» Ohmigod, ohmigod you guys! :: The Pop Diner

Oct152007

Ohmigod, ohmigod you guys!

Filed under Uncategorized by jennifer o'callaghan at 1:01 pm

I confess: I was once a musical nerd. I had a collection of Playbills from "Starlight Express," "Little Shop of Horrors," "Annie" — all of them.

I listened to the soundtracks of "Man of La Mancha," "Miss Saigon" and "Les Miserables" until the tape broke. (Yes, cassette tapes. Remember those?)

I knew all the words to the songs of "Chess." I could fake slight variations on a bad British accent to act out "Oliver!" I thought my "Cats" T-shirt was the epitome of cool.

And I was - at one time in my life - president of my high school drama club.

Then, after a year of college, suddenly musicals seemed passe. I traded "The Music Man" for Morrissey and "Anything Goes" for Ani DiFranco.

I had only mild interest in one of the recent big-screen adaptations of a Broadway musical - "Chicago" - but still have yet to see it.

And I couldn’t understand any of the hoopla this summer over "High School Musical 2."

And then a weird thing happened this weekend.

I tuned into MTV, looking for a guilty pleasure on Sunday night. Surely, there would be something silly to make folding my laundry a little more entertaining.

I almost changed the channel when I saw a trio from "The Hills" on a pink carpet. (Sorry, but I just don’t get the fascination with LC.)

But a phone call and fate intervened. When I settled back down to change the channel, I was greeted with enthusiastic sororiety girls opening windows on a fake sororiety house, singing exuberantly about the anticipated engagement of Elle and Warner.

Lo, I had stumbled upon the airing of the Broadway musical, "Legally Blonde," based on the popular Reese Witherspoon vehicle of the same name.

And I was hooked.

First of all, it is an incredibly bouncy, infectious musical. How could it not be, with such frothy beginnings? You sorta want to dance along (OK, maybe I did just a leetle) and the catchy tunes stay with you.

It reminded me of what I used to like about musicals - the showstopping dance numbers, the belting, the pure joy.

MTV is surely trying to ride some of the wave of Disney’s popular "High School Musical" franchise, whose sequel was the movie of the summer for tweens and young teens, but I don’t care if the decision was based on dollars. It was a heck of a fun ride.

I am sure the show will air again. In the meantime, check out some of the cool backstage features on MTV’s Web site.

I am a convert. I have the soundtrack on order. I can’t get the numbers out of my head, from the gloriously infectious opener, "Ohmigod You Guys," to Elle’s turning point at "Chip on My Shoulder" to the delighfully ridiculous "Bend and Snap."

It took a platinum blonde to get me back to my musical-theater-loving roots. Maybe I still have that "Cats" T-shirt around somewhere. But if you catch "Legally Blonde," I think you’ll agree it doesn’t matter. Pink is clearly the new black.

Viewing 4 Comments

Fimner 2 years ago 1 point
Please login to rate.

Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.

What do you call a smart blond?

Ans. A Golden Retriever.

reply edit reblog flag record video comment

Kathleen 2 years ago 1 point
Please login to rate.

Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.

As a *current* theater nerd, may I suggest the frothy, bouncy fun of the tap extravaganza "Thoroughly Modern Millie," being performed by the Actorsingers the first 2 weekends of November? And I will definitely try and catch LB: the Musical.

Bangkok is gonna be the witness

to the ultimate test of cerebral fitness...

reply edit reblog flag record video comment

JenO 2 years ago 1 point
Please login to rate.

Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.

I suppose I should clarify. I lost the taste for listening to the soundtracks to musicals more than anything else. They once got such heavy rotation in my family that my father actually banned "Cats" from being played while he was in the house. And, where in high school, I jumped at every opportunity to go to a Broadway show - particularly the splashy musicals - I could no longer stomach the price. (Although before the magic wore out, I actually missed one sister's high school graduation in favor of seeing "Starlight Express.") I am salivating over the thought of owning the "Legally Blonde" soundtrack. It will make excellent car-singing music during my commute.

And hee. Kathleen, I see your "One Night in Bangkok," and raise you a "I Know Him So Well."

No one in your life is with you constantly/ No one is completely on your side/ And though I moved my world to be with him/ Still the gap between us is to wide/ Looking back I could have played it differently/ Learned about the man before I fell/ But I was ever so much younger then/ Now at least I know I know him well."

Sing it, Svetlana. Truer words were never warbled.

reply edit reblog flag record video comment

JenO 2 years ago 1 point
Please login to rate.

Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.

Too wide. The gap between us is too wide.

>Sigh<

And I have clearly not yet mastered html in comments.

reply edit reblog flag record video comment