Editor's Column: A 'Blonde' affair

MTV is known for its unique programming concepts, but it has never made a move this big. On Oct. 13, the music network will broadcast Legally Blonde - The Musical in its entirety.

This move is unparalleled. Yes, many plays have been taped for television or video, the large majority of which as part of PBS's Live from Lincoln Center series. So the idea of Broadway on television is nothing new. But no play in the history of television has been broadcasted from start to finish while still in the theater.

In a statement released to media, producer Hal Luftig said, "MTV's endorsement of a show on this level is unprecedented and will benefit the industry as a whole as Broadway continues to expand its audience. This is a great match and we could not be happier."

Will this move become a trend? While it is a lucrative motion for the show's producers, many are wondering what effect the show's broadcast will have on its longevity at the theaters. MTV isn't only broadcasting it once; it's airing it multiple times. MTV tends to air programs so many times that it runs them into the ground. In contrast, the VMAs were reformatted to a one-night-only concept to attract viewers back to the declining show. Seeing theater live is an experience unparalleled to seeing it on tape. It loses its flair on tape. But, with ticket prices now exceeding $100, why go out to see Blonde when you can Tivo it and watch it over and over again?

Also, MTV seems to be dumming things down. The network has even gone as far as to produce a preshow complete with the pink carpet with hosts of its hit reality show The Hills, although it is doubtful that Lauren Conrad's knowledge of theater is very expansive.

Blonde is also described by MTV as a "weekend event." Moreover, the show isn't even getting a primetime slot. Of all times, it will debut on a Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET. Most of America will probably still be asleep at this time. MTV seems to be saying that Broadway is a dying part of our culture.

But, why Blonde? Yes, it fits the interests of its largely youthful and female audience. This sets a bad precedent, however. Theater is becoming increasingly commercial due to fiscal restraints. Thus, less original and classical pieces are being produced on the Great White Way. Producers are turning to adaptations of popular movies for material. They have built-in fan bases, and thus they are almost guaranteed to succeed for at least some time. How else could an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas sell the majority of its seats playing the mammoth 1,813-seat Hilton Theater 12 times a week?

Money is what now drives theater because it is so costly. The return is what matters, not the art. There are more deserving shows than Blonde that could be broadcast to the network's same audience such as Avenue Q or Spring Awakening, but they are unknown, so what reason is there for their viewers to watch them? If more original theater isn't being supported now, will it still be supported in the future as it once was?

I watched Blonde this weekend because my friend wanted to see it so desperately. Such material generally doesn't interest me over more serious fare. But I was pleasantly surprised: It is a very well-crafted show and it gives insight into deeper issues beneath all of the lip gloss that's put onto it.

But it's like going to a restaurant and only having dessert. It leaves you wondering what happened to the main course. It ends with Elle graduating Harvard Law, but this event is overshadowed by her proposal to Emmett. Being valedictorian is null-and-void by the fact that Elle finally finds love. And, this is the message that MTV will be sending to young girls everywhere - a boy is the key to all of their happiness.

Whatever the case, I urge you to watch. It's rare in our current culture to get such a treat on television. MTV is the perfect example of the lowest form of television with its plethora of low-quality reality programming. What the network is doing is generating interest in theater, and movie-musical adaptations aside, that's a rare thing these days.

Above all, I can only hope that the show's young starlet, Laura Bell Bundy, whose beautiful voice nails the role of Elle, can take her career to the next level.