So I love Legally Blonde, I love the story it tells and I would love to see the musical. The 2007 musical is based on the 2001 movie.
If you haven’t watched this movie, it is about a bubbly, kind, sorority girl Elle Woods, the president of Delta Nu, who leaves UCLA to go to Harvard to follow the love of her life.
Omigod You Guys – we begin right in the middle of the action, the girls of Delta Nu sing about how Elle and her boyfriend Warner are the best couple; everyone assumes that Warner will be proposing to Elle; the lyrics in this song really play into dumb blonde/sorority girl stereotypes; they all go to find a perfect getting engaged dress; it is at the store where the audience finds out that Elle is very smart when it comes to clothes, knowing that an employee is trying to sell her an old season’s dress for this season’s price
Serious – Elle and Warner are at dinner, Elle is expecting Warner to propose because he says he has something to tell her; Warner believes that Elle knows what he is going to say which shows just how little they actually know about each other; Warner begins to tell Elle that his life is all planned out so he needs to be more serious, and ends up telling her that to do so he needs to break up with her; Warner tells Elle that he needs someone who is more like Jackie Kennedy than Marilyn Monroe
What You Want – the other girls of Delta Nu take magazines to Elle because she has locked herself in her room; Elle sees a picture of Warner’s brother and his wife on a cover of a magazine and she thinks this is what Warner wants; Elle decides she’ll go to law school to meet Warner but she is doubted by everyone around her; her friends help her study for her LSAT and instead of writing a personal letter they all go to perform in front of the Harvard admissions board
The Harvard Variations – Emmett is showing around a group of recent Harvard admissions, they all share what they have done as an undergrad and seem very different from what we have seen of Elle; Elle and the rest of the group head off to class which happens to be with Warner; Elle pretends to be shocked when she sees Warner
Blood in the Water – this song plays on the saying that lawyers are sharks; Elle’s law professor, Mr. Callahan, describes that you can only be the best lawyer if you are willing to put your morals aside to win the case; he picks on Elle to discuss the readings which she did not do, she is thrown out of class on her first day
Positive – Elle finds out that Warner is dating another girl named Vivienne; she imagines her sorority sisters in a Greek choir giving her advice ranging from fighting Vivienne to giving Warner a lap dance; Elle doesn’t want to do that though, instead she said she wants to dye her hair brown so people won’t see her as just a blonde
Ireland – Elle goes to a hair salon to get her hair dyed but the owner, Paulette, doesn’t let her; Elle tells her about Vivienne and Warner; Paulette tells Elle that she shouldn’t change herself for a man
Ireland (reprise) – Vivienne is at the hair salon making plans with another student; she invites Elle and tell her it’s a costume party; Paulette convinces Elle to go
Serious (reprise) – the party turns out not to be a costume party but Elle is dressed as a playboy bunny; she still tries to win over Warner but he does not want to relive his years at UCLA
Chip on My Shoulder – Elle runs into Emmett after leaving the party and they get to learn more about each other; Elle decides that she wants to start studying seriously and Emmett helps her; the song goes through Thanksgiving and Christmas with Elle learning more and more; the song ends at a mock trial in their class, where she wins their case; Elle applied for an internship, her resume on pink perfumed paper showing that she doesn’t need to change who she is; Emmett is proud of how far Elle has come
So Much Better – Warner proposes to Vivienne which upsets Elle until Emmett shows her that she has been picked for the internship; Elle acknowledging that Warner doesn’t want her says that she looks forward to working with him; she celebrates, Elle enjoys that she is being accepted by her classmates now
Whipped Into Shape – the internship is a case defending Brooke, a disk workout instructor and a former Delta Nu; Brooke is being accused of killing her husband but claims she didn’t do it; because she is a former Delta Nu, Elle believes her; Elle gets her alibi promising not to tell anyone else, winning the trust of her client
Take It Like a Man – grateful for all the help Emmett has given her, Elle takes him shopping; Emmett realizes that he would do anything for her and Elle realizes she wouldn’t change him to be more like her even if she wanted to; poor Emmett goes in for a kiss but gets a hug instead
Bend and Snap – the iconic bend and snap; Paulette likes the guy that makes deliveries, Kyle, but doesn’t think he’ll notice her; Elle and the Greek Choir get the whole salon to do the bend and snap with them; Paulette gains confidence and attempts to bend and snap in front of Kyle but ends up injuring him
There! Right There! – Elle is at her internship trial where Brooke is accused of having an affair with the pool boy; Elle bends and snaps, but he shows no reaction so Elle believes that he is gay; the whole courtroom is then wondering whether he is gay or just European; Emmett, trusting Elle, tries to get the pool boy, Nikos, to confess that he is gay; Emmett asks questions quickly and Nikos admits to have a boyfriend which he promptly changes to best friend; Nikos boyfriend, Carlos doesn’t want him to lie anymore so he tells the courtroom that he is gay and European
While they are finishing celebrating this part of the trial, Mr. Callahan asks Elle to stay behind. That is when Elle learns that she was only picked for her looks, and Mr. Callahan kisses her.
Legally Blonde – Elle realizes that she only made it this far because of her looks; she decides to leave it all behind and go back to UCLA even though she enjoys her time at Harvard and will miss Emmett; Elle says she will go back to being the peppy blonde she’s always been, never dreaming too big or reaching too far; Emmett is upset and wants Elle to stay, she became the best part of Harvard and Emmett had fallen in love with her
Legally Blonde (remix) – Elle goes to say goodbye to Paulette, where she runs into Vivienne who tries to convince her to stay; Vivienne admires Elle for not changing who she was; Elle decides to stay but instead of wearing her usual navy blue suits she puts on a bright pink one; Brooke fires Callahan and hires Elle
Find My Way – she wins the trial and Warner later tries to propose, Vivienne having dumped him; Elle is flattered but says no; we flash forward to their graduation ceremony where Elle is the valedictorian; Vivienne is training for the Peace Corps; Warner is in modeling; Callahan’s wife hired Emmett for their divorce; Paulette married Kyle; at the end of Elle’s speech she proposes to Emmett
