Snaps for Bailey! As I told you yesterday, the Legally Blonde winner took the Broadway stage Wednesday night and showed everyone in the theater that she was born to play the role of Elle Woods! Plus, Bailey found time to chat with us about what it was like stepping into Laura Bell’s hot-pink shoes. Check out this video of her opening night curtain call (and post-performance interview!) then read on to find out how winning Legally Blonde has completely changed her life.
After the jump, read on to see what was going through Bailey’s mind on the day before her big show.
Tuesday afternoon, I had the chance to sit down with Broadway’s newest Elle Woods for a quick heart-to-heart. So what else did I find out about Bailey? As she would say, a whole heck of a lot! For starters, I learned how long her contract is (6 months, with an option to renew) whether she’ll be on the LB tour (nope, she’s staying right here in Times Square) and learned that everyone in her adorable Southern family has a name that starts with the letter “B.”
So how did she prepare for her big debut? Practice, practice, practice!
Nowadays, Bailey spends most of her days — and, presumably, weeks and months! — working. She’s following a rigorous daily training schedule and working closely with choreographers, acting coaches and elite Broadway vocal coach Joan Vader — you know, to keep her from accidentally pulling a Jordin Sparks. Plus, she spent the past couple weeks tailing Laura Bell Bundy in order to soak up every last ounce of her Elle Woodsiness!
So what’s she doing when she’s not rehearsing? Turns out, she’s mainly…sleeping. (Um, totally understandable, considering she’s on her feet singing, dancing and getting fitted for wardrobe nearly 12 hours a day and gearing up to take on two performances a day, seven days a week!) And when she is awake, Bailey says she spends the bulk of her time with you guys…writing, blogging and responding to her fans on IAmOnMTV.com.
Meanwhile, Bailey assures me that she has an excellent rapport with her co-stars, and said she’s really bonded with Chico the Chihuahua (a.k.a. Bruiser Woods). She also set me straight on those whole is-she-or-isn’t-she dating Dave from Real World: Hollywood rumors. Turns out they’re not together — at least, that’s what she says.
“Haha, yeah, yeah, yeah, … I read that blog entry and KNEW that it was talking about Dave and I. Dave and I went to Coastal Carolina together, and we have a lot of mutual friends, and he came to some of my sorority socials with one of my sisters. So I know him through that. So it was a neat thing for us to both be on MTV at the same time. We are ONLY friends though. We have hung out before, but only as friends. I am actually seeing someone.”
So is it true that Bailey drives a pink bug? Totally. Except she says right now, the hot-pink VW Beetle is back home in South Carolina. “My mom is driving it!” Bailey tells me. “My friends from home keep calling me every time they see it on the road because they think it’s me inside!”
How about something we don’t know about Bailey from watching the show? “Well, it never showed this but I burped out loud all the time — and I felt as if I would be shown eating all the time because, well…that’s what I did! Also,” Bailey adds, “I am quite the comedian…heck, we ALL were! We were some crazy, fun-lovin’ girls! Too bad America couldn’t see that side of us!”
(Oh, and for the record — I asked and Bailey is NOT contractually obligated to wear pink. “I just love it!” she confesses. “It’s always been my favorite color!” Hence, the pink VW bug.)