Something Watchable on MTV?

The only MTV staple I'll even bother watching anymore is The Hills. I know that is a show I should consistently deny watching, but this blog is hardly the place to pretend my television habits don't occasionally dip into the mindless overexposure genre from time to time. That being said, "Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods" may be just the kind of show that tempts me back to the network for another weekly chunk of time.

"Blonde" will follow bright young Broadway hopefuls as they vie for the soon-to-be-vacant role of Elle in the stage adaptation of the 2001 Reese Witherspoon film. Variety says the show is going for more of a Project Runway vibe than American Idol, not wanting to depend on the formula of that omnipresent pop contest. All I can hope is that they figure out what went wrong with "Grease: You're the One that I Want" and avoid making the same mistakes as that snooze-fest (the only bright spot was the eventual winning "Danny," Max).

I may actually be looking forward to the June 2 premiere of "Blonde" more than is normal for someone who has no interest whatsoever in seeing the musical. Behind the scenes dirt seems a lot more intriguing where this one's concerned.

Blue Monday: 'Rent' to close on Broadway

This morning in news that makes me sad, it was announced that Rent will close on Broadway in June. The show has had a good run--12 seasons, several Tony awards, a posthumous Pulitzer for Jonathan Larson, and a slew of devoted fans--but I guess it couldn't last forever.