My favourite non lyric change was in “chip on my shoulder” on the line “I don’t know what this is” “it’s for hair” “wear a hat”, Emmett now picks up a hot pink rampant rabbit. I CACKLED for the rest of the song.
one change that i don't like is how brooke is a brunette in the show. the importance of brooke being blonde is that the legal team treats her just like they treat elle: they don't trust her nor take her seriously/believe in her. and it's important for elle to have this connection to another blonde woman who's being looked down upon. it seems like that aspect was lost on the people who adapted this new version of the show
I think it still works though. It's not just blonde women who are doubted, it's women in general so I don't think it's an issue to the extent where it messes with the plot
@@cymbelinesgf Yes, I agree. I directed a local teen production in Berkeley, California. Brooke was Asian with black hair. The character was understood. Elle, by the way, was a powerhouse and happened to be a natural blonde.
@@chocolatesouljah of course the point still comes across but brooke being blonde adds a lot to their connection. both paulette and brooke are blondes in the original production and the movie and both get like an instantaneous connection with elle and i don't think that's a coincidence or an oversight. and at that point, no one in the main cast is blonde and again, it's people that take some time to see elle for who she really is (emmett, vivienne, warner, enid, big etc). it's not a deal breaker but it's an important detail in the show
@@cymbelinesgf of course women in general are doubted, but the show makes a point of making other female characters be taken seriously, such as vivienne and enid. they even cut the sideplot in the original movie where vivienne gets treated like the coffee girl in the legal team and gave it to warner instead. and these female characters (as well as the rest of the girls in law school) happen to not be blondes.
I feel like paulette being Orange and Brooke being blue doesn't make so much sense to me. Paulette could a touch of orange and some more colors, but Brooke should really have orange as her color cause well. SHE'S IN PRISON
I wonder if orange isn't as associated with prisoners there as it is in the US? I tried to look it up and it seems like it's not as commonly orange, but I'm not sure what color it IS usually associated with.
10:03 I believe when the show originally came to London, the lyric changes in Ireland were to portray London/UK Tour Paulette as wiser than her Broadway counterpart. In the Broadway version, she has this strange obsession with a country she knows nothing about (except silly stereotypes) whereas the London version has an Irish grandfather who told her real stories directly so she's more grounded. Also UK audiences don't have the same fascination of the Irish as many Americans so it made sense to have it be a part of her heritage as to why she loves the idea of Ireland so much.
I assumed that too when I found out the american lyrics are so different; I think for a uk audiences who are much closer to ireland it would've been strange to keep them the same.
Idk I think considering Britain’s history with Ireland I think the uk version is almost offensive through the implication that the grandfather lied about Irish men being honourable and Paulettes advice being don’t trust an Irish man and Enya is bad. Her fascination with Ireland in the US version and constant inaccuracies means any harmful stereotypes are at her expense for being ignorant and unaware rather than at Irish peoples.
@@dontworryimnotastalker5486 I don't think that is the implication, I think it's more he gave her the idea of Ireland as a romantic fairytale so she trusted someone more who said they were from Ireland than she otherwise would've and he let her down. But despite that she remains optimistic and tells Elle not to give up.
USA stereotypical opinion "everything to do with Ireland is beautiful and perfect". Bit difficult to have that stereotype when many people know people who died in the IRA attacks 😬
I think changing "You lesbians think you're so clever" to feminists is erasing the fact that they are discrimminated against on the basis of their queerness not their political views. If you wanted to make them non-binary say something like "You enbies are so difficult" or something like that and highlight the fact that they are looked down on for being queer. The line comes from a character we're not meant to really like, and I find queerphobia unlikable.
I agree. His original line shows that he thinks that feminists are all lesbians which is a common thing that these out of touch straight men think. We're not supposed to like him.
yeah! it's supposed to be an ad hominem - with aaron, callahan explains how to win the case, whereas with enid, he goes straight into just attacking them personally instead of explaining.
Positive had a lyric change in the U.S. tour that I thought made more sense for a shorter Vivian. "Fighting is not Delta Nu, who knows what the heck she'll do, unless someone knows Kung Fu, who's got a plan B?"
There’s another version that’s shorter Vivienne friendly as Well! It’s “What if she’s a violent nut, she might stab me in the gut, with the stick that’s up her butt, who’s got a plan B?”
Someone posted the audio of act one. At least in that performance, the new Supreme Court justice they reference is Justice Jackson, the first black woman to ever serve on the court. She was confirmed in April but wasn't actually sworn in until the very end of June, so fun fact, she was only actually officially Justice Jackson for the last 3 performances.
A bit disappointing to hear that they removed references to the Enid being a lesbian considering how many nonbinary people are lesbians. Also considering Enid's character was one of the first times I saw a lesbian onscreen and as a lesbian, it's nice to have that rep (even though she is a stereotype). And lesbians are very much part of modern queer society so attempting to "modernize" Enid by not making her a lesbian feels like erasure. Edit: Considering they also removed a Jewish last name, it feels like they're overcorrecting in terms of identity and trying not to offend, and erasing identity isn't the solution they thought it was. When a song like Gay or European still exists in the show, you're fighting a losing battle when it comes to that kind of thing.
If nonbinary people don't identify as female, why would they be lesbians? I am a lesbian myself, and a lesbian is a female attracted to other females. Nonbinary people use they/them pronouns and do not identify as male or female.
I personally think that Elle should be able to be played by a person of any race and that she shouldn’t have to just be played by a black or white actress, but at the same time i think that casting Emmett as a black man made his background story a lot deeper because it’s sadly so common that people of color have to work so much harder to be taken seriously in their work environment
She is very much the stereotype of a white rich girl though. It's Barbie goes to college. She's naive and lives in a bubble of privilege. It makes total sense for the people at Harvard to be multicultural and woke but it sort of makes the story moot if Elle lives in a world of people being different, from the beginning. Her father literally talks about girls all having different noses outside their community.
@@bigred8432 Also I'm pretty sure "Legally Blonde" is a pun on the American practice of writing natural hair colour on their drivers license. Like, the song legally blonde is literally about her *stopping* her legal education, she's going to go back to playing the stereotypical "dumb blonde" getting by on her looks, hence the line "some girls were just meant to smile". But that doesn't work if she's black, since that dumb blonde stereotype is very much only applied to white women. *Edit:* apparently you put whatever colour your hair was when you last renewed your license, so she could actually be legally blonde. But I still think the dumb blonde stereotype just doesn't work when she isn't a skinny white woman from a privileged background
One of the major issues I had was in the song 'Take it Like a Man'. In the slow section, at least when I saw it, it was not sung as rubato as I would have liked it to be (to make it more emotional and sincere). At the end of that song Elle and Emmett don't even hug, which completely ruined his character for me. That moment in the original production changed their status from 'good friends' to 'best friends/potential lovers'. Without that sincere hug, Emmett's sexual advances on Elle felt creepy rather than... whatever they were meant to be. Another issue I had was generally with some choreography. I felt like people started dancing early and unnecessarily, which ruined some moments. For example, 'Blood in the Water' should not have Callaghan dancing - it makes him less intimidating. I felt like the dancing would have actually helped if the students danced while he just sang. It would have made him more 'powerful' and influential. 'So Much Better' had a similar issue where the students started dancing - this song is meant to be about Elle overcoming everyone's expectations of her and rising above everyone else. Why on earth are they dancing and celebrating with her?! (The Delta Nu girls should be the only ones dancing). One final small thing I had a problem with was just the loss of some 'clap' moments from the original. In 'Legally Blonde (Reprise)' Elle stayed on stage, just looking upstage instead of towards the audience, turning around when the climax hit. I felt that it would have been more powerful if she had exited from the top of the stage curtains. This also applies to the bows. Other than that, it was mostly spectacular. I was disappointed at how much I did not like Emmett as much (especially during 'Chip on my Shoulder' and 'Take it Like a Man' - I couldn't feel any romantic love from him towards Elle), but I still very much enjoyed everything.
