Legally Blonde: The Musical has cast its new Elle Woods and her name is Bailey Hanks. After an 8-week season of the MTV competitive reality TV series Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods Bailey beat out all the other contestants to win the lead role on Broadway. Here are a few pics of Bailey posing at The Palace Theater after it was announced that she was cast as the new Elle Woods:

And here are a few pics of Bailey taking her first night bows this past Wednesday night after successfully completing her premiere performance on Broadway:

Bailey Hanks won the MTV competition “The Search For The New Elle Woods” making her the new successor to Laura Bell Bundy in the role of Elle Woods. She and her Legally Blonde “co-star” Bruiser, hit Times Square to ‘Bend & Snap’ and meet the press! On Monday, June 2, 2008, MTV premiered the reality show “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods” to find a talented singer/actress/ dancer to take over for Broadway star and Tony Nominee Laura Bell Bundy. Thousands of talented young women came from across the country to make their dream a reality—as MTV and Legally Blonde The Musical teamed up to find Broadway’s new Elle Woods. After what might have been the toughest audition in Broadway history—comprising two months of workshops, training sessions, challenge after challenge and arduous eliminations—one remarkable rising star stood out from the crowd: Bailey Hanks, the 20-yr old Southern charmer with the complete package of extraordinary dancing, singing and acting skills. Not only was she cast in her dream role, she also recorded the hit single “So Much Better”, produced by Ghostlight, now available on iTunes.com and Amazon.com. On Wednesday, July 23, 2008, Bailey made her Broadway debut as “Elle Woods”, the role that made Reese Witherspoon and Laura Bell Bundy stars, at Broadway’s famed Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway. A big fan of the movie, when Bailey learned about MTV’s auditions for “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods” she didn’t hesitate to drive from her hometown of Anderson, S.C., to Nashville, Tenn., to follow her dream of being on Broadway in her favorite musical. A genuine Southern Belle, this pastor’s daughter has been dancing and performing for 15 years and has starred in The Wizard of Oz, Seussical the Musical, A Year With Frog and Toad, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, High Steppin’ Country and more. A former beauty pageant queen, Bailey won the Miss Liberty Teen pageant in 2006 and one of her most memorable performances to date has been singing the national anthem for President Bill Clinton in 2000 … Autumn, the first runner-up in the competition known for her curly red hair & dazzling singing voice, will understudy the role of Elle Woods on Broadway and will perform in the ensemble. Lauren, the youngest contestant on the reality show, will understudy Becky Gulsvig, who stars as Elle Woods on tour, and will be a member of the ensemble. Rhiannon, known for her enthusiasm and stage presence, will play the role of Margot, Elle’s best friend, on tour.

It’s pretty crazy to think that any person without any supposed previous experience can audition for a reality TV show and then end up with a starring role on Broadway … there really is no biz like show biz. Congrats goes out to Bailey for this very cool accomplishment. I hope she makes the most of her opportunity and reaches new heights of success.

I am still pretty bummed that Laura Bell Bundy, the original Elle Woods on Broadway, had to say goodbye to the show … I really love that girl. Here are a few pics of LBB‘s final bow on the night of her final performance as Elle Woods:

Click HERE to watch exclusive video from Broadway World of LBB‘s last night as Elle in Legally Blonde. She will be missed.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Laura Bell Bundy, star of Legally Blonde The Musical, brought the curtain down on her tenure as Elle Woods on Broadway. Last night was LBB‘s final show as Elle, ahead of tonight’s announcement regarding her replacement. As you know, MTV has been airing The Seach for Elle Woods for the past few weeks and tonight we find out who wins the role of Elle Woods on Broadway (will it be Autumn, Bailey or Rhiannon?) … but first, the show has to say goodbye to Laura Bell — Broadway’s original Elle Woods, who will always remain irreplaceable to me:

