Friday, June 4, 2010

Bend and Snap! "Legally Blonde" at the Kentucky Center

People give me a hard time when I say that, in general, I don't like musicals. They'll start by listing off musicals that I "must" like, and if they start with the oldie-but-goodies, I look like a jerk.

"My Fair Lady?" Yeah, that's a good one. "Wouldn't it be Loverly?" is a great song. And the Audrey Hepburn movie was great, even though she didn't really sing.

"The King and I?" I saw it with Yul Brenner in Boston when I was a kid. Every time I see it, I cry. So yeah, I like that one too.

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?" Hi-larious. I played one of the courtesans when I was in high school. One of the most fun plays I've ever been in.

BUT, if they start by listing RECENT musicals, my musical grouch rears her head. "Rent"? "Les Mis"? "Phantom"? Not a fan.

And lately the kicker is: "Have you seen 'Wicked'? You can't possibly say you disliked 'Wicked.'"

I. Disliked. "Wicked."

There's just something about so many modern musicals that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. The only entertainment I can remember walking out of half way through was a stage revival of "Saturday Night Fever." When it comes to musicals, I look for goofy joy, and so many modern musicals favor mawkish sentimentality or overblown maudlinness to joy.

Which is why I am actually looking forward to seeing "Legally Blonde" next week at the Kentucky Center. This PNC Broadway Across America production cannot possibly fail to bring the joy, right?! I mean it's about a ditzy (but actually smart) pretty blonde in pink and her little dog too!

"Legally Blonde" is one of those movies that's impossible to dislike. It's not a classic, by any means, but it's one of those movies that will instantly put an end to my channel surfing on a Saturday afternoon. My fingers are crossed; it's hard to imagine anyone other than Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods.

The Broadway Across America series has a lot of interesting stuff in the pipeline. Some of it isn't really up my alley ("Jersey Boys" and "Mama Mia"), but some totally is ("Stomp"-- which I saw when it first opened in a small off-Broadway theater-- and the dance production "Burn the Floor"). And yes, to save myself from further hypocrisy, I should probably SEE "Les Mis" before I keep saying I don't like it (I had a college roommate who had the soundtrack on perma-play in on our dorm room).

"Legally Blonde" runs from June 8-13 at the Whitney Hall in the Kentucky Center. Go and be joyful! Bend and snap, kids. Bend and snap!

3 comments:

Michelle said...

Two things. First, the best musical ever made was "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." As far as I'm concerned no other musicals even exist.

Second, Elle Waters is probably your Twitter friend if you haven't met her elsewhere about town, Elle Woods made Reese Witherspoon's career. Love you!

M said...

FUNNY! Yes, I do follow Elle Waters, so there you go. All fixed... thanks for the heads up. Never seen "Little Whorehouse!" I think I may have seen the movie when I was little (yeah, I had that kind of mom). Honestly, my favorite musical times eleventy billion is "Jesus Christ Superstar" which is kind of strange when you know know what a heathen I am. But, dude, Jesus was way cool.

M said...

... And yeah, no need to point out the disconnect between my love of musicals with "goofy joy" and "JC Superstar." I know how it ends. I can't explain it.