Disney is perhaps the most well-known member of the film industry who transforms their movie musicals into Broadway musicals. Other companies, however, are taking notice, and stepping into the fray. Legally Blonde: The Musical is produced by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals, and Dori Bernstein in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert, and Dean Stolber (notice - no Disney!), but broke new ground in Broadway’s continuing challenge of reaching new audiences.
In September of 2007, MTV recorded the musical in its entirety, and aired it the next month, with the stars of their hit show The Hills as hosts. Other musicals have also been recorded and aired on television, but only after their Broadway runs already closed. Legally Blonde was well into its run, having opened in April of 2007, and is still listed with no closing date on the Internet Broadway Database. In addition to the oddity of a recorded performance airing while the Broadway run was ongoing, few recorded musicals are picked up by cable television. They tend to be aired by the bastion of arts and public education on television, PBS, and interrupted by public service announcements and donation requests, instead of ads for cars, fast food, reality shows, and Vegas vacations. Musicals that are adapted into a film version, such as The Sound of Music or South Pacific, travel more easily to cable than recorded versions of the stage productions.
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While MTV’s assistance in finding new audiences for Broadway may seem offensive or unsettling to traditional thinkers , MTV is clearly committed to exploring this area of entertainment. This summer, MTV is airing a reality show to find a new Elle Woods to replace Laura Bell Bundy. One can only hope that this reality show, hosted by Haylie Duff, is better produced than NBC’s attempt at bringing Broadway casting to television, Grease: You’re the One That I Want. MTV also brought Broadway into one episode of their popular series, Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew, introducing dance and music traditionally found on Broadway and forcing crews to adapt these into their dance offs.
It could be that Disney’s success has lured other members of film industry to consider Broadway as a viable option for new revenue. It could be that MTV’s forays into bridging the gap between Broadway audiences and television audiences may forge new interest in theatre for Generation Y or Millennials (whichever term you may prefer …) It is definitely a new time for Broadway, with playwrights omitting intermissions in favor of plays that run 90 minutes straight, and theatres having performances on Mondays to cater to an ever-evolving audience. And let’s be honest, not everyone is going to watch Company when it airs on PBS or Sweeney Todd, however crucial those works were to the development of the American musical. Of course in the end, only time will tell if MTV is the right venue for breaking the barrier between Broadway’s image and a generation (my generation!) that doesn’t remember life without computers.
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Tagged as: broadway, legally blonde, movie musicals, mtv, musicals, tv musical
here’s the real question: what’s the difference between a musical like “legally blonde” and “south park: bigger, longer, uncut”? south park is funny. south park musical numbers are funny. “legally blonde” jokes? not funny, and certainly no funnier musical-style.
the “mtv generation” (that’s in BIG quotation marks, in case you couldn’t tell) can be sold anything, granted they can be convinced it’s cool. you’ve got to draw a line between gen y’ers and millenials or whatever term you use, and the rest of mitv’s audience. pre-teens and early teens who watch mtv are not the same market as those who are watching the reality shows, and i’d say it’d be a cold day in hell before the latter market find musicals hip.
Esther, great post!
I don’t know who is going to do it best, but obviously that medium has not been run over by tweeny boppers and whatever you call their high school counterparts. MTV would be a good candidate to bring their audience into that space; probably better than anyone else.
Kyle - I agree, I do think MTV has a shot at breaking the barrier, especially for communities who don’t have quick access to large theater markets like NYC, Chicago, LA, and the like. It’s a big challenge.
lividlunch - I agree, there are definitely separate audiences that view MTV. I still remember when music videos were the primary viewing on MTV. But I don’t think tweens and teens are that easily duped into thinking something is “cool”. I actually find they are more cynical and wary than they are sometimes given credit for, due to their overexposure and general awareness of technology and the world.
Also, South Park is a very different audience than most musicals, whether it’s Legally Blonde or Wicked or Cameron Mackintosh’s darker adaptation of Mary Poppins currently running. South Park has a biting satire that caters to a specific audience. Legally Blonde: The Musical is an adaptation of the film, so there are several differences. It’s less blatantly political, less biting than South Park, but the script does satirize trends and assumptions, while displaying them onstage. The script and lyrics also speak more directly than the original screenplay to inherent assumptions about women that still run in undercurrents in society today, despite being almost 100 years after women received the right to vote.
I think both South Park and Legally Blonde: The Musical have their own separate commentaries on separate parts of society, as well as to separate audiences. Neither appeal to everyone, but they weren’t built for that. I actually feel the musical adaptation of Legally Blonde is better than the original movie, because it does take the satire and social commentary further.