Tony-nominated actress Laura Bell Bundy will “bend and snap” one final time as Elle Woods in the Broadway production of Legally Blonde July 20. Bundy has been with Legally Blonde since its 2005 readings and earned a 2007 Best Actress Tony Award nomination for her turn as Legally Blonde’s pink-clad heroine. The musical is based on the 2001 MGM movie that starred Reese Witherspoon. Triple-threat Bundy made her Broadway debut in the 2002 original cast of Hairspray as Amber Von Tussle and is known for her turns in Wicked and Ruthless!, for which she earned Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations as Tina Denmark. On screen Bundy has been seen in “Dreamgirls,” “Guiding Light,” “Jumanji,” “Life with Mikey,” “Adventures of Huck Finn,” “Home Improvement,” “Strangers with Candy” and “Curtis Court.” Bundy released her solo country debut recording “Longing for a Place Already Gone” last year. Representatives for the Tony-nominated actress state that Bundy is currently developing a television project and is at work on her next album. Bundy’s replacement will be named on the July 21 episode of the MTV reality competition “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.” On July 23 at 8 PM, the next Elle Woods – who will be determined by a panel of Legally Blonde casting directors, production associates and director/choreography Jerry Mitchell – will take over in the lead role at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.

I imagine last night’s performance was a fun, yet difficult one for Laura Bell … it must be hard to exit a role that you originate on Broadway. I’ve been fortunate enough to see LBB as Elle in the show a couple of times and I know that the new girl has got some big shoes to fill. I am very much looking forward to hearing about LB‘s next project — but I hope she takes some time off to relax for a minute before plunging headlong into another big commitment. I wish nothing but the best for her and I’m sending her much congrats and all my love today.

[Source, Source]

Dolly Parton, Allison Janney, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block were all on hand at the New 42nd Street Studios in NYC yesterday for a press conference to announce the opening date and theater home of 9 to 5: The Musical. Here are a few pics from yesterday’s event and some information on the show’s opening date:

The Marquis Theatre will be the Broadway home of the feisty office workers who are “just a step on the bossman’s ladder” in the Dolly Parton-Patricia Resnick musical comedy 9 to 5, producer Robert Greenblatt announced July 15. Following a fall run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles (Sept. 3-Oct. 19, opening Sept. 20), the Joe Mantello-directed production will begin Broadway previews March 24, 2009, and open April 23, 2009. 9 to 5: The Musical, based on the 20th Century Fox motion picture, has book by original screenwriter Resnick (who also came up with the film’s original story) and music and lyrics by country music legend and seven-time Grammy Award winner Dolly Parton, who also starred in the smash 1980 movie. This marks the Broadway debut of the writers. Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights) will choreograph. As previously announced, 9 to 5: The Musical will star four-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Allison Janney as Violet, Stephanie J. Block as Judy, Megan Hilty as Dorelee, and two-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch as Mr. Hart. (Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Parton and Dabney Coleman played the respective roles in the movie.) Here’s the plot: “When pushed to their boiling point by their boss, Franklin Hart Jr. (Marc Kudisch), Violet Newstead (Allison Janney), the super efficient office manager, Judy Bernly (Stephanie J. Block), a frazzled divorcee, and the sexy executive secretary Doralee Rhodes (Megan Hilty) turn the tables on him. The trio hatches a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot, and that plan quickly spins wildly and hilariously out of control.” Parton’s original score for 9 to 5: The Musical will include over 20 new songs as well as the Grammy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated No. 1 Billboard title song. “Backwoods Barbie,” heard on Parton’s new album of the same name, is also part of the show’s score, Parton previously said.

Love it, love it, love it! I’m not sure what I’m more excited about … the 20-song catalog or the amazing casting. You may recall that I was able to interview Megan Hilty a few months ago and she talked about preparing for her role as Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5: The Musical. I deffo plan on seeing this show when it goes into pre-previews this Fall here in SoCal. After the jump, check out some promo artwork that will be used for the show …

How’s this for amazing news … Playbill.com is reporting that the wildly successful (and absolutely amazing) Broadway musical Wicked is going to be making the transition to the big screen. Much like Chicago, Hairspray and most recently Mama Mia! before it, Wicked is in the process of being adapted into a movie. This new production will be handled by Marc Platt Productions for Universal Pictures:

Marc Platt has extended his contract with Universal Pictures for five years, according to Variety. Marc Platt Productions currently has several projects of interest to theatre plans in the works, including a film version of the international hit Wicked, a remake of the 1973 Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice film “Jesus Christ Superstar” and a new motion picture about the life of the late composer George Gershwin. Universal Pictures production president Donna Langley told the industry paper, “Our goal now is absolutely to make the Wicked film, but much like Judy Craymer wouldn’t give up screen rights to Mamma Mia! until the stage show had reached its pinnacle, Marc and Stephen Schwartz are very mindful of the right timing. But we’re dying to do it.” Platt told Variety that he and Wicked co-producer David Stone are currently in “early movie talks” with the studio. Winnie Holzman, who penned the Tony-nominated book for Wicked, will write the film’s screenplay. No casting has been mentioned.