My thought on the 'mousy brown bob' line change: My guess is that it's supposed to reference back to when Elle is crying at the salon (the first time) and tells Paulette about Warner and Vivian, who has a mousy brown bob. So with the new line change, it would seem that Elle is not only wanting to be brunette, but she is wanting to be like Vivian. Do we still get the point with using 'brunette?' I did when I saw the show back in middle school. I suppose the updated lyric made it 100% specific to a person.
I think this change is a result of having an Elle who is obviously BORN with brown hair, so as not to shame brunettes in general, but more so to differentiate a MOUSY drab version of brown from a typical and otherwise pretty brown.
The part about the US/UK changes in Legally Blonde actually made me pause the video to type this. I was recently in a production of Legally Blonde, and after the show I was talking about it with someone very close. In our production, there was no door in that scene, and my companion had seemed a bit off-put about the scene because she had interpreted it as Elle brushing Emmett aside when he obviously cares so much about her. (Additionally, "Take it Like a Man" was cut from our production, so she was also concerned that their relationship seemed one-sided, with Emmett giving all the support and care and Elle giving none.) So I was trying to explain to her that in the original production there had been a door and Elle can't fully hear him if she can hear him at all, and this just reminded me of that.
I don’t have anything in particular to say about Legally Blonde (though now I know more thanks to you)- just wanted to say that this video was a delight after what has been an emotionally challenging day. Thank you so much.
I thought it was a really weird choice to have Warner be the one to get the perm at the end, given he's not on Elle's side and is very full of himself, why would he want to help her?
The original line is that the summer home is three houses down from Justice Souter. Souter retired from the court in 2009 and he is still living. The current Supreme Court Justices are Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, Brown Jackson (as of June 30). Breyer just retired. I saw a regional US production about three years ago and I believe the line was replaced with Justice Roberts.
I found it interesting that they changed Carlos to be Irish (?) And that instead of "I'm straight!" "You were not yesterday" to "yeah? And I'm Beyonce" I just found it kinda cool, and same with Kyle the UPS guy I really liked that he was this nervous sweetheart rather than just, strictly eye candy making it even more adorable that Paulette is just head over heels for him imo
I think the change to Sundeep (?) in Harvard Variations is to correct his grammar. He goes on to say "I'm here to learn, to make new friends" INSTEAD of originally "But here I learn, I make new friends." I imagine the goal was to make his English less broken, and "because of peasant coup d'etat" is probably less likely to be interpreted as incorrect grammar than "stupid coup d'etat". Could be wrong, just my interpretation.
Definitely agree that they were removing the ‘broken English’ style of his original lyrics. I noticed that his whole verse was subtly altered to achieve this throughout.
I love the original and yet I absolutely loved this version, both can be good! At this point I think you can either choose to keep the original creative choices and ostensibly set the story in the early 2000s, or you can decide the time period is not important for the general story (which I would say it isn't) and then you update it. I thought it worked very well! I also think what's the point of reviving a musical if you're just gonna a carbon copy of the original, especially when the original production has been immortalised in a pro-shot already! But that's just my opinion hehe
We got "Bruiser loves Love Actually" when we saw it :D , the only other change we noticed was in There Right There/Gay or European when Carlos is in court the lyrics have changed from; "I'm straight." "You were not Yesterday" to "I'm straight" "And I'm Beyonce"
The Supreme Court reference was changed to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. She was nominated to the Supreme Court by Pres. Biden in February 2022, and she was officially sworn in at the end of June. She's also worked for years in Washington, D. C. and attended Harvard for law school, so referencing her makes sense for the characters in addition to dropping a name that more people might recognize ☺
Ah so glad you made this video! Another dialogue change I noticed is at the end of Gay or European they change from "I'm straight"/"you were not yesterday" to "I'm straight"/"and I'm Beyoncé". V intrigued by that decision!
My first (perhaps uncharitably) is that it takes away an implication of the characters Having sex. Therefore removing another line explicitly about queerness??? Though I could be wrong here.
@@heartlknj But he IS actually gay. He literally screams it from the rooftops at the end off the song, so there's no real bi erasure. I will mention it in my own comment, but it felt to me like sanitizing the whole relationship as to not to suggest they (pearl clutching) had sex.
My take on that change was maybe that they were worried it would come across as bi erasure to imply that having had sex with a man proves he can’t also be attracted to Brooke!
@@mwmheps the different reaction doesn't eliminate the potential bi erasure though... Both retorts suggest that side a doesn't believe that side b is a heterosexual man, only that now the retort is sanitised and devoid of any sexual context for no apparent reason. And that's a problem. For too many years sex between men has been treated as something that is dirty, shameful and diseased. If anything, there's sex erasure. It's almost laughable how we can argue about a few lyrics, but it just goes to show what power words have...
I wondered about the mousy brown line when I saw it too but after thinking about it more I feel that the reason she doesn’t say she’s going brunette is because that implies that one has never been brunette before and now has to go brunette by dying it for the first time. But a black woman being blonde can only happen if the hair is bleached and dyed or blonde hair is added so she thinks she has to dye her hair (a mousy) brown, instead of going brunette because, especially in Courtney’s case, she is brunette already under the braids so all she can do is change the shade of brown and mousy brown is a boring kind of undesirable shade which is the kind of woman she thinks Warner wants. But who knows really!
I played Enid in a high school production in 2020 before the lockdown happened and they changed that line to “You feminist” but not bc it’s offensive my school is just very queerphobic they told us we’d never do a contemporary musical again bc they thought us (the cast in general not just me and the two guys who played Carlos and Nicos) playing gay characters would make us “sexually confused”
I think that what bugged me the most is actually something that barely changed. The whole song There Right There (Gay or European) felt out-of-place in THIS production. I mean, you go out of your way to update the ENTIRE show, but the song that actually has the most platitudes of gay men is left ALMOST unchanged. Don't get me wrong - I love the song just the way it is, but it felt quite hypocritical that they just decided to keep the song mostly unchanged, with the one really idiotic change of "I'm straight"/"you were not yesterday" to "I'm straight"/"and I'm Beyoncé". What did that serve? what was the problem with the original line? that it suggested that they had sex last night? closeted gays exist. Sexually confused men exist. Liars exist. Also, while I'm at it I would have to say that nowadays the use of the word "straight" is problematic, but that seems just my thing. I think that it was a great attempt of updating a show that isn't really updateable. The humour is 2001 humour and the cosmetic changes to make it sound 2022 failed on most accounts.
I wonder if the "brunette" line is because, at least in the States, I think brunette isn't really used to describe Black women. I think the connotation of brunette is a brown-haired white person. I may be entirely wrong here, but that was a thought.
Enid wore a they/them pronoun badge from their court scenes onwards- kind of an odd choice costuming wise as you could only see it if you were sat on the front row but that kind of confirms the non-binary theory. I think maybe the lesbian references being removed were intended to draw attention to Enid's non-binary identity: although being a lesbian and non-binary are not mutually exclusive the assumption among many people outside of the queer community is that lesbian=woman.
My take is that they changed it for Gen Z who doesn’t understand the betty vs Veronica dynamics that play into blonde vs brunette, so the “mousy” adjective was important to signify that being a brunette was a departure from the hot girl aesthetic that defines Elle.
Thanks for this video! It's interesting to hear about the changes they made. Regarding the changed lines about Vivian in Positive, I wonder if there's another reason beyond the physical size of the actresses, since there's already an alternate version from past West End productions that skips the 'twice my size' part (possibly because the actresses also didn't have the same size differences as Laura Bell and Kate Shindle): "What if she's a violent nut? She might stab me in the gut With the stick that's up her butt Who's got a Plan B?"
When I saw Legally Blonde at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philidephia (US) the Days of Our Lives line was changed to Game of Thrones which I kinda love that a small chihuahua would enjoy that kind of show.
another very minor change which was a visual gag was in 'chip on your shoulder' when warner used to hold up a diffuser and say 'I don't know what this is', he now holds up a pink rabbit (adult toy). It got a great laugh. But Elle still sings 'its for hair' followed by Warner's 'Wear a hat'
For the Supreme Court line - I remember this from having done the show in 2017 - in the original script, it was Justice Souter, who served from 1990 - 2009. We kept it because he is still alive and could conceivably have a retirement home there. I have not seen this new production, but the current Justices are Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagen, Gorsuch, Kavenaugh, Coney Barrett and Jackson. Jackson might have been a good choice as she was confirmed around the time this production was being developed and she is a Black woman.
