When one thinks of legendary Broadway choreographers, Jerry Mitchell ( Photo courtesy of Ginger Tidwell ) ranks up there with Champion, Robbins and Fosse, thanks to a slew of successful musicals and a cache of awards ( including a Tony for La Cage Aux Folles ) . Now, Mitchell has taken on an additional title—director—for the first time as he helms Legally Blonde the Musical. Mitchell talked with Windy City Times about that award-winning production, theater in general and Broadway Bares for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which will unveil its 19th show next month—and which he started.
Windy City Times: How have you been?
Jerry Mitchell: I've been doing very well. I've been in Vegas with my show, PEEPSHOW, which is up and running; [ it has ] Mel B and Kelly Monaco. And I'm in London casting Legally Blonde and Love Never Dies, the new Phantom of the Opera sequel written by Andrew Lloyd Webber—I'm the most blessed choreographer in the world. I'm also working on a new musical based on the movie Kinky Boots; it's such an emotional film and wonderful story.
WCT: I have to thank you because you've expanded my knowledge; I now know things about Paw Paw, Mich. [ Mitchell's hometown ] .
JM: [ Laughs ] Well, Paw Paw's just a couple hours away from Chicago. So many people in Chicago have lake houses in Michigan. My grandparents lived near this lake, and we had this cottage—and so many people from Chicago had cottages there.
WCT: I understand that Legally Blonde recently received three touring Broadway awards.
JM: It's five, actually. It won Best Musical, I got Best Choreography and all the designers won— [ but in the press release ] they may have lumped the designers together. The response to the show on the road has been so rewarding.
My job as a director and choreographer is basically over the day the show opens, and it's now the producers and marketing team who have to take whatever they get that night into, "How do I sell tickets?" But as I always say, word of mouth will sell a show more than anything else.
With Legally Blonde, I tried to [ instill ] this feeling of hope to young people—especially young ladies. I want them to know that they don't have to dumb themselves down to get the guy; they can actually be smart and pretty. And in a feminist world, that's a great message.
WCT: Is that what initially attracted you to Legally Blonde—the underlying message?
JM: No; I'm a great fan of film. I thought the movie and Reese [ Witherspoon as Elle Woods were ] so great, and the character was larger than life—and, usually, characters who are larger than life have a reason to sing and dance in a musical. When the producers asked me if I would choreograph and direct it, I thought, "This is the perfect first show for me." I can tell this story backwards; I've lived this story.
WCT: Now I have a visual of you in Elle's wardrobe.
JM: [ Laughs ] I just mean that I have been in the position of someone who was very much in love with someone and I got dumped. I thought my life was over, but I crawled out of the ashes like Elle does. A lot of people have gone through that experience and I thought, "Oh, I can tell this in a bright pink musical-theater way and add a layer of emotion to it."
WCT: As you mentioned, this is the first Broadway show you've directed. How hands-on are you?
JM: Oh, my God; you should ask someone else that question. [ Interviewer laughs. ] I don't let anything happen... Am I a control freak? I guess everyone in the theater is, to some extent. But more importantly, I'm a details kind of guy, and the people I work with—David Rockwell, Kenny Posner and Greg Barnes—are a team. Every single director or choreographer I know who has [ achieved ] any type of success has created a team. Michael Bennett did it. Jerome Robbins did it. You learn to work with a shorthand and trust each other to a level where you don't have to be there 24/7.
I don't want to work with a designer so I can control him. I want to work with [ one ] because, when I tell them my idea, it fuels them to bring something to the table that makes the idea better. But that's why you have to be involved in every aspect—to bring a clearer vision. Collaboration in the theater—there's nothing like it. And when it's right—there's nothing like it.
WCT: There's a school of thought that there's a lack of originality with Broadway productions because a good number of them is based on movies. What's your response to that argument?
JM: Well, to me it's not an argument; it's an observation. And my answer to that observation is that we live in an age of visual downloads and electronic media. Instead of picking up a book like Pygmalion and saying, "This would make a great musical—My Fair Lady," people are handing us the movie and saying, "This would make a great musical, like Hairspray."
