Laura Bell Bundy (Hairspray, Wicked) plays the sorority girl Elle Woods, who gets dumped by her boyfriend and follows him to Harvard Law School in the adaptation of the novel and 2001 MGM film starring Reese Witherspoon.
The pre-Broadway tryout of the musical began previews Jan. 23 and will end Feb. 25, before the cast packs up its hair dryers and nail polish and flies back to New York City to begin previews at the Palace Theatre April 3 before an opening of April 29.
Tony-winning choreographer Jerry Mitchell (La Cage aux Folles) choreographs and will make his Broadway debut as a director.
The musical comedy has music and lyrics by both Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and a book by Heather Hach. James Sampliner serves as music director.
Principal cast members are Christian Borle (Spamalot) as Emmett, Orfeh (Saturday Night Fever) as Paulette, Richard H. Blake (The Wedding Singer) as Warner, Kate Shindle (Cabaret) as Vivienne, Nikki Snelson (Off-Broadway's How to Save the World…) as Brooke and Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Sweet Charity, The Happy Time, Ragtime) as Professor Callahan. Also featured in the cast are Annaleigh Ashford, April Berry, Paul Canaan, Lindsay Chambers, Beth Curry, Tracy Jai Edwards, Amber Efe, Gaelen Gilliland, Jason Gillman, Becky Gulsvig, Rod Harrelson, Manuel Herrera, Natalie Joy Johnson, Andy Karl, Nick Kenkel, Michelle Kittrell, Leslie Kritzer, Dequina Moore, Rusty Mowery, Kevin Pariseau, Matthew Risch, Jason Patrick Sands, Noah Weisberg and Kate Wetherhead.
The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller and sound design by ACME Sound Partners.
The show is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.
Benjamin was nominated for a 2005 Drama Desk award for Best Book of a Musical for Cam Jansen and the Curse of the Emerald Elephant. She wrote lyrics for the musical Sarah, Plain and Tall, produced in 2002 by TheatreworksUSA and re-mounted in 2006 at the Lucille Lortel. She also wrote lyrics for The Mice, which was produced by Harold Prince at The Prince Music Theater and at the Ahmanson (as part of the musical, 3hree).
O'Keefe wrote music and lyrics to Off-Broadway's Bat Boy: The Musical, which won the 2001 Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for Best Off-Broadway Musical and has been produced in Boston, Tokyo, Seoul and the West End, among other places. He co-wrote book, music and lyrics with Nell Benjamin, for Cam Jansen and The Curse Of The Emerald Elephant (Drama Desk nomination for Best Book) and wrote the music for Sarah, Plain and Tall.
Hach is primarily a screenwriter whose credits include "Freaky Friday" starring Lindsay Lohan, "In The Pink," "Cheer Up," "There's a Pop Diva Loose in the Cafeteria," "The Governor's Wife" and "In the Drink."
For tickets for the San Francisco run, call (415) 512-7770 or visit www.shnsf.com.
Tickets for the Broadway run will be on sale through www.ticketmaster.com or at (212) 307-4100. An on-sale date has not been confirmed. For more information visit www.legallyblondethemusical.com.
