Legally Blonde (2007 Original Broadway Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Laurence O'Keefe (Composer), Nell Benjamin (Composer), Laura Bell Bundy (Performer), Christian Borle (Performer), Orfeh (Performer), Richard H. Blake (Performer), Kate Shindle (Performer)

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 17, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 17, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Ghostlight
• ASIN: B000R7I3NW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,401 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #14 in

  Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Contemporary Musicals

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Like Wicked, this show is a girl-friendly extravaganza; the main difference--and it's a big one--is that the score of Legally Blonde is better. Based on the hit Reese Witherspoon movie, the zippy, frothy show tells the story of SoCal, pink-loving sorority girl Elle Woods, who enrolls at Harvard Law and goes on to prove that appearances can be deceiving. The opening number, "Omigod You Guys," gives an idea of what the Broadway-pop score by Laurence O'Keefe (Bat Boy--The Musical) and Nell Benjamin is up to, embracing its over-the-top cheer with goofily infectious energy. Sure, a couple of numbers feel a bit derivative (the show with the witches has "Popular," this one has "Positive"), and the Celtic detour ("Ireland") is rather puzzling, but overall the songs are firing on all cylinders. Just check out the use of a marching band on "What You Want" for instance. Laura Bell Bundy (Amber von Tussle in Hairspray) is a charming Elle, and she delivers numbers such as "So Much Better" with the requisite elan. But this is not a one-woman show, and Bundy is surrounded by a crack team, including the endearing Christian Borle as Elle's love interest Emmett, power-piped Orfeh as hairdresser Paulette and up-and-comer Leslie Kritzer as Delta Nu's Serena. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars lost in translation, August 24, 2007

By	Marc (NJ) - See all my reviews

The bwy show was much better than expected. Bundy was super. Dancing was extraordinary. The CD captures the music, and is certainly lively, but it misses an integral part of the show, the frenetic staging.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So Much Better Than Expected, July 30, 2007

By	AJK (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This 2007 musical version of the Reese Witherspoon film is energetic, light-hearted & fun.

While I enjoyed seeing the production (starring the terrific Laura Bell Bundy), the score seemed somewhat unmemorable - until I got the cd. Some of the songs work better on stage (ie. "Bend and Snap"), but after a few listens, several of the songs emerged as favorites:

Omigod You Guys
Ireland
So Much Better
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde Remix

This is not meant to be a thought-provoking show - just one to smile.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light entertainment, July 25, 2007

By	Steven Valenti "svclue" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The cast recording of "Legally Blonde" more or less matches the light and amiable tone of the Reese Witherspoon movie about a perky sorority girl's success at Harvard Law School. Nobody will mistake this for great art, but the score by Laurence O'Keefe ("Bat Boy," "La Cava") and Nell Benjamin gets the job done. What's questionable is whether the job needed to be done. The movie was enjoyable, but slight and predictable; the musical doesn't aspire to much more. Still, there are a few surprises in the score that keep it interesting. First, there are really no extractable "songs" here-- most of the numbers are structured as scenes, containing a mix of music and dialogue, often while juggling location changes and multiple characters. This works pretty well-- I could easily imagine a "Legally Blonde" musical that is just a slog of pop songs; there is some clever, even ambitious, writing here. Take for instance the best track, "What You Want," which details protagonist Elle Woods's entrance into Harvard. Skillfully paced over 8 minutes, the music is stylistically all over the place-- moving from pop to disco to reggae to marching band to power balladry, all while moving the action forward and managing to be funny. It's well done. And there are other numbers like it, and even a welcome foray into the bizarre by way of an unlikely homage to all things Irish ("Ireland"). All in all, this is an entertaining enough score, given the source material. Still: enough with stage adaptations of popular movies! The trend is getting old.