I think they chose Khloe because while all of them are known for their intense workouts, Khloe is the one who’s like “the fitness Kardashian” even having a show where she’d help people lose weight which is the most related to Richard Simmons
Great video! (I've been excitedly waiting for it haha) Wanted to add, I think a lot of Sundeep's lyric changes were to make his English grammatically better as the original slightly comes off as 'stupid foreigner'... But I don't think changing stupid to peasant does anything to alleviate that issue 😂
Thank you for making this video, it was so interesting to learn about all the new changes! And not only the changes from this production, but also between American and UK productions. I'm American and it makes total sense to me now after reading the comments that the Paulette's dream around Ireland was changed for UK productions. Now I'm curious to know about other changes in musicals between American and UK adaptions.
So, just on the L'Oréal comment, Paulette says "you're worth it" as her slogan - but then says "I'm like L'Oréal for hair". She probably could have stopped at "I'm like L'Oréal." Enid's lyrics in the second section are mostly about fighting Wallstreet and the 1%. Makes sense. Callahan also calls Enid a "dumpy feminist" so I guess it's about their weight as well as politics. I can see why Aaron's character was changed from being Jewish, to be honest - most of his lyrics are about having a shit tonne of money ("how many yachts can one man own?" and it might be seen as a "rich Jew" stereotype.) As for Sundeep, his accent isn't as strong and he doesn't speak in English that is as broken as before. His surname is the same as the last cast recording I heard though. In "Ireland", Dewey took Paulette's savings instead of her trailer. I guess we know what a trailer park is here but I'm not sure if that was so they didn't have to make the scenery as obvious? Plus, you know, sounds more devastating. One change I loved was how much Emmett's vocal varied on some of the simpler songs. I don't know the technical wording for it, but the actor really did some magnificent stuff on "Woods Comma Elle" to show off and I loved it.
Great breakdown as always MickeyJo - always excited to hear your thoughts on these things. I personally am not a fan of changes in shows unless the show is seriously in need of some TLC, and I really don't think Legally Blonde is one of those. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the decisions to be more inclusive are great but lyric changes for the sake of it really get on my nerves. I have massive issues, for example, with just how many changes Addams Family the Musical has gone through, and likewise Be More Chill - the whole reason that show became so successful was because the original recording was so so beloved and they completely took away from that by "upgrading" it. I don't know why people can't just leave well enough alone at times when shows have run on the West End and Broadway for years and remained more or less the exact same.
I think the l'oreal line is funnier than the original. Beauticians talk about cheap shampoo as if you might as well put acid in your hair. A similar type of humor as when Elle reacts with horror to the 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner.
If they'd changed from "but for your hair" to "but good for hair" I think the joke would have landed more universally (but maybe been less funny, since it's more obvious 🤔)
Thanks for explaining that that's the All State tag line! I had to do that bit for an audition and I had no idea how to deliver it haha. I think they should've changed it for a UK audience but agree L'Oreal doesn't make sense haha. It sounds like a really fun take on the show!
The Supreme Court line got outdated pretty quickly -- it had been Justice Souter, who retired in 2009. He was succeeded by Justice Sotomayor, but referencing her would be pretty different, so now I'm curious which one they did replace it with.
Also, yes, "You're in good hands with Allstate" is the slogan for an insurance company. And I agree with you on the change to that line -- that just makes no sense.
the loreal joke may be in reference to loreal owning lots of other cosmetic/hair brands. like a parent company of smaller companies? as a hair stylist, even tho the brand isnt called “loreal”, theyre normally distributed by loreal.
I played Vivienne in high school in 2013 in the US and we changed the Supreme Court line was changed to Justice Sotomayor (Sonia Sotomayor). I don’t know which Justice they changed it to for this UK production, maybe Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson who was recently confirmed?
I'm thorn on making this show, of all shows, this modern and diverse. I feel like legally blonde is about breaking free from society's expectations and conservatism in many forms. Having both Harvard and the sorority this progressive feels a bit weird? I'm not sure about the current state of sororities in the US, but the law degrees in my country remain very conservative and have Enith's original #whitegirlboss feminism at best. I think it could work if they entirally changed the context, making it about the new stereotypes and boxes that we in the queer community have created. Do something with the gay men's animal stereotypes and suburban gays or something, a city twink looking for a house in the suburbs to get his ex back who refused his proposal for an open relationship and broke up because he wants a "serious" partner. Like that's a stupid idea but I'm sure there is something to be reworked there. It could be the kind of reworking that Shakespeare plays got in the 2000s, same plot beats but completely different setting. Anyway, I'd rather have more diverse shows than not have them , but I think they could've done more with it.
I agree - if you're going to show a character breaking free from a conservative, repressive society, you DO have to SHOW that conservative, repressive society at the start, to show what is being broken away from! The entire point of the show is breaking stereotypes, but, that only works if you start off expressing the stereotype to then break it. It's like they're missing the element of the show developing, character arcs, that what they portray at the beginning HAS to be flawed to show us development from it. I'm seeing this logical flaw in quite a few places atm... you gotta allow media to show negative stereotypes so characters can grow out of them!
I think that having a black woman play Elle could have worked if they made Warner's not considering her "serious" to be about wanting her to look and act more "white" and societally conforming. Like he doesn't think that a plus sized black woman with dyed blonde cornrows would be received well as a senators wife. But it seems like the creative team didn't want to discuss race, which is difficult and maybe a bit tone deaf when you're putting on a show allegedly set in 2022 where the main character, who is black, is judged for their appearance.
something I strongly disagree with in this show is them making it more modernized, I feel like it should just be something that's straight out of the 2000's.
But personally, as a “Gen Z”, I don’t think they succeeded in making the costumes modern. I find it difficult to believe that any young person would wear those atrocious costumes. But hey, maybe it’s just the obnoxious pink that makes me feel that way. For me it’s just another musical, that’s set in a modern time, where the costume department fails miserably to imitate modern fashion. It comes out as trying too hard, where it’s pretty evident someone much older designed the costumes (just like in Mean Girls)
I think what they're going for is the kind of outfits I see in Little Mix videos and TV shows like Euphoria, nobody actually wears them in real life but they're quite current 😅
The only ones that I think people would wear in real life are the depressed Elle outfit, the harvard outfit (but maybe less pink), the Paulett normal outfit (but less orange) and some Harvard outfits ass well
The London Production of Bye Bye Birdie made similar "Brunette" changes in the 1960s. In the opening song "an english teacher": "Instead of being music business bum, you were going to NYU...... to become an English Teacher" "to NYU" was changed to "back to school" and the "Phi Beta Kappa" Peterson was changed to "College Professor" Peterson. People surely would have known NYU. Also in "Kids," Harry's "how will we ever beat the russians" was changed to "they ought to lower the draft age to 11"
10:04 “For no discernible reason”? I bet it has much to do with the *vastly* different relationship between the UK’s relationship with Ireland and that of the US 😂
The Broadway lyrics for "Ireland" make me cringe so hard... way to make light of a terribly complicated situation. The London revisions work so much better for one person's perspective! I think overall I'm not sad I missed this production, I don't think I'd have enjoyed it.
they also changed a line in gay or european. instead of "im straight" "u were not yesterday" , carlos' line was changed to "and im beyonce" (dont remember the exact wording but along those lines)
Okay.. I watched the West End version of "Omigod" with the "human dog" I kind of love it because he does a very human "are you fkn srs" look at the crowd. I'm fine with that. Make it entertaining. If it means an actual dog doesn't have to subjected to the stage I'll TAKE IT
“L’Oreal but for hair” is hilarious! I laughed out loud when you said that. The original All-State line made me cringe. The new joke is a shot at L’Oreal being a shitty shampoo lol. Like it’s very recognizable but saying why would anyone use it in their hair. It’s like a joke saying “Yeezy but not ugly as sin” or “Yeezy but you’d actually want to wear them”
Hello! Love your videos. FYI in America L’Oréal is more well known for its cosmetics than hair care. Competes with Maybelline and other drug store (like Boots/Walgreens) products. I actually had to think for a second if they have hair care when you said it. 😬
Yeah I’m from the US and love Legally Blonde. I was excited when I heard the news of there being a Black Elle. Because there are Black women that are passing and Black women that legitimately act like Elle Woods so both options are in the realm of possibility. But when I saw the press photos and subsequent TH-cam clips I was a little disheartened. To me, Legally Blonde is an accidental period piece of the 2000s. It was almost a direct reflection of popular culture at the time. Nothing really needed to be changed except the few changes made to reflect casting. For nostalgia purposes all of the antiquated ways of doing things(paper résumé, watching Brooke’s dvd, etc) should've been left in. I fully understand the want to update old shows, but if you're going to change sooo much you might as well write a completely new musical.
