There are some things out there people say you can never make a musical out of. Superheroes, for example-oh wait no, there's Superman: the Musical and Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. Well, no one should ever make a musical out of a dark, political book like "Wicked." Oh. Wait. Scratch that. A barber who murders his victims and bakes them into meat pies definitely should NOT become a musi-wait Sweeney Todd.
No matter what people say, musicals will be made out of and will be about the weirdest stuff: talking animals, mental illnesses, books, movies, and even poems about cats. However, one musical no one saw as being successful was Legally Blonde: the Musical, based off of the popular movie.
Legally Blonde: the Musical opened on Broadway on April 29, 2007, and ran until October 19, 2008, for a total of 595 performances. It starred Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods. The plot of the musical is the same as the movie. Elle Woods, blonde bombshell extraordinaire, is a Southern California fashion student and a member of the sorority Delta Nu. She believes her boyfriend Warner Huntington III is going to propose to her, but instead he breaks up with her, declaring that he needs someone more "serious" when he goes off to Harvard Law School. Basically, Elle is too stupid for him. Determined to win him back, Elle manages to get into Harvard and sets her sights on reclaiming her man.
But how well can a fashion merchandising major deal with law?
At first, not so good. But surprisingly, Elle steps up her game and goes on to succeed in both law and love. In this number from the musical, "So Much Better" Warner has just proposed to his more "serious" girlfriend, Vivian Kensington, as the students who have been selected to help their law professor on a murder case's names have been posted on the wall. Elle is at first in shock as she sees "her" proposal vanishing before her very eyes, but then is even more surprised by the sight of her name on the list of the selective few.
Laura Bell Bundy has such a fantastically expressive voice. She knows how to phrase things, and how to really let the emotion sink in to her very words and notes. When you listen to her song, you'll notice she alternates between vibrato and vibrato-less a lot, as well as stretching out or simply speaking certain words or lines, usually for accent effect. Take, for instance, the line "You'd come to respect my mind and at last you'd find you could love me again" from :10-:17. What Bundy does is that she speaks some of her words, stretches others, and chooses some to have vibrato. "Respect" is a word that is spoken, but the words "at last you'd find" really show a deep understanding of character on Bundy's part. You can really hear the disappointment and longing in her voice. She really thought that she could win Warner back, and you know what she really tried. Now, she realizes that she has to give up. Bundy uses vibrato on "mind" for an accent, stretches out the word "love" and gives it a little extra volume, really showing us what she means, but then backs down with lighter sound and vibrato on "again" because now she knows it won't happen again.
Another example of Bundy's excellent phrasing is in the following line, "And I have turned my whole world upside down trying not to let you go" from :19 to :26. You can really see in her face all the effort she's put into this affair, as well as hear it in her voice. The way Bundy pronounces "And I have turned my whole world" is very unique, and I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's like her voice is in the back of her mouth and throat, almost as if she's about to cry, and yet she's overdoing the vowels. It's very interesting, and very emotionally effective. Then, Bundy accents the "side" part of "upside" by singing "up" with a straight tone, but "side" with vibrato to really accentuate how crazy her life has been since she set her mind to this crazy scheme. "Not" and "let" are also accented, and while "go" is too a little bit, it's more of a residue from "not" and "let."
Up to this point in the song, it's been very slow and melancholy. But once Bundy sees her name on that list, well rather Elle's name, everything changes. Trumpets blare, drums and guitar are kicked in, and we're off on a high-speed power roller coaster Act 1 finale.
Bundy is suddenly filled with a burst of energy, though she still remains her fantastic phrasing. I love the way she says "up" at :38. It has so much power and force behind it, giving it a straight tone as well as a more nasally sound, kinda like the way pop stars sing. It fits Elle well though, and Bundy too. I also love her "sure" at :47. She's singing right into her mask area, resulting in a great resonating sound with powerful vibrato. She also pronounces the word differently. When you speak the word "sure" it sounds more like "sher." However, when Bundy sings it, she sings it as "sheuhr." You know, "euh" like the French. It's a good choice, and I think sounds better than "sher" would. Her "right" at :55 also has an interesting sound. Instead of "right" with emphasis on the "i" Bundy sings "rai-ight" and draws out the vowel sound, while manipulating it a bit. She has a very modern Broadway style voice, more conversational and regular speaking voice tone that almost sounds like pop star singing sometimes. You'll notice the same pronunciations of these words and their rhymes, for example "right" and "night," popping up through the song, as well as many other interesting sounding words (keep your ears open!) and the straight tone accenting. Bundy may sometimes sound a bit pitchy here and there, but keep in mind that this clip was taken from a live shooting of the play, so Bundy's been acting, dancing, and singing for a good hour now. Her voice is bound to be a little tired.
