MTV has announced Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, a new Grease: You're the One that I Want-like reality series that will aim to find an actress to take over the lead in Broadway's Legally Blonde production, will premiere Monday, June 2 at 10PM ET/PT.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
Guiding the contestants will be actress Haylie Duff -- who has played the role of Amber von Tussle in Broadway's Legally Blonde -- and renowned theater vocal coach Seth Rudetsky.
In addition, the contestants will also be assisted throughout the eight-episode series by Legally Blonde The Musical's choreographer and director Jerry Mitchell; associate director Marc Bruni; associate choreographer Denis Jones; and several cast members, including Laura Bell Bundy (Broadway's original Elle Woods), Nikki Snelson, Orfeh and Richard H. Blake.
Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods' contestants will be critiqued and judged by Mitchell; casting director Bernard Telsey; Legally Blonde The Musical's book writer Heather Hach; and original Broadway cast member Paul Canaan.
The judging panel will ultimately decide which contestant wins Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods' grand prize -- the opportunity to star at Broadway's Palace Theatre and replace Bundy in Legally Blonde The Musical.
MTV aired a performance of Broadway's Legally Blonde in its entirety last October, and the broadcast also featured behind-the-scenes footage, a pre-show, and a red carpet-like event hosted by The Hills co-stars Lauren "L.C." Conrad, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port.
"It was the first time a Broadway show was ever filmed by MTV, and it had over 12 million viewers," Mitchell told reporters during a March conference call. "And so they came back and offered the producers a great deal of money to make a series about helping us actually find our next Elle Woods. So we were able to negotiate."
MTV subsequently began developing Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which is similar Grease: You're the One that I Want, a 2007 NBC reality series that searched for the lead roles of Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko in a Broadway revival of Grease.
Home viewers selected Laura Osnes and Max Crumm to play the lead roles during the show's March finale broadcast and the revival opened in August amongst criticism that Crumm and Osnes were not the favorites of some theater goers.
Mitchell said that mistake won't be made with Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.
"I actually chose the girl," he told reporters. "So I'm the director/choreographer of the show and it was the only way I would agree to do that particular series -- was if I were allowed to choose the girl. I'm really excited about the lady we found."
Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods is produced by Reveille.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
