Legally Blonde: stage vs screen

Legally Blonde started as the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon, based on Amanda Brown's novel, and reached Broadway as a musical in 2007 with a score by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Elle's journey from sorority house to Harvard courtroom is the same, but the musical changes names, adds characters, and gives the romance a bigger finish.

Stage

Broadway musical (2007)

Screen

Legally Blonde (2001), directed by Robert Luketic and starring Reese Witherspoon

1. Elle's sorority sisters become a Greek chorus

In the film, Elle's sorority friends Margot and Serena are mostly left behind in Los Angeles. In the musical, Margot, Serena, and Pilar follow Elle in spirit as a Greek chorus that only she can see and hear, popping up in numbers such as "Positive" and "Bend and Snap" to cheer her on.

2. A different way into Harvard

The film's Elle scores 179 on the LSAT and wins over the admissions committee with a homemade video essay. In the musical, her sorority sister Kate helps her study, and Elle bursts into the admissions office with cheerleaders and frat boys for the number "What You Want."

3. Emmett is a teaching assistant

Luke Wilson's Emmett Richmond is a junior partner at Callahan's firm. The musical's Emmett Forrest is a teaching assistant who helps Elle sort out her priorities in the duet "Chip on My Shoulder," and Elle gives him a makeover in "Take It Like a Man."

4. Paulette's UPS man gets a name and a homeland

The film's delivery man is simply credited as the UPS Guy. The musical names him Kyle, gives Paulette the song "Ireland" about her dream of an Irish man, and reveals Kyle is Irish, which sets off an Irish dance. "Bend and Snap" grows from a scene into a full production number.

5. The pool boy trial becomes a showstopper

The film's witness Enrique becomes Nikos on stage, and his cross-examination turns into "There! Right There!," in which the legal team argues whether he is gay or just European. His boyfriend Carlos settles the matter from the gallery.

6. The perm test moves to the crime scene

In the film, Elle catches Chutney in the courtroom with her knowledge of perm chemistry. In the musical, Elle has the court moved to the bathroom where the murder happened, and Enid walks out of the shower with flattened hair to prove Chutney's story cannot be true.

7. A bigger romantic ending

The film ends at Elle's graduation, with a closing note that Emmett plans to propose that night. In the musical, Paulette runs through where everyone ended up, and Elle proposes to Emmett herself at graduation.

8. Small changes to names

The film's fictional "CULA" becomes UCLA on stage. Vivian becomes Vivienne, Brooke Windham becomes Brooke Wyndham, and Paulette's surname shifts from Bonafonté to Buonufonte.

Legally Blonde movie vs musical: FAQs