Hot damn! This could either rule the world or suck hardcore. My guess is that they are going to go after the original Broadway stars to reprise their roles as Elphaba (Idina Menzel) and Glinda the Good (Kristin Chenoweth) but I would DIE if Megan Hilty was able to play Glinda in the movie version. She is such an amazing Broadway actress — I contend that she would be the best person to play Glinda. In any event, I hope that the producers do the story justice … it’s a great musical, it can be an amazing movie. This is deffo a movie to watch … again, I just hope they do it right.

[Source via ONTD!]

Yesterday, David and I did everything that we could to stay out of the balmy NYC humidity … that is, until we had to venture out into the world to attend the opening night performance of a new off-Broadway musical called Bash’d. Actually, Bash’d is described as a “gay rap opera” … so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In the end, it was exactly what you might guess a gay rap opera to be like — funny, clever, poignant and surprisingly serious in tone:

BASH’d! chronicles the tale of Jack and Dillon; two star-crossed lovers who must cope with the reality of hatred when one is brutally beaten. It is told entirely through rap, spoken word and poetry, turning the often-homophobic musical genre on its ear. Even though the topic is serious, the musical is high energy, irreverent, and provocative.

As the show got started and I realized that the entire show would be performed in verse, I feared that the writing might suffer and that I would lose interest in what was going on … nothing could’ve been further from the truth. The raps were totally non-stop and the actors, Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow, deftly delivered their lines with impressive speed and enunciation. I was sure that one or both of them would fumble a line somewhere along the way but neither one did … it was very, very impressive. The story starts out cute and humorous and then turns serious, sad and ends very powerfully. The performers did an excellent job of connecting with the audience … I know I was left with my mouth agape by the performance. Because the story deals with a gay bashing in Canada, the show ends with a litany of some of the gay victims who lost their lives due to violent assault. It was very sobering to hear how long the list of names was. I should also mention that Bash’d proudly supports the Anti-Violence Project, which is the largest LGBT community-based anti-violence program in the US and is the coordinator of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects. The show turned out not to be at all what I expected … I’m very glad that David and I got to see it. Much love goes out to Shane and The Zipper Factory (where the show is having its run) for taking such great care of us last night.

After the show, David and I grabbed a quick bit to eat at Alta and then called it a night. I think we’re lying low tonight as well … it’s nice just being able to spend time together :)

[Photo credit: David Morgan]

While I was happily celebrating the LA Lakers victory over the Boston Celtics last night, I was mourning the shaft that was given to two of my fave Broadway shows at last night’s 62nd annual Tony Awards, which were held live at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. While I was very impressed with the production value of the show (especially the bits that involved host Whoopi Goldberg, who was brills all night long) and the live cast performances (some more than others … loved Xanadu, was a tiny bit let down by both The Little Mermaid and Rent), I was just really bummed that neither Xanadu (my Best Musical) nor Macbeth (my Best Play) got any love at all from the stogy old Tony voters. Boo. Here are a few pics from the Tony Awards red carpet:

Everyone looked amazing on the red carpet … I love that Xanadu‘s Cheyenne Jackson had to show up on the red carpet in a tux and then had to strip it off to don his shorty jean shorts for the live performance and then had to get all dolled up in his tux again — and he wasn’t even nominated for an award! That’s dedication, y’all. I cannot stress enough how fun and inventive both Xanadu and Macbeth are as Broadway productions … and I’m convinced that is why neither show took home any awards. Tony voters seem to love being mired in the past (South Pacific), bucking the new and innovative and choosing instead to stick with the traditional, tired yet true (the same thing happened last year when Legally Blonde got the shaft).

Fans of Xanadu on Broadway might want to take a few minutes to watch the following video — Cubby Bernstein: Episode 6 which stars Nathan Lane and the mostly nekkid male cast members of Xanadu: