Bailey Hanks may be an MTV reality show winner and a Broadway superstar, but at heart, she’s still a sweet Southern gal (whose mother may or may not drive a pink VW bug.

Which is why she got the hero’s welcome when she finally found time to pack her fuchsia-colored bags and head home to Anderson, South Carolina where she signed autographs, put on a one-woman Legally Blonde show and was presented with the keys to the city. (OMG, you guys!)

+ Haven’t had a chance to see Bailey’s name in black-and-white…in the Legally Blonde: The Musical program? It’s time to get serious, and check her out! Or at least hear what she had to say after her first-ever curtain call.

Unless you’ve been living under a giant — and completely soundproof — rock, you know that Bailey Hanks (the winner of the Legally Blonde: The Musical casting special) has spent the past month wooing Broadway audiences as pink-clad Harvard dynamo Elle Woods. So how’s she doing? Just fine, apparently. Well, except for a little case of Summer withdrawal…

“I told my friend the other day how much I miss Myrtle Beach,” Hanks recently told her hometown paper. “I’m used to being at the beach during the summer.”

But don’t worry, LB fans — she won’t be trading in her law books and killer pumps for a bikini anytime soon. “This is where I knew I was meant to be,” she declares.

And no offense to Laura Bell Bundy (or, for that matter, Autumn!) but we couldn’t agree more.

Anyone else having trouble accepting that Legally Blonde is gone forever? Well, even though the competition is over and done with (and Bailey has officially bent-and-snapped her way to the Broadway stage) it just so happens that there’s still some interesting LB gossip floating around.

Turns out, not only did Emma have prior Broadway experience (take that, mentor Haylie Duff!) but she recently appeared in a revival of La Cage Aux Folles. Better yet? The play was actually directed by her pops, Broadway big-shot Jerry Zaks, and it co-starred a certain LB actor/judge by the name of Paul Canaan.

Anyone else thinking this might have influenced the judges’ decision to let Emma go?

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.

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OMG, you guys! As most of you already know, Bailey took the Legally Blonde: The Musical stage yesterday for the very first time and delivered a pitch-perfect performance. Seriously, she nailed every note (including the super-long high one in “So Much Better”) drilled the choreography and got through the entire show without a single wardrobe malfunction!

No wonder she garnered a standing ovation from a no-nonsense audience that included Heather Hach, Bernard Telsey, Jerry Mitchell and a bunch of familiar Legally Blonde faces (including Lauren, Emma, Lindsey and Celina!)

So check out more photos from Bailey’s Broadway debut at The Palace Theater and check back tomorrow to catch Bailey’s post-show interview. (And don’t forget - it was Autumn’s debut, too! And she absolutely ROCKED in the ensemble!)

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You already know what the rest of the Legally Blonde girls have been doing since the show — so I figured I’d hit you with an update on what FMP’s (that’s “Formerly Missing Persons”) Cassie S. and Rhiannon have been up to. (Oh, and for the record, Lauren swears she’s alive and well, and told me she’s gearing up to go on the LB tour as Elle’s understudy!)

And speaking of Elle Woods, Bailey’s performance last night was UNBELIEVABLE! Check back later today for a Q&A where Bailey answers your top questions PLUS live video coverage of her opening night.

CASSIE S.

What have you been up to since we last saw you?
I have been training! YAY!! Plus I have been spending lots of time with my nephew (because they do grow up FAST!) I’ve also been teaching, which is such a pleasure, and — of course! — working. I have a few things in the works right now and next up is a guest star on the Showtime hit, DEXTER. So mostly, I have been auditioning and growing up!!!

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Last night, we all watched as Bailey nailed her final audition and landed her dream role as Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde season finale! And while we already know a little bit about what Bailey’s been up to shooting wrapped, today I’ll have a chance to chat with Bailey about her pre-show jitters and find out how she’s been gearing up for her big debut!

So I’ve decided to turn this next round of Q&A over to you guys! Anything you’re dying to to know about Bailey? Leave me your questions in the comments and I’ll try my best to incorporate them when I see Bailey later today (at 2:30pm!) or when I congratulate her after her very first curtain call tomorrow night.

What a long, strange season it’s been! After months of watching the girls put their blondest foot forward, it’s finally time to congratulate Bailey on her much-deserved win! And since everybody loves closure, I figured I’d find out what all of the pink ladies have been doing post-Legally Blonde.

Check out what Bailey, Emma, Cassie O., Lindsey, Celina, Natalie and Autumn had to say for themselves — and what they said about everybody else.

First up: EMMA

Anything you want to set the record straight about?
I’d like to set the record straight about people thinking I’m stuck-up or arrogant. This is such a tough business and if you aren’t confident, you’ll never last. Also, what I said in my last interview about Rhiannon, Bailey and Lauren being ‘little girls’ was said during a really stressful time — I was frustrated and lashed out with something I didn’t mean.

Tell us something we don’t know about you from watching the show.
I’m not always so serious! We were all a lot more goofy on the show but you don’t see those parts! I’m actually quite funny…or so I think!

What have you been up to since we last saw you?
I have moved to a new apartment and worked towards (finally!) getting a new agent! Now, I’m auditioning and trying to get work so that I can stop bartending!

Any gripes, amazing anecdotes or funny stories you’d like to share?
also have one anecdote- Bailey and I were riding in a cab together on our way to Brooklyn (where we danced on cobblestones) and as we were passing through Chinatown, she remarked on all the Chinese writing. I said, “Yeah, we are going through Chinatown” and she said, “Oh my Gawd, it’s just like we’re JAPAN!” Ya gotta love her!!

Next up: AUTUMN

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I really hate goodbyes. Tonight’s finale of Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods also marks Seth Rudetsky’s final Remote Control vlog (sniff, sniff). I gots to admit, my favorite part of each week was seeing Seth’s smiling/wincing face here at the MTV.com studio, running off his trademark stream of consciousness rants and raves.

What more is there to say but, “We heart you soooo much, Seth!” XOXO!

And in true form, Mr. Broadway takes us out with a bang…

Seth Rudetsky has been working on Broadway for fifteen years. He’s played piano for many shows including Les Miz, Grease and Phantom of the Opera and made his acting debut this year in The Ritz starring Rosie Perez. He’s produced/conducted many benefits including Dreamgirls (with Audra McDonald, Lillias White and Heather Headley) available on Nonesuch Records and Hair (with Jennifer Hudson and Adam Pascal) available on Ghostlight Records (Grammy nominated).
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Sure, tonight’s Legally Blonde finale will determine which pink lady gets the role of a lifetime. But there were so many memorable moments this season that I figured it was time for a quick impromptu highlights reel. So here, in no particular order, are the Best Moments From This Season’s Legally Blonde.

• The unforgettable afternoon I spent riding around New York City in a giant, hot pink double-decker bus — with 50 identically-dressed Elle Woods clones who spent the better part of five hours screaming “Omigod, you guys!”

• The (first) time our beloved Seth Rudetsky ripped on Lauren for being poker-faced and Bailey for being inappropriately dressed…all while strutting around in a form-fitting wife beater.

• The week everyone (suddenly) started saying “She threw us under a bus.”

• The first ever ‘Dumb Blonde’ Question! This week, I wondered aloud whether Cassie O’s exit would inspire Cassie S to drop her initial and just be known as….Cassie. (It didn’t).

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