You know, they never seem to have a problem when it's a success or when it's a movie that should be turned into a musical. But when they think it's an easy target ... Legally Blonde was in that category—but people thought it should have been a musical. The musical had to do the same thing the movie did: It had to prove its dumb, blonde self. [ Laughs ] That's why I'm so proud of the road production.
I have this theory that there's room for everybody. There's room for Next to Normal on Broadway, and there's room for South Pacific, Nine to Five, Shrek, Wicked and Legally Blonde. So I always question the person who walks into a show as a reviewer and wants to see something that isn't on the stage, as opposed to viewing what's actually on the stage. Then become a director and a choreographer!
WCT: Switching topics a little, there's a scene in [ the movie ] Broadway: An American Musical where you talk about seeing A Chorus Line...
JM: It started in Chicago at the Shubert Theatre. I saw it, and three weeks later I brought my dance teacher [ and others ] back; I said that there was this amazing step ( turn, turn, out, in ) that I had to learn so I could get in the show. So she saw the show, taught me and, two years later, I was in the show.
WCT: And you've always known you've wanted to dance, correct?
JM: Yes. It's odd, isn't it? When I was a kid, I knew I was going to dance and I knew I was going to be in the theater. It's such a strange thing for me when I think about how I got here from Paw Paw. No one in my family was really into theater. My dad was a musician—he played the accordion—and I remember the joy he gave to people in a little bar/restaurant. So I'm sure his musicianship and dancing [ gave me ] my desire to perform.
My [ late ] aunt used to take me to the Augusta Barn Theatre when I was about 13, and I saw Tom Wopat. Now, Tom is playing the Christopher Walken part for me this summer in the new musical Catch Me If You Can. So that's the next thing for me.
WCT: You said in an interview that you knew you were gay when you were eight. Did you know you were gay, or did you know that you were different?
JM: I thought I was different—but I knew that I liked boys. [ Laughs ]
WCT: I want to talk about Broadway Bares, which is happening June 21 in New York City's Roseland Ballroom. Has it really been 19 years since it started?
JM: Yes. It's such a celebration of life.
It was so hard for me in the '80s. I was a performer myself and I was losing friends [ to AIDS ] ; I lost one of my first college roommates in the mid-'80s. The sadness was not only losing my friend Brian ( I went to Webster College in St. Louis, Mo. ) , but I lost eight of my 10 best friends in college. I lost my associate Michael Bennett. In the theatre community, it was devastating.
I was feeling that the men around me were frightened to touch; they were afraid of communicating physically. At the same time, I was in the Will Rogers Follies—in the best shape of my life—dancing practically naked on a drum. One day, we were trying to figure out ways to raise money for the Easter Bonnet competition. One guy said that I would dress up in my Indian costume and go to Splash and dance on the bar. Then, the light bulb went off over my head; I called six other guys from other shows and choreographed a strip routine. We made $8,000.
Six months later, I did Broadway Bares II with girls; we made $17,000. I decided to do it once a year, and got celebrities involved. Last year, there were 220 dancers; we made $860,000 in one night. I'm launching BroadwayBares.com the night of the next [ event ] .
WCT: If you take it off, they will come.
JM: That's what I learned; sex sells. During the Will Rogers Follies, I was receiving packages from male suitors; I got a Cartier diamond-and-sapphire cross from [ fashion designer ] Valentino.
WCT: I want to conclude with a basic question that may have a complex answer: What does dance mean to you?
JM: When we started talking, I said, "I feel blessed." Dance is a blessing in my life. It has taken me from Paw Paw to parts of the world I never thought I'd see or explore. I feel like it's been a passport to my life.
If I trace back anything that's happened to me, it's because of dance—it's because of the gift that was given to me. And I don't go a single day without thanking a higher power for this amazing gift.
Legally Blonde the Musical is running at the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, through Sunday, June 7. Tickets are $32-$95; call 312-902-1400, or visit www.Ticketmaster.com or BroadwayInChicago.com .