HAHA you released this on the 21st Anniversary of the movies release :) Loved hearing your observations Footage of BEND AND SNAP pissed me off....it is iconic from the movie, no need to change it
One that stood out to me was in Gay or European, where they said ‘I’m straight’ ‘yeh and I’m Beyoncé’ rather than ‘I’m straight’ ‘you were not yesterday’.
Mickey,you’re adorable!Amazingly interesting content,even for a foreigner like myself,who doesn’t know anything about this musical.But,you make the difference.Thank you.Love you from Brazil.
Didn’t Paulette also make a reference to Niall from one direction before singing Ireland? I don’t know if they added that line for this production but it was hilarious
The people dogs is the thing that makes me unable to take this production seriously. Like theres so many great changes happening in this production, there's some weird ones that I can look past and the there's the dogs that I have to give serious side eye...
as a lesbian, i appreciated when they got rid of the 'you lesbians think you're so tough' joke. there are a number of jokes made at enid's expense in the original show, and they always made me feel a bit uncomfortable. i know that some of them are made by unlikeable characters, but i always read it as casual lesbophobia (e.g. like the coach role in hairspray the musical, where the joke is that she's ogling the girls). totally agree, though, that the complete removal of lesbian references was a bit of a loss. enid could have been a nonbinary lesbian!
I kinda feel like that line worked better, because not only did it make Callahan even more of an arsehole than he would be otherwise, but also it hit Enid close to home. Enid is overplaying the tough man hating lesbian stereotype because she's a young lesbian who exists in a conservative society that expects her to be a stereotype. She doesn't think she's tough, she's *acting* tough. But she's not actually comfortable in herself, which is why she can't rind a retort to Callahan's insult. We learn in the "where are they now" portion of find my way/finale that Enid is practicing family law. She's not overcompensating for how people see her anymore, she's just being herself finally.
It's Wednesday. On Wednesdays we wear pink. Sorry, wrong show... The London version of Ireland is different for a very good reason - it doesn't trivialise the torture/maiming practice of kneecapping which the IRA made famous. Aside from that, I find that the London lyrics paint Paulette as more sincere, wistful, and naive. It includes the stereotype of the American who identifies as Irish because of one distant relative, but it does so in a way that isn't mocking but rather explains why she's singing longingly about Ireland in particular. She has this fairytale notion of a place she wants to escape to and feels she belongs; it's sweet because it's so sincere, but it's sad because she obviously knows so little about it and therefore has clearly never got the connection she craves.
I’m gonna play devils advocate for a second so bare with me. Half the reason that Legally Blonde is so popular and successful is because it’s giving the classic dumb blonde barbie girl type a story where she can gebuhlt succeed and be likeable without losing herself and her femininity. Again hear me out first. Part of the reason this story works so well is because you have that picture perfect blonde haired white girl. The whole show is about breaking stereotypes but then they just gave the dumb blinde white girl thing to a black woman. I don’t know personally I’d have done a little more than tweaking with the show. This feels very, giving Tiana Splash Mountain at Disney. There are plenty of stereotypes they could have chosen to break for a black woman. Feels like that might have sent a stronger message if there were wanting to push modern casting and representation. You’re essentially watching a black woman in the social context of being a white woman and I think could be diluting the plot when they could have done so much more with it. Some of it obviously carries like like sexualisation works but surely we could have tried a bit more with the rest of it. Surely there were ways to make that character a black woman beyond surface level. I dunno I could be wrong but it was just something I thought was worth pointing out
Paulette being orange... Did the writers not realize there's connotations with specific colours and the different opinions within the Irish island as a whole, and the RoI Vs NI. Oops.
Paulette is not Irish… she just idolises the idyllic life that Ireland represents due to tales from her grandfather growing up… she is just a person who can wear whatever colour she likes. No oops.
I know, British production, but given the debacle that has been Supreme Court justice selection over the past few years, I'm kinda surprised they kept that in as a flex at all. I guess I'm more plugged into that than most, but it's pretty obvious the far-right Federalist Society has had way more power in influencing the makeup of the court than Harvard educated lawyers, and keeping that line in a modernized production just seems less full-of-herself and more delusions of grandeur. I'd be interested in a production like this, but oof the Supreme Court jokes at all just aren't funny since the past month. Maybe if they kept the flex in and Elle spun that around to get Enid mad at Vivian as opposed to the Gloria Steinem joke. I've noticed a lot less hero worship of second wave feminist icons among Gen Z; the playboy bunny joke is still amusing, but it just doesn't ring as true to how you've described Enid's character.
I think the og bend and snap is copyrighted or something because Arianna Grande had to change it in her music video thank you, next so she wouldn’t get sued also. I don’t know though, since this is the musical by the same name, I’m not sure if that would matter, it’s kind of interesting.
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My favourite non lyric change was in “chip on my shoulder” on the line “I don’t know what this is” “it’s for hair” “wear a hat”, Emmett now picks up a hot pink rampant rabbit. I CACKLED for the rest of the song.
Biggest laugh of the show!
I screamed at this lol
☠️
one change that i don't like is how brooke is a brunette in the show. the importance of brooke being blonde is that the legal team treats her just like they treat elle: they don't trust her nor take her seriously/believe in her. and it's important for elle to have this connection to another blonde woman who's being looked down upon. it seems like that aspect was lost on the people who adapted this new version of the show
I think it still works though. It's not just blonde women who are doubted, it's women in general so I don't think it's an issue to the extent where it messes with the plot
@@cymbelinesgf Yes, I agree. I directed a local teen production in Berkeley, California. Brooke was Asian with black hair. The character was understood. Elle, by the way, was a powerhouse and happened to be a natural blonde.
@@chocolatesouljah of course the point still comes across but brooke being blonde adds a lot to their connection. both paulette and brooke are blondes in the original production and the movie and both get like an instantaneous connection with elle and i don't think that's a coincidence or an oversight. and at that point, no one in the main cast is blonde and again, it's people that take some time to see elle for who she really is (emmett, vivienne, warner, enid, big etc). it's not a deal breaker but it's an important detail in the show
@@cymbelinesgf of course women in general are doubted, but the show makes a point of making other female characters be taken seriously, such as vivienne and enid. they even cut the sideplot in the original movie where vivienne gets treated like the coffee girl in the legal team and gave it to warner instead. and these female characters (as well as the rest of the girls in law school) happen to not be blondes.
@@chocolatesouljah that's so cool !!! I hope they had a great time performing, i'm sure they were great
I feel like paulette being Orange and Brooke being blue doesn't make so much sense to me. Paulette could a touch of orange and some more colors, but Brooke should really have orange as her color cause well. SHE'S IN PRISON
I wonder if orange isn't as associated with prisoners there as it is in the US? I tried to look it up and it seems like it's not as commonly orange, but I'm not sure what color it IS usually associated with.
10:03
I believe when the show originally came to London, the lyric changes in Ireland were to portray London/UK Tour Paulette as wiser than her Broadway counterpart. In the Broadway version, she has this strange obsession with a country she knows nothing about (except silly stereotypes) whereas the London version has an Irish grandfather who told her real stories directly so she's more grounded. Also UK audiences don't have the same fascination of the Irish as many Americans so it made sense to have it be a part of her heritage as to why she loves the idea of Ireland so much.
I assumed that too when I found out the american lyrics are so different; I think for a uk audiences who are much closer to ireland it would've been strange to keep them the same.
Also the whole kneecapping thing.
