The stage adaptation of the hit movie comedy "Legally Blonde" opened Sunday night to mixed reviews that could well knock it out of the running for best musical at the upcoming Tony Awards. While the show impressed the half-dozen theater journalists who run the Drama Desk Awards enough to get 10 nods last week, its chances with the 26 theater insiders who make up the Tony nominating committee and then the 650 Tony voters are less certain.

For Ben Brantley of The New York Times, "this high-energy, empty-calories and expensive-looking hymn to the glories of girlishness approximates the experience of eating a jumbo box of Gummi Bears in one sitting." An admitted fan of the film and its star, Reese Witherspoon, Brantley thought, "Laura Bell Bundy the kind of young woman who summons instant parental pride in the middle-aged. In addition to her prom-queen prettiness, she sings and dances flawlessly, and she delivers silly lines as if she meant them. But she lacks the quirkiness and irresistible watch-me egotism that a big, heroine-worshiping musical needs at its center. Imagine 'Hello, Dolly!' with Shirley Jones instead of Carol Channing, and you'll get the idea." Ouch!

Damning with faint praise, Brantley writes, "unlike such deadweight musicals as 'Footloose,' 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Lestat,' 'Legally Blonde' never threatens to put you to sleep. On the contrary, its cast members emanate a wired, attention-fixing tirelessness that suggests they have all been subsisting on Red Bull." Michael Kuchwara of AP wonders, "why, despite the expensive glitz and an aggressive, go-go attitude, does 'Legally Blonde' only fitfully entertain? Most prominently because of a disappointing score."

Kuchwara neatly summarizes, "the story of Elle Woods, a perky sorority sister at Delta Nu who gets dumped by her Harvard Law School-bound boyfriend and decides to follow him to its rarified ivy halls. Along the way, this blond fashion-plate, with a propensity for wearing pink, discovers her self-worth, finds a new beau and gets a law degree to boot." He had mixed feelings about the cast, noting, "Bundy doesn't quite have the warmth that Witherspoon brought to the movie. The actress radiates efficiency. Christian Borle's comedic skills are kept under wraps as the musical's nice if boring good guy. The supporting players come off better, most notably Orfeh as a forlorn, blue-collar beautician, Michael Rupert, in terrific voice, as the predatory law professor who has designs on Elle, and Richard H. Blake as the self-absorbed, would-be lawyer who dumps her."

Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News thought, "for all its pep, bright colors and adorable dogs, the 'Blonde' that breezed into the Palace last night is rarely - as Elle would say - superfun. It's only sorta fun. 'Blonde's' shortfalls are rooted in the score. Married songwriters Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin's pop-centric tunes are serviceable, but few melodies prove catchy enough to stick. Jerry Mitchell, choreographer and first-time Broadway director, has picked odd moments to musicalize. Like when Emmett, Elle's Harvard mentor whom she comes to love, gets a new suit. Ditto a lengthy song about a peripheral trial witness' sexuality.'Ireland,' sung by Paulette, Elle's lovably tacky salon-owner pal, doesn't inform the character so much as serve as a setup for a later jokey jig. There are too many filler numbers and too few tunes in which Elle shows what makes her — and her heart — tick."

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Photo: In "Legally Blonde," Elle (Laura Bell Bundy) may be torn between two lovers (Christian Borle and Richard H. Blake) but it is the audience who are left feeling like a fool. (Palace Theater)

Frank Langella — a top Tony Award contender for "Frost/Nixon" — will repeat his role as the disgraced U.S. President in a movie version helmed by Oscar winner Ron Howard, reports Variety. Earlier reports had Howard wooing Warren Beatty, not seen on the screen in six years, but he evidently gave up on the actor who is notoriously slow to make up his mind. Langella's Broadway co-star Michael Sheen, playing TV talker David Frost, has already signed on to the picture which rolls August 27, a mere two weeks after the Rialto run ends. Script is by playwright Peter Morgan, an Oscar nominee this year for "The Queen," which featured Sheen as Tony Blair opposite Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Morgan also wrote the script for "Last King of Scotland," which won best actor for Forest Whitaker.

