History Theatre / LegallyBlonde

->''Love! I'm doing this for love! And love will see me through!''
->''Yes, with love on my side I can't lose!''
->''And Harvard can't refuse''
->''A love so pure and true!''
->''Don't lawyers feel love too?''

-->'''Warner:''' ''That's why I think you and I... should break up!''\\

-->'''Emmett:''' ''Elle you should know...''\\

-->'''Delta Nu Chorus:''' ''Oh my god, omigod you g--''\\

You've got to stop! You're bein'\\

---> '''Elle:''' "It may be ''perfect'' for a blonde... but I'm not ''that'' blonde."

--> '''Callahan:''' "You know if you're wrong, we look desperate and ''homophobic''!"

* HaHaHaNo: Inverted.
-->'''Serena:''' Paulette, do you know why cheerleaders always get the guy and ''keep'' the guy?\\
'''Paulette:''' Because you jump around and show your panties?\\
'''Serena:''' [=HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA=]--''YES''! But also because we command and demand attention.

---> '''Warner:''' I'm going to Harvard Law School and my brother's at Yale Law - so's his new wife, and she's a Vanderbilt for Chrissake.

---> '''Emmett:''' I predict you will probably pass--\\

'''Emmett:''' In the bottom percent of your class.

so-oh-'''oh'''-OH-'''[[ImmodestOrgasm OH!]]''' Much better

* BrainyBrunette: Played straight with Vivienne. Elle attempts to [[InvokedTrope invoke this]] by dying her hair, only to be talked out of it by Paulette.

* SecretHandshake: Elle and Emmett have one, which shows up first in "Chip on My Shoulder" and later in "So Much Better"; this is used to demonstrate that they are now best friends. Interestingly, going by footage on Youtube, every Elle and Emmett seem to have their own; for instance, the one Laura Bell Bundy and Christian Borle use onstage is different from the one used by their understudies Becky Gulsvig and Andy Karl.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Warner is convinced that he's in for a successful law career and will become a senator by the time he's thirty. Ultimately though, [[TheLoad he proves to be fairly useless]], being the only law team member who makes no contribution to winning the case, and he winds up dropping out. His senator dream actually [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadows]] this, as achieving that status at that age is actually illegal, showing that Warner's not the expert on law that he believes himself to be.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Elle's parents, specifically her father. Despite their doubts about Elle going to law school, they become more open to the idea when they see how much it means to her--but his father only agrees to pay her tuition on the condition that she gets accepted on her own. He doesn't offer to pull any strings for her, despite the Woods family being wealthy enough that he likely could, but when she passes the LSAT and gets into Harvard, he happily covers the cost.

** Callahan’s “But I don’t speak MTV” feels like one in the pro-shot version, which was filmed and broadcasted by MTV

* AdaptedOut: Professor Stromwell is not featured in the musical, with her role split between Vivienne and Callahan.

* AdaptationalDumbass: In the movie, Elle decides to better herself and take law school seriously all on her own, while the musical has Emmett having to guide her through the same process step by step. She also doesn't give up on getting Warner back until after she gets the internship instead of having her epiphany at the party. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as the change is meant to develop Emmett as a character more and also build a stronger foundation for Elle's eventual romance with him.

** The “Bend and Snap” is only featured in one scene in the film, which ends with Paulette Accidentally breaking the UPS guy’s nose. The musical however brings back the Bend and Snap during one of the courtroom scenes acting as Elle’s primary piece of evidence [[spoiler:that Nikos is gay]]

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Most notably in "Take It Like a Man," after Emmett wonders aloud why he can never say no to Elle:
--> '''Emmett:''' What's that smell?\\

* HesGotLegs: Kyle. How the UPS allowed him to get away with shorts ''that'' short is anyone's guess.

* IncrediblyLamePun: At one point, "love" is literally in the air, thanks to "the new perfume by Chanel".

* RefrainFromAssuming: The song everyone knows (and the score actually lists) as "Gay or European?" is called "There! Right There!" in the theatre program and the cast album, so as not to give away the joke in advance.

* CourtroomAntics: In order to catch Chutney in her lie, Elle asks the entire court to move to the bathroom where Chutney was allegedly showering when her father was killed. ''And they do.''

* UpToEleven: The... "personal essay" portion of Elle's Harvard application, where she breaks in and does a cheer routine. You thought that tape she used in the ''movie'' was ridiculous! Puh-''shaw!''