Idk I think considering Britain’s history with Ireland I think the uk version is almost offensive through the implication that the grandfather lied about Irish men being honourable and Paulettes advice being don’t trust an Irish man and Enya is bad. Her fascination with Ireland in the US version and constant inaccuracies means any harmful stereotypes are at her expense for being ignorant and unaware rather than at Irish peoples.
@@dontworryimnotastalker5486 I don't think that is the implication, I think it's more he gave her the idea of Ireland as a romantic fairytale so she trusted someone more who said they were from Ireland than she otherwise would've and he let her down. But despite that she remains optimistic and tells Elle not to give up.
USA stereotypical opinion "everything to do with Ireland is beautiful and perfect". Bit difficult to have that stereotype when many people know people who died in the IRA attacks 😬
I think changing "You lesbians think you're so clever" to feminists is erasing the fact that they are discrimminated against on the basis of their queerness not their political views. If you wanted to make them non-binary say something like "You enbies are so difficult" or something like that and highlight the fact that they are looked down on for being queer. The line comes from a character we're not meant to really like, and I find queerphobia unlikable.
I agree. His original line shows that he thinks that feminists are all lesbians which is a common thing that these out of touch straight men think. We're not supposed to like him.
Yes, beautifully put!
Now that you bring it up ‘you pronoun havers’ could be funny
Yeah, we shouldn't really be too worried about the villain of the show being a villain.
yeah! it's supposed to be an ad hominem - with aaron, callahan explains how to win the case, whereas with enid, he goes straight into just attacking them personally instead of explaining.
Positive had a lyric change in the U.S. tour that I thought made more sense for a shorter Vivian. "Fighting is not Delta Nu, who knows what the heck she'll do, unless someone knows Kung Fu, who's got a plan B?"
There’s another version that’s shorter Vivienne friendly as Well! It’s “What if she’s a violent nut, she might stab me in the gut, with the stick that’s up her butt, who’s got a plan B?”
Me!
Someone posted the audio of act one. At least in that performance, the new Supreme Court justice they reference is Justice Jackson, the first black woman to ever serve on the court. She was confirmed in April but wasn't actually sworn in until the very end of June, so fun fact, she was only actually officially Justice Jackson for the last 3 performances.
I thought perhaps this was what it was, thank you for your sleuthing!
A bit disappointing to hear that they removed references to the Enid being a lesbian considering how many nonbinary people are lesbians. Also considering Enid's character was one of the first times I saw a lesbian onscreen and as a lesbian, it's nice to have that rep (even though she is a stereotype). And lesbians are very much part of modern queer society so attempting to "modernize" Enid by not making her a lesbian feels like erasure.
Edit: Considering they also removed a Jewish last name, it feels like they're overcorrecting in terms of identity and trying not to offend, and erasing identity isn't the solution they thought it was. When a song like Gay or European still exists in the show, you're fighting a losing battle when it comes to that kind of thing.
Maybe they were taking lead by how person playing Enid identities and future version could change depending on this?
@@Emmaschrod then why would they explicitly make Enid nonbinary?
If nonbinary people don't identify as female, why would they be lesbians? I am a lesbian myself, and a lesbian is a female attracted to other females. Nonbinary people use they/them pronouns and do not identify as male or female.
@@FandubWorld Read Stone Butch Blues. Lesbians' relationship to womanhood is very complicated and many lesbians choose not to ID as women.
Omg I’ve been waiting for this video ever since he reviewed the revival!!!
please tell me they changed emmett’s line of “i haven’t slept since 1992” because that gets more ironic as the years go on😭
It's now "I haven't slept since 2012" hahaha
we did it at school this year and it was still 1992
I personally think that Elle should be able to be played by a person of any race and that she shouldn’t have to just be played by a black or white actress, but at the same time i think that casting Emmett as a black man made his background story a lot deeper because it’s sadly so common that people of color have to work so much harder to be taken seriously in their work environment
Emmett as black makes my heart sing
She is very much the stereotype of a white rich girl though. It's Barbie goes to college. She's naive and lives in a bubble of privilege. It makes total sense for the people at Harvard to be multicultural and woke but it sort of makes the story moot if Elle lives in a world of people being different, from the beginning. Her father literally talks about girls all having different noses outside their community.
@@bigred8432
Also I'm pretty sure "Legally Blonde" is a pun on the American practice of writing natural hair colour on their drivers license. Like, the song legally blonde is literally about her *stopping* her legal education, she's going to go back to playing the stereotypical "dumb blonde" getting by on her looks, hence the line "some girls were just meant to smile". But that doesn't work if she's black, since that dumb blonde stereotype is very much only applied to white women.
*Edit:* apparently you put whatever colour your hair was when you last renewed your license, so she could actually be legally blonde. But I still think the dumb blonde stereotype just doesn't work when she isn't a skinny white woman from a privileged background
@@Ellie-rx3jt It's a pun on Legally Blind
I love how your videos are like gossiping with a friend about shows I may never see
One of the major issues I had was in the song 'Take it Like a Man'. In the slow section, at least when I saw it, it was not sung as rubato as I would have liked it to be (to make it more emotional and sincere). At the end of that song Elle and Emmett don't even hug, which completely ruined his character for me. That moment in the original production changed their status from 'good friends' to 'best friends/potential lovers'. Without that sincere hug, Emmett's sexual advances on Elle felt creepy rather than... whatever they were meant to be.
Another issue I had was generally with some choreography. I felt like people started dancing early and unnecessarily, which ruined some moments. For example, 'Blood in the Water' should not have Callaghan dancing - it makes him less intimidating. I felt like the dancing would have actually helped if the students danced while he just sang. It would have made him more 'powerful' and influential. 'So Much Better' had a similar issue where the students started dancing - this song is meant to be about Elle overcoming everyone's expectations of her and rising above everyone else. Why on earth are they dancing and celebrating with her?! (The Delta Nu girls should be the only ones dancing).
One final small thing I had a problem with was just the loss of some 'clap' moments from the original. In 'Legally Blonde (Reprise)' Elle stayed on stage, just looking upstage instead of towards the audience, turning around when the climax hit. I felt that it would have been more powerful if she had exited from the top of the stage curtains. This also applies to the bows.
Other than that, it was mostly spectacular. I was disappointed at how much I did not like Emmett as much (especially during 'Chip on my Shoulder' and 'Take it Like a Man' - I couldn't feel any romantic love from him towards Elle), but I still very much enjoyed everything.
My thought on the 'mousy brown bob' line change: My guess is that it's supposed to reference back to when Elle is crying at the salon (the first time) and tells Paulette about Warner and Vivian, who has a mousy brown bob. So with the new line change, it would seem that Elle is not only wanting to be brunette, but she is wanting to be like Vivian. Do we still get the point with using 'brunette?' I did when I saw the show back in middle school. I suppose the updated lyric made it 100% specific to a person.
I think this change is a result of having an Elle who is obviously BORN with brown hair, so as not to shame brunettes in general, but more so to differentiate a MOUSY drab version of brown from a typical and otherwise pretty brown.
The part about the US/UK changes in Legally Blonde actually made me pause the video to type this. I was recently in a production of Legally Blonde, and after the show I was talking about it with someone very close. In our production, there was no door in that scene, and my companion had seemed a bit off-put about the scene because she had interpreted it as Elle brushing Emmett aside when he obviously cares so much about her. (Additionally, "Take it Like a Man" was cut from our production, so she was also concerned that their relationship seemed one-sided, with Emmett giving all the support and care and Elle giving none.) So I was trying to explain to her that in the original production there had been a door and Elle can't fully hear him if she can hear him at all, and this just reminded me of that.
I loved the UPS man’s delivery of ‘do me a favour, have yourself a super day’ in this production was so sweet 🥰
I don’t have anything in particular to say about Legally Blonde (though now I know more thanks to you)- just wanted to say that this video was a delight after what has been an emotionally challenging day. Thank you so much.
I thought it was a really weird choice to have Warner be the one to get the perm at the end, given he's not on Elle's side and is very full of himself, why would he want to help her?
Literally
Isn't he on her side and planning to propose to her by that point??
@@MissSun23 Only after she's won the case
The original line is that the summer home is three houses down from Justice Souter. Souter retired from the court in 2009 and he is still living.
The current Supreme Court Justices are Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, Brown Jackson (as of June 30). Breyer just retired.
I saw a regional US production about three years ago and I believe the line was replaced with Justice Roberts.
I found it interesting that they changed Carlos to be Irish (?) And that instead of "I'm straight!" "You were not yesterday" to "yeah? And I'm Beyonce" I just found it kinda cool, and same with Kyle the UPS guy I really liked that he was this nervous sweetheart rather than just, strictly eye candy making it even more adorable that Paulette is just head over heels for him imo
I think the change to Sundeep (?) in Harvard Variations is to correct his grammar. He goes on to say "I'm here to learn, to make new friends" INSTEAD of originally "But here I learn, I make new friends." I imagine the goal was to make his English less broken, and "because of peasant coup d'etat" is probably less likely to be interpreted as incorrect grammar than "stupid coup d'etat". Could be wrong, just my interpretation.
You've sold me on this and I'm buying it.
Definitely agree that they were removing the ‘broken English’ style of his original lyrics. I noticed that his whole verse was subtly altered to achieve this throughout.
The 2007 original is pretty hard to beat in my opinion. I certainly wouldn’t want to see half of these changes that were made
I love the original and yet I absolutely loved this version, both can be good! At this point I think you can either choose to keep the original creative choices and ostensibly set the story in the early 2000s, or you can decide the time period is not important for the general story (which I would say it isn't) and then you update it. I thought it worked very well! I also think what's the point of reviving a musical if you're just gonna a carbon copy of the original, especially when the original production has been immortalised in a pro-shot already! But that's just my opinion hehe
We got "Bruiser loves Love Actually" when we saw it :D , the only other change we noticed was in There Right There/Gay or European when Carlos is in court the lyrics have changed from;
"I'm straight."
"You were not Yesterday"
to
"I'm straight"
"And I'm Beyonce"
H E L P the “You were not yesterday” one actually worked as it talks about being caught.
The Supreme Court reference was changed to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. She was nominated to the Supreme Court by Pres. Biden in February 2022, and she was officially sworn in at the end of June. She's also worked for years in Washington, D. C. and attended Harvard for law school, so referencing her makes sense for the characters in addition to dropping a name that more people might recognize ☺
Ah so glad you made this video! Another dialogue change I noticed is at the end of Gay or European they change from "I'm straight"/"you were not yesterday" to "I'm straight"/"and I'm Beyoncé". V intrigued by that decision!
My first (perhaps uncharitably) is that it takes away an implication of the characters Having sex. Therefore removing another line explicitly about queerness??? Though I could be wrong here.
My thought is it's to remove the 2000s-typical bi erasure
@@heartlknj But he IS actually gay. He literally screams it from the rooftops at the end off the song, so there's no real bi erasure. I will mention it in my own comment, but it felt to me like sanitizing the whole relationship as to not to suggest they (pearl clutching) had sex.
My take on that change was maybe that they were worried it would come across as bi erasure to imply that having had sex with a man proves he can’t also be attracted to Brooke!
@@mwmheps the different reaction doesn't eliminate the potential bi erasure though... Both retorts suggest that side a doesn't believe that side b is a heterosexual man, only that now the retort is sanitised and devoid of any sexual context for no apparent reason. And that's a problem. For too many years sex between men has been treated as something that is dirty, shameful and diseased. If anything, there's sex erasure.
It's almost laughable how we can argue about a few lyrics, but it just goes to show what power words have...
I wondered about the mousy brown line when I saw it too but after thinking about it more I feel that the reason she doesn’t say she’s going brunette is because that implies that one has never been brunette before and now has to go brunette by dying it for the first time. But a black woman being blonde can only happen if the hair is bleached and dyed or blonde hair is added so she thinks she has to dye her hair (a mousy) brown, instead of going brunette because, especially in Courtney’s case, she is brunette already under the braids so all she can do is change the shade of brown and mousy brown is a boring kind of undesirable shade which is the kind of woman she thinks Warner wants.
But who knows really!
I agree with you, this makes a lot of sense!!
@@zoellz Thanks!
Sorry to be that person but black women can be naturally blonde! It's not super common but it has occurred many times.
@@unclewiley1986 Woah that’s cool! I’ll do some research about that. Thanks for letting me know
@@missraredoesstuff I'd recommend looking into the Melanesian people! They are the largest community of naturally blonde black men and women!
I played Enid in a high school production in 2020 before the lockdown happened and they changed that line to “You feminist” but not bc it’s offensive my school is just very queerphobic they told us we’d never do a contemporary musical again bc they thought us (the cast in general not just me and the two guys who played Carlos and Nicos) playing gay characters would make us “sexually confused”
I think that what bugged me the most is actually something that barely changed. The whole song There Right There (Gay or European) felt out-of-place in THIS production. I mean, you go out of your way to update the ENTIRE show, but the song that actually has the most platitudes of gay men is left ALMOST unchanged. Don't get me wrong - I love the song just the way it is, but it felt quite hypocritical that they just decided to keep the song mostly unchanged, with the one really idiotic change of "I'm straight"/"you were not yesterday" to "I'm straight"/"and I'm Beyoncé". What did that serve? what was the problem with the original line? that it suggested that they had sex last night? closeted gays exist. Sexually confused men exist. Liars exist. Also, while I'm at it I would have to say that nowadays the use of the word "straight" is problematic, but that seems just my thing.
I think that it was a great attempt of updating a show that isn't really updateable. The humour is 2001 humour and the cosmetic changes to make it sound 2022 failed on most accounts.
to be completely cynical it could be because you "dont need" to worry about offending men
I wonder if the "brunette" line is because, at least in the States, I think brunette isn't really used to describe Black women. I think the connotation of brunette is a brown-haired white person. I may be entirely wrong here, but that was a thought.
Enid wore a they/them pronoun badge from their court scenes onwards- kind of an odd choice costuming wise as you could only see it if you were sat on the front row but that kind of confirms the non-binary theory. I think maybe the lesbian references being removed were intended to draw attention to Enid's non-binary identity: although being a lesbian and non-binary are not mutually exclusive the assumption among many people outside of the queer community is that lesbian=woman.
My take is that they changed it for Gen Z who doesn’t understand the betty vs Veronica dynamics that play into blonde vs brunette, so the “mousy” adjective was important to signify that being a brunette was a departure from the hot girl aesthetic that defines Elle.
i mean except as someone in gen z we had both a popular archie rebot comics run and riverdale since 2015
Thank you for keeping us all in the loop!
Thanks for this video! It's interesting to hear about the changes they made.
Regarding the changed lines about Vivian in Positive, I wonder if there's another reason beyond the physical size of the actresses, since there's already an alternate version from past West End productions that skips the 'twice my size' part (possibly because the actresses also didn't have the same size differences as Laura Bell and Kate Shindle):
"What if she's a violent nut?
She might stab me in the gut
With the stick that's up her butt
Who's got a Plan B?"
That's the version our community theater production used.
also the “sisterhood” line might tie not just with female compatriots, but also black sisterhood
When I saw Legally Blonde at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philidephia (US) the Days of Our Lives line was changed to Game of Thrones which I kinda love that a small chihuahua would enjoy that kind of show.
I love how far in you got before you remembered to say the dogs are played by people 😂 this was really interesting.
another very minor change which was a visual gag was in 'chip on your shoulder' when warner used to hold up a diffuser and say 'I don't know what this is', he now holds up a pink rabbit (adult toy). It got a great laugh. But Elle still sings 'its for hair' followed by Warner's 'Wear a hat'
I thought it was emmet
@@bestnameeverf sorry yes emmet!
For the Supreme Court line - I remember this from having done the show in 2017 - in the original script, it was Justice Souter, who served from 1990 - 2009. We kept it because he is still alive and could conceivably have a retirement home there.
I have not seen this new production, but the current Justices are Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagen, Gorsuch, Kavenaugh, Coney Barrett and Jackson. Jackson might have been a good choice as she was confirmed around the time this production was being developed and she is a Black woman.
love your amazing detailed-insightful takes on everything stagy-Love it! Glad I found your channel!
