liverpool Empire Theatre. The cast included Faye Brooks as Elle, Dave Willetts as Professor Callahan, Iwan Lewis as Emmett, Neil Toon as Warner, Charlotte Harwood as Vivienne, Hannah Grover as Brooke, Sophie Isaacs as Margot, Sinead Long as Serena, Micha Richardson as Pilar and Lori Barker as Judge/Saleswoman. Two celebrities from Liverpool shared the role of Elle's friend, Paulette. From July 8 to September 17 the role was played by former Atomic Kitten member Liz McClarnon, and from September 20 to December 3 by Claire Sweeney.
Following Willets, Professor Callahan was played by Matthew Kelly, and later Les Dennis, alongside Niki Evans as Paulette. Due to more dates being added to the initial ones listed, and several members of the cast having other commitments, especially with the Les Miserable film, some of the main roles in the show were covered by former London cast members. Amy Lennox (former 1st understudy Elle) covered Faye Brookes as Elle for the Aberdeen leg of the tour, with Stephen Ashfield reprising Emmett just weeks after leaving the show in London, covering Dublin, Belfast and Woking. Andy Mace (original understudy Callahan) covered Callahan in Dublin, before taking over full-time in July. Other cast changes include Tracey Penn taking over as Vivienne and Antony Hewitt as Carlos.
On the 17th July 2012, Jennifer Ellison replaced Niki Evans as Paulette and Gareth Gates replaced Ray Quinn as Warner.
The final show of the UK tour was performed at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 6 October 2012.

Australian Production 2012
The Australian production began previews in September 2012 at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney, before opening on October 4, 2012.
Joining Lucy Durack in the lead role, are her fellow Wicked co-stars Rob Mills (as Warner) and David Harris (as Emmett). Supermodel Erika Heynatz will make her musical theatre debut as Brooke Wyndham, with Cameron Daddo returning to the Australian stage for the first time in 20 years to play Professor Callahan.
The production is currently touring the continent

International Productions
Legally Blonde has had international productions in South Korea, The Netherlands, France, The Philippines, Sweden, and Finland.
An Austrian Production "NATÜRLICH BLOND" is planned to open in February 2013,(A German Language Premiere) after Sister Act The Musical

Act I
"Omigod You Guys" – Elle, Serena, Margot, Pilar and Company
"Serious" – Elle and Warner
"Daughter of Delta Nu"Δ – Serena, Margot, Pilar and Company
"What You Want" – Elle, Serena, Margot, Pilar, Kate, Elle's Parents, Grandmaster Chad and Company
"The Harvard Variations" – Emmett, Aaron, Enid, Padamadan and Harvard Students
"Blood in the Water" – Callahan and Company
"Positive" – Elle, Serena, Margot, Pilar and Greek Chorus
"Ireland" – Paulette
"Ireland" (Reprise) – Paulette
"Serious" (Reprise) – Elle and Warner
"Chip on My Shoulder" – Elle, Emmett, Greek Chorus and Company
"Run, Rufus, Run/Elle Reflects"ΔΝ – Elle and Emmett
"So Much Better" – Elle, Greek Chorus and Company

Act II
"Whipped into Shape" – Brooke, Callahan and Company
"Delta Nu Nu Nu"Δ – Brooke and Elle
"Take It Like a Man" – Elle, Emmett and Salespeople
"Kyle the Magnificent"ΔΝ – Kyle, Paulette and Elle
"Bend and Snap" – Elle, Paulette, Serena, Margot, Pilar, Bend and Snap Guys and Salonfolk
"Gay or European" – Elle, Callahan, Emmett, Brooke, Vivienne, Warner, Enid, Judge, Nikos, Carlos and Company
"Legally Blonde" – Elle and Emmett
"Legally Blonde Remix" – Vivienne, Elle, Enid, Brooke, Elle's Parents and Company
"Scene of the Crime"Δ – Elle, Judge, Serena, Margot, Pilar and Company
"Scene of the Crime, Part 2" (Omigod You Guys Reprise)"Δ - Elle, Judge, Serena, Margot, Pilar and Company
"Find My Way" / Finale – Elle, Paulette, Emmett and Company
"Bows"ΔΝ – Orchestra

During its San Francisco run, the musical included a song called "Love and War" in place of what is now "Positive". Another predecessor to "Positive" was "Beacon of Positivity".
During the musical's workshop stage, the song "Good Boy" existed in what would go on to become "Ireland"'s place in the musical. In the song, Paulette and Elle bond over the idea that men are like dogs and should therefore be treated as such.
"Bows" is featured as a iTunes bonus track on the UK iTunes on the Live London Cast Recording but not featured on the Broadway Recording. "Kyle the Magnificent" is also a bonus track on the Live London Cast Recording after "Take It Like a Man" which is where it is in the show. On the Broadway Cast Recording, it's a hidden track at the end of "Find My Way/Finale".
Δ Not featured on Original Broadway Cast Recording
Ν Instrumental Mix

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Legally Blonde

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Legally Blonde