Legally Blonde: The Musical

Legally Blonde
Original Broadway production
Music	Nell Benjamin Laurence O'Keefe
Lyrics	Nell Benjamin Laurence O'Keefe
Book	Heather Hach
Basis	2001 film Legally Blonde and 2001 novel by Amanda Brown
Premiere	January 23, 2007: Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco
Productions	2007 San Francisco tryout 2007 Broadway 2008 US Tour 2009 West End 2011 UK Tour Various International/Regional Productions and Tours
Awards	Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical

Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner. She discovers how her knowledge of the law can help others, and successfully defends exercise queen Brooke Wyndham in a murder trial. Throughout the show, no one has faith in Elle Woods, but she manages to surprise them when she defies expectations while staying true to herself.

Legally Blonde premiered in pre-Broadway tryouts in San Francisco, California. In April 2007 the show moved to Broadway, opening to mostly positive reviews and grossed more than $1,000,000 a week on several occasions. Jerry Mitchell directed and choreographed. The original cast starred Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, Christian Borle as Emmett and Richard H. Blake as Warner. It received seven Tony nominations and ten Drama Desk nominations but did not win any. The West End production opened in January 2010 at the Savoy Theatre. The West End production was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards and won three, including the Best New Musical award.