The musical, scripted by Heather Hach and with songs by the husband-and-wife team of Lawrence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, takes a different direction from [[Film/LegallyBlonde the 2001 movie]]. While the movie mixed over-the-top wacky comedy with more realistic comedy, the musical is DenserAndWackier, full of big dance numbers and moments of LeaningOnTheFourthWall, though the songs are also highly integrated into the plot, with many long musical scenes that cover enormous amounts of story and CharacterDevelopment. Additionally, several minor characters (like Professor Stromwell and David) are dropped to focus more on a few key characters. In particular, Emmett's character is expanded upon significantly, and Elle's friendship (and eventual romance) with him becomes a much bigger part of the story. The original Broadway musical, starring Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, aired on Creator/{{MTV}} a month after production and managed to get nominated for several awards, winning one. Some viewers consider it an improvement over the film, while most consider it quite good as far as musical adaptations go.

->''Step one, he's off to Harvard Law, so I get in there too.''
->''Step two, make Warner reassess, impress him with my high I.Q.''
->''Step three, we throw a great big wedding and invite all Delta Nu!''

Life seems to be going swimmingly for sorority socialite Elle Woods. Homecoming queen, president of Delta Nu, straight-A student and girlfriend to Warner Huntington III, she has no qualms with the way her life is heading, particularly as she suspects Warner is about to pop the question. However, things take a shocking turn when Warner dumps her out of the blue instead. His reason? He's off to Harvard Law, and if he's going to be a senator by the time he's 30, he needs someone more serious--a "Jackie" instead of a "Marilyn."

Life seems to be going swimmingly for sorority socialite Elle Woods. Homecoming queen, president of Delta Nu, and girlfriend to Warner Huntington III, she has no qualms with the way her life is heading, particularly as she suspects Warner is about to pop the question. However, things take a shocking turn when Warner dumps her out of the blue instead. His reason? He's off to Harvard Law, and if he's going to be a senator by the time he's 30, he needs someone more serious--a "Jackie" instead of a "Marilyn."

* {{Leitmotif}}: "What You Want" has a section where Elle explains that she's "doing this for love." This music recurs several times throughout the show as a sort of love theme: it's the introductory verse to Paulette's solo, Elle gets a despairing version when she has to admit [[DidntThinkThisThrough the failure of her plan to get Warner back]], then a happier version with "love" changed to "law" when she realizes she's actually interested in being a lawyer, Emmett gets his own version when he has his LoveEpiphany, and the two of them reprise it together at the end as "I've found my way to love."

* {{Leitmotif}}: "What You Want" has a section where Elle explains that she's "doing this for love." This music recurs several times throughout the show when characters reach a turning point: Elle gets a despairing version in "Chip On My Shoulder" when she has to admit [[DidntThinkThisThrough her plan didn't work]], then a happier version with "love" changed to "law" when she realizes she's actually interested in being a lawyer, Emmett gets his own version when he has his LoveEpiphany, and the two of them reprise it together at the end as "I've found my way to love."

---> '''Emmett:''' What's that smell?\\

* BaitAndSwitchComment: During "Chip On My Shoulder", there's this exchange:

The musical, scripted by Heather Hach and with songs by the husband-and-wife team of Lawrence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, takes a different direction from [[Film/LegallyBlonde the 2001 movie]]. While the movie mixed over-the-top wacky comedy with more realistic comedy, the musical is DenserAndWackier, full of big dance numbers and moments of LeaningOnTheFourthWall, though the songs are also highly integrated into the plot, with many long musical scenes that cover enormous amounts of story and CharacterDevelopment. Additionally, several minor characters (like Professor Stromwell and David) are dropped to focus more on a few key characters. In particular, Emmett's character is expanded upon significantly, and Elle's friendship (and eventual romance) with him becomes a much bigger part of the story. The original Broadway musical aired on Creator/{{MTV}} a month after production and managed to get nominated for several awards, winning one. Some viewers consider it an improvement over the film, while most consider it quite good as far as musical adaptations go.

->'''Warner:''' ''You'' got into Harvard Law?
->'''Elle:''' What, like it's hard?

The musical, scripted by Heather Hach and with songs by the husband-and-wife team of Lawrence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, takes a different direction from [[Film/LegallyBlonde the 2001 movie]]. The genre disparity between the over-the-top wacky comedy (Elle's two sorority sisters, the "bend and snap" scene) and the more realistic comedy (almost everything else) is gone. "Bend and Snap" as a big dance number fits right in in a musical full of big dance numbers. Additionally, several minor characters (like Professor Stromwell and David) are dropped in exchange for elaborating on the current cast. In particular, Emmett's character is expanded upon significantly, and Elle's friendship (and eventual romance) with him becomes a much bigger part of the story. The original Broadway musical aired on Creator/{{MTV}} a month after production and managed to get nominated for several awards, winning one. Some viewers consider it an improvement over the film, while most consider it quite good as far as musical adaptations go.