The little exchange between Elle, Warner, and the surrounding students is one of my favorite moments in the song. First off, Bundy starts singing with this more mature tone. Just listen to the difference between "I feel so much better than before" at :56 and "Sorry I've been a pest but I guess my best was not working with you. But looks like I found a cure and I so look forward to working with you" at 1:02. Suddenly, Bundy sounds older; her words and vowels are more pronounced, as is her vibrato. She almost sounds as if she's a talk show host or news anchor or something official like that. However, soon enough, Elle pops right back out again with "Hey remember when we spent Spring Break in the hot tub every night?" at 1:11. This is where the fun comes in. With this sudden gushing of gossip, all of the students are intrigued, echoing and responding to Elle's every word. I love it all, it's so fantastic. I mean, "snap?" Instant hilarity! My favorite part, though, has to be after Bundy sings "that beats the first time that we kissed," which she adds a little soul to by graveling up the "time" and vibratoing the "that," and the students respond, "Whoa they kissed?" Gets me every time.
1:42-1:52.
I'm just gonna leave those 10 seconds right there. I think that part explains itself well enough. But I will say, it sure is a hilarious moment, and the audience certainly seems to think so as well.
Once everyone leaves the stage and Bundy is alone, that's when she really starts to pull out all the stops. The tempo is fast, and her words are coming out quickly, and yet she somehow still seems to sing them, or talk/sing them, enunciated and accurate. Let me just tell you, singing all of those words and keeping them crisp and clean when the tempo picks up like that is difficult, but Bundy pulls it off. I love this one lyric in this part "better jobs or bigger rings" at 2:09 because Elle has just gotten a fantastic job, and although she's seen the ring she always though would go onto her finger go onto someone else's, she still manages to be a confident, independent woman. That lyric just always stands out to me. What also stands out to me is Bundy's gravely "I'm" at 2:12. That alongside her head and and arm shake is just so ridiculous, and so filled with exuberance and confidence, that you can't help but applaud, especially once the Greek chorus appears as Elle seizes the list and twirls with it to infinity.
Yes, that's right. Greek chorus. Elle's a sorority girl, remember? Those are all her sorority sisters up there in the white jackets at 2:14, being the Greek chorus to Elle's Clytemnestra. Such a hysterical touch.
It's impressive that Bundy is still able to sing as she is spinning, and that she recovers so quickly. She doesn't seem to be off-balance, and she continues to deliver a stellar performance. I love that at 2:28 she snaps a picture of the list with her camera phone. This play is just so ridiculous, but it works and I love it. Bundy's "and I feel so much better" at 2:31 is surprisingly really emotional. It almost sounds like she's crying. Then again, I would be too if I was on the phone with my mother telling her that after months of bad grades, I suddenly started excelling and because of that had earned a top notch job.
By this point in the song, Bundy is just so into it that her whole body gets into it. Watch as she turns through the revolving doors at 2:46, before getting, well, "dressed." Then comes something Bundy has become known for: her kick on "fight" at 2:52. It's now an iconic part of this number, and every Elle since Bundy has been expected to kick on that word. Careful though, it can be dangerous. One night, when she kicked, Bundy's shoe flew into the audience. But being the professional actor that she is, Bundy just kept right on singing till the very end.
I love the way she says "And" at 2:53. She sorta slides into it while changing the vowel slightly. It's a really cool sound. It's clear that Bundy has some issues hitting the low note on "better" since it's breathy and barely audible, but it works for her performance and I think it's fine that we can't quite hear it. Bundy certainly makes up for any vocal mishaps with her final note "before" from 3:10 on. True, she does take a breath at 3:16, but that note is a difficult one to sing and sustain. It's a note many professional Broadway singers have trouble with, and I think the note is just as effective with or without the breath.
What's also effective is Bundy's jump into the air and cry of "Yeah!" at the end of the song. Unfortunately, the video cuts out right before that, so we don't get to see it. That just means that the next time Legally Blonde: the Musical rolls around town, you'll have to go see it! It's a really a very fun show, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