I think they chose Khloe because while all of them are known for their intense workouts, Khloe is the one who’s like “the fitness Kardashian” even having a show where she’d help people lose weight which is the most related to Richard Simmons
Great video! (I've been excitedly waiting for it haha) Wanted to add, I think a lot of Sundeep's lyric changes were to make his English grammatically better as the original slightly comes off as 'stupid foreigner'... But I don't think changing stupid to peasant does anything to alleviate that issue 😂
Thank you for making this video, it was so interesting to learn about all the new changes! And not only the changes from this production, but also between American and UK productions. I'm American and it makes total sense to me now after reading the comments that the Paulette's dream around Ireland was changed for UK productions. Now I'm curious to know about other changes in musicals between American and UK adaptions.
YESS I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO!! It was the reason I subscribed so I didn’t miss this one thank you ☺️
So, just on the L'Oréal comment, Paulette says "you're worth it" as her slogan - but then says "I'm like L'Oréal for hair". She probably could have stopped at "I'm like L'Oréal."
Enid's lyrics in the second section are mostly about fighting Wallstreet and the 1%. Makes sense.
Callahan also calls Enid a "dumpy feminist" so I guess it's about their weight as well as politics.
I can see why Aaron's character was changed from being Jewish, to be honest - most of his lyrics are about having a shit tonne of money ("how many yachts can one man own?" and it might be seen as a "rich Jew" stereotype.)
As for Sundeep, his accent isn't as strong and he doesn't speak in English that is as broken as before. His surname is the same as the last cast recording I heard though.
In "Ireland", Dewey took Paulette's savings instead of her trailer. I guess we know what a trailer park is here but I'm not sure if that was so they didn't have to make the scenery as obvious? Plus, you know, sounds more devastating.
One change I loved was how much Emmett's vocal varied on some of the simpler songs. I don't know the technical wording for it, but the actor really did some magnificent stuff on "Woods Comma Elle" to show off and I loved it.
I've been waiting for this!
Great breakdown as always MickeyJo - always excited to hear your thoughts on these things. I personally am not a fan of changes in shows unless the show is seriously in need of some TLC, and I really don't think Legally Blonde is one of those. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the decisions to be more inclusive are great but lyric changes for the sake of it really get on my nerves. I have massive issues, for example, with just how many changes Addams Family the Musical has gone through, and likewise Be More Chill - the whole reason that show became so successful was because the original recording was so so beloved and they completely took away from that by "upgrading" it. I don't know why people can't just leave well enough alone at times when shows have run on the West End and Broadway for years and remained more or less the exact same.
I think the l'oreal line is funnier than the original. Beauticians talk about cheap shampoo as if you might as well put acid in your hair. A similar type of humor as when Elle reacts with horror to the 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner.
If they'd changed from "but for your hair" to "but good for hair" I think the joke would have landed more universally (but maybe been less funny, since it's more obvious 🤔)
Been waiting for this one!!!
Thanks for explaining that that's the All State tag line! I had to do that bit for an audition and I had no idea how to deliver it haha. I think they should've changed it for a UK audience but agree L'Oreal doesn't make sense haha. It sounds like a really fun take on the show!
You didn’t think to do your job and find out what it meant? You clearly own either a smart phone or a computer…
@@bigred8432 excuse me? Why are you being rude?
@@HelenRosemarySmith I'm not. I am merely telling you something a teacher or director should have. Do better
@@bigred8432 And you're now continuing to be rude to a random stranger.
@@HelenRosemarySmith That is not rude in the least
The Supreme Court line got outdated pretty quickly -- it had been Justice Souter, who retired in 2009. He was succeeded by Justice Sotomayor, but referencing her would be pretty different, so now I'm curious which one they did replace it with.
Also, yes, "You're in good hands with Allstate" is the slogan for an insurance company. And I agree with you on the change to that line -- that just makes no sense.
I'm pretty sure when I saw it it was Justice Brown Jackson - it was quick to miss but got a cheer!
the loreal joke may be in reference to loreal owning lots of other cosmetic/hair brands. like a parent company of smaller companies? as a hair stylist, even tho the brand isnt called “loreal”, theyre normally distributed by loreal.
I think it might be a joke as in L’Oréal shampoos are not good. Like my salon is REALLY for hair
I played Vivienne in high school in 2013 in the US and we changed the Supreme Court line was changed to Justice Sotomayor (Sonia Sotomayor). I don’t know which Justice they changed it to for this UK production, maybe Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson who was recently confirmed?
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this video.
thank you for this, i find all these changes so interesting!
I'm thorn on making this show, of all shows, this modern and diverse. I feel like legally blonde is about breaking free from society's expectations and conservatism in many forms. Having both Harvard and the sorority this progressive feels a bit weird? I'm not sure about the current state of sororities in the US, but the law degrees in my country remain very conservative and have Enith's original #whitegirlboss feminism at best. I think it could work if they entirally changed the context, making it about the new stereotypes and boxes that we in the queer community have created. Do something with the gay men's animal stereotypes and suburban gays or something, a city twink looking for a house in the suburbs to get his ex back who refused his proposal for an open relationship and broke up because he wants a "serious" partner. Like that's a stupid idea but I'm sure there is something to be reworked there. It could be the kind of reworking that Shakespeare plays got in the 2000s, same plot beats but completely different setting. Anyway, I'd rather have more diverse shows than not have them , but I think they could've done more with it.
I agree - if you're going to show a character breaking free from a conservative, repressive society, you DO have to SHOW that conservative, repressive society at the start, to show what is being broken away from! The entire point of the show is breaking stereotypes, but, that only works if you start off expressing the stereotype to then break it. It's like they're missing the element of the show developing, character arcs, that what they portray at the beginning HAS to be flawed to show us development from it. I'm seeing this logical flaw in quite a few places atm... you gotta allow media to show negative stereotypes so characters can grow out of them!
A hundred times this. They have completely undermined the shows actual message
I think that having a black woman play Elle could have worked if they made Warner's not considering her "serious" to be about wanting her to look and act more "white" and societally conforming. Like he doesn't think that a plus sized black woman with dyed blonde cornrows would be received well as a senators wife. But it seems like the creative team didn't want to discuss race, which is difficult and maybe a bit tone deaf when you're putting on a show allegedly set in 2022 where the main character, who is black, is judged for their appearance.
something I strongly disagree with in this show is them making it more modernized, I feel like it should just be something that's straight out of the 2000's.
We had Bruiser loves Ru Paul’s Drag Race - auditions it was Bruiser loves Glee
But personally, as a “Gen Z”, I don’t think they succeeded in making the costumes modern. I find it difficult to believe that any young person would wear those atrocious costumes. But hey, maybe it’s just the obnoxious pink that makes me feel that way. For me it’s just another musical, that’s set in a modern time, where the costume department fails miserably to imitate modern fashion. It comes out as trying too hard, where it’s pretty evident someone much older designed the costumes (just like in Mean Girls)
I think what they're going for is the kind of outfits I see in Little Mix videos and TV shows like Euphoria, nobody actually wears them in real life but they're quite current 😅
Wait, was I the only person who kinda really like the costumes.....?????
it's literally camp
The only ones that I think people would wear in real life are the depressed Elle outfit, the harvard outfit (but maybe less pink), the Paulett normal outfit (but less orange) and some Harvard outfits ass well
@@andresmaldonado8935
The movie has more realistic and nice outfits
The London Production of Bye Bye Birdie made similar "Brunette" changes in the 1960s. In the opening song "an english teacher":
"Instead of being music business bum, you were going to NYU...... to become an English Teacher" "to NYU" was changed to "back to school" and the "Phi Beta Kappa" Peterson was changed to "College Professor" Peterson. People surely would have known NYU. Also in "Kids," Harry's "how will we ever beat the russians" was changed to "they ought to lower the draft age to 11"
10:04 “For no discernible reason”? I bet it has much to do with the *vastly* different relationship between the UK’s relationship with Ireland and that of the US 😂
The Broadway lyrics for "Ireland" make me cringe so hard... way to make light of a terribly complicated situation. The London revisions work so much better for one person's perspective! I think overall I'm not sad I missed this production, I don't think I'd have enjoyed it.
Love your thoughts, insight. And videos. FYI- L'Oreal has a complete men's and women's line of skin care in the US. Not just for hair
Unrelated to the specific video, how great is it that you have so many subscribers!? Congratulations on your success
"It's not a slut drop it's a plie!" We love you Aeron!!
they also changed a line in gay or european.
instead of "im straight" "u were not yesterday" , carlos' line was changed to "and im beyonce" (dont remember the exact wording but along those lines)
wish all musicals on stage long run for the cast and people who production them,
Okay.. I watched the West End version of "Omigod" with the "human dog"
I kind of love it because he does a very human "are you fkn srs" look at the crowd. I'm fine with that. Make it entertaining. If it means an actual dog doesn't have to subjected to the stage I'll TAKE IT
The bend and snap change was the same change when we did Legally Blonde in high school
“L’Oreal but for hair” is hilarious! I laughed out loud when you said that. The original All-State line made me cringe. The new joke is a shot at L’Oreal being a shitty shampoo lol. Like it’s very recognizable but saying why would anyone use it in their hair. It’s like a joke saying “Yeezy but not ugly as sin” or “Yeezy but you’d actually want to wear them”
Hello! Love your videos. FYI in America L’Oréal is more well known for its cosmetics than hair care. Competes with Maybelline and other drug store (like Boots/Walgreens) products. I actually had to think for a second if they have hair care when you said it. 😬
it was bruiser loves love island when I went, which was actually the opening night!
Yeah I’m from the US and love Legally Blonde. I was excited when I heard the news of there being a Black Elle. Because there are Black women that are passing and Black women that legitimately act like Elle Woods so both options are in the realm of possibility. But when I saw the press photos and subsequent TH-cam clips I was a little disheartened. To me, Legally Blonde is an accidental period piece of the 2000s. It was almost a direct reflection of popular culture at the time. Nothing really needed to be changed except the few changes made to reflect casting. For nostalgia purposes all of the antiquated ways of doing things(paper résumé, watching Brooke’s dvd, etc) should've been left in. I fully understand the want to update old shows, but if you're going to change sooo much you might as well write a completely new musical.
HAHA you released this on the 21st Anniversary of the movies release :)
Loved hearing your observations
Footage of BEND AND SNAP pissed me off....it is iconic from the movie, no need to change it
Can you do a video on what’s happening at Paradise Square?! Seems like no one is talking about it.
yes it was timothee chalamet who elle talked out of buying a hideous sweater :)
One that stood out to me was in Gay or European, where they said ‘I’m straight’ ‘yeh and I’m Beyoncé’ rather than ‘I’m straight’ ‘you were not yesterday’.
Mickey,you’re adorable!Amazingly interesting content,even for a foreigner like myself,who doesn’t know anything about this musical.But,you make the difference.Thank you.Love you from Brazil.
I find the human dogs absolutely horrifying.
Didn’t Paulette also make a reference to Niall from one direction before singing Ireland? I don’t know if they added that line for this production but it was hilarious
Yes that does ring a bell! As she's dreaming of an irish man
The people dogs is the thing that makes me unable to take this production seriously.
Like theres so many great changes happening in this production, there's some weird ones that I can look past and the there's the dogs that I have to give serious side eye...
Ohh I thought the line was “time for me to go for net” hahaha
as a lesbian, i appreciated when they got rid of the 'you lesbians think you're so tough' joke. there are a number of jokes made at enid's expense in the original show, and they always made me feel a bit uncomfortable. i know that some of them are made by unlikeable characters, but i always read it as casual lesbophobia (e.g. like the coach role in hairspray the musical, where the joke is that she's ogling the girls). totally agree, though, that the complete removal of lesbian references was a bit of a loss. enid could have been a nonbinary lesbian!
I kinda feel like that line worked better, because not only did it make Callahan even more of an arsehole than he would be otherwise, but also it hit Enid close to home. Enid is overplaying the tough man hating lesbian stereotype because she's a young lesbian who exists in a conservative society that expects her to be a stereotype. She doesn't think she's tough, she's *acting* tough. But she's not actually comfortable in herself, which is why she can't rind a retort to Callahan's insult. We learn in the "where are they now" portion of find my way/finale that Enid is practicing family law. She's not overcompensating for how people see her anymore, she's just being herself finally.
I wish that it would return in 2023!
"go dye my hair a mousey brown" was a slay I cant lie
YES MICKEY JO. How about that awareness of AAVE with more finesse than most white Americans
It's Wednesday. On Wednesdays we wear pink.
Sorry, wrong show...
The London version of Ireland is different for a very good reason - it doesn't trivialise the torture/maiming practice of kneecapping which the IRA made famous.
Aside from that, I find that the London lyrics paint Paulette as more sincere, wistful, and naive. It includes the stereotype of the American who identifies as Irish because of one distant relative, but it does so in a way that isn't mocking but rather explains why she's singing longingly about Ireland in particular. She has this fairytale notion of a place she wants to escape to and feels she belongs; it's sweet because it's so sincere, but it's sad because she obviously knows so little about it and therefore has clearly never got the connection she craves.
“I could tell, because I hated it” hilarious. Maybe it was Khloe Kardashian cuz it’s a rich neighborhood but also kinda sad? Like Richard Simmons
“I can tell because I hate it” 🤣🤣🤣
It sounds like it was a mess of a production and I’m glad I didn’t waste my money seeing it.
Love love love the channel, will you be doing a 25K subscriber Q&A video?
The beep sound effects could be lowered just a notch for those of us that value our eardrums. ;)
I’m gonna play devils advocate for a second so bare with me. Half the reason that Legally Blonde is so popular and successful is because it’s giving the classic dumb blonde barbie girl type a story where she can gebuhlt succeed and be likeable without losing herself and her femininity. Again hear me out first. Part of the reason this story works so well is because you have that picture perfect blonde haired white girl. The whole show is about breaking stereotypes but then they just gave the dumb blinde white girl thing to a black woman. I don’t know personally I’d have done a little more than tweaking with the show. This feels very, giving Tiana Splash Mountain at Disney. There are plenty of stereotypes they could have chosen to break for a black woman. Feels like that might have sent a stronger message if there were wanting to push modern casting and representation. You’re essentially watching a black woman in the social context of being a white woman and I think could be diluting the plot when they could have done so much more with it. Some of it obviously carries like like sexualisation works but surely we could have tried a bit more with the rest of it. Surely there were ways to make that character a black woman beyond surface level. I dunno I could be wrong but it was just something I thought was worth pointing out
Paulette being orange... Did the writers not realize there's connotations with specific colours and the different opinions within the Irish island as a whole, and the RoI Vs NI. Oops.
Paulette is not Irish… she just idolises the idyllic life that Ireland represents due to tales from her grandfather growing up… she is just a person who can wear whatever colour she likes. No oops.
OMG KING SLAY
I know, British production, but given the debacle that has been Supreme Court justice selection over the past few years, I'm kinda surprised they kept that in as a flex at all. I guess I'm more plugged into that than most, but it's pretty obvious the far-right Federalist Society has had way more power in influencing the makeup of the court than Harvard educated lawyers, and keeping that line in a modernized production just seems less full-of-herself and more delusions of grandeur.
I'd be interested in a production like this, but oof the Supreme Court jokes at all just aren't funny since the past month. Maybe if they kept the flex in and Elle spun that around to get Enid mad at Vivian as opposed to the Gloria Steinem joke. I've noticed a lot less hero worship of second wave feminist icons among Gen Z; the playboy bunny joke is still amusing, but it just doesn't ring as true to how you've described Enid's character.
Love the bi inclusion!!! So happy to see us in musicals mentioned at least!!
I think the og bend and snap is copyrighted or something because Arianna Grande had to change it in her music video thank you, next so she wouldn’t get sued also. I don’t know though, since this is the musical by the same name, I’m not sure if that would matter, it’s kind of interesting.
I think I could survive everything except for the people dogs
Mousy brown may have been used since anyone who has seen Courtney in Six has seen her as a brunette, but a powerful brunette color not mousy brown
"The costumes are very Gen Z, I can tell because I hate them" hahahahahaha
Don’t shade us like that 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣
Mickey, you can't just say "nervous Kyle the UPS guy" and not explain further!!