Anthony Hopkins parlayed his 1996 portrayal of the 37th President into an Oscar nod ("Nixon"), while Jason Robards, playing a thinly veiled version of the man called Richard Monckton no less, got an Emmy nom in 1978 for "Washington: Behind Closed Doors." For Langella, 69, this could be a rare chance at Oscar gold. A 1970 Golden Globe nominee as most promising newcomer for his screen debut in "Diary of a Mad Housewife," he's had trouble clicking in Hollywood since. But in New York, he's won two Tonys in the supporting category. This year he is a frontrunner in the lead-actor race crowded with past Tony winners, including Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy ("Inherit the Wind"), Kevin Spacey ("Moon for the Misbegotten"), Liev Shreiber ("Talk Radio"), and Nathan Lane ("Butley"). Tony nominees will be announced May 15 with the awardsfest set for June 10.

Tune in tonight to watch "Chasing It," the episode of "The Sopranos" (#81) that James Gandolfini will submit to Emmy judges if he lands on the list of top 10 vote-getters after a popular vote is conducted of TV academy members.

Of course, he'll make that cut, just like he did last year. Unfortunately, Gandolfini didn't end up getting a nomination for best lead actor because voters preferred episode samples submitted by other contenders. Is "Chasing It" his best choice?

Next week's "Sopranos" episode will be submitted for Emmy consideration by Michael Imperioli in the supporting race.

Edie Falco's episode, "Second Coming," airs on May 20.

Contenders are allowed to change their episode entry for the last round of voting, to choose winners, if they have second-thoughts.

Join the discussion in our forums — CLICK HERE!

Photo: In Gandolfini's Emmy episode, "Chasing It," which airs tonight, Tony Soprano hits an unlucky stretch. (HBO)

My, my what a devious mind my journo pal Nelson Branco has! He just sent me this catty email: "In my opinion, 'Idol Gives Back' was all about trying to steal the Emmy from 'Amazing Race'!'"

Hmmmm. Fascinating conspiracy theory! And who doesn't like a good conspiracy? I'm all on top of this one. As preposterous as it seems — and, let's be honest, unlikely to be true — it conjures up an interesting possibility. Thanks to its special "Idol Gives Back" episode, "American Idol" now has a real shot at winning the Emmy for best reality-competition program.

The past four Emmy races have been truly amazing for "Idol" — for the wrong reason. It lost to "Amazing Race" lap after lap on the awards-derby track. Worse, America's most popular TV show hasn't won a single award from the TV industry's academy, not even in the tech categories. It's suffered 22 losing nominations.

To win the top program prize, a contender must submit a spectacular sample episode to Emmy judges. Rumor has it that that's been "Idol's" undoing. I watch lots of the Emmy episode submissions every year, but haven't yet checked out that category. I hear that "Idol" producers have often given judges duds from earlier in the season before the show heads into its thrilling last few showdowns. If that's not true, then the other possibility for its serial defeats is probably that "Idol" isn't that exciting to watch without the suspense of who'll blunder, who'll soar, who'll ultimately win. By the time judges choose a winner in summertime, the outcome is known. If that doesn't really matter, then the reason must be that "Amazing Race" is just better to watch because it's fueled by a more vroom-vroom pace.

But if anything can beat that, it's a noble, heroic, conscience-raising special like "Idol Gives Back."

"The Emmys would have to be pretty mean not to recognize a show that raised over $60 million for various charities," says Nelson. "Producer Nigel Lythgoe is guilting them out! They even brought Elvis back from the dead to insure their win! I love it. The irony, should 'Idol' win this year, is that this season is such a disappointment and doesn't deserve to win (last season was it's best season to date). "

How snarky of you, Nelson! This season ain't over yet! You Sanjaya fans sure die hard.

It's possible that "Idol" could be prohibited from entering "Gives Back" as its episode sample because it doesn't include competition. If so, "Gives Back" could enter the race for best variety special or that hodgepodge category called "special class" and result in a win that at least would halt "Idol's" total Emmy shut-out so far. Bottom line: "Idol" truly has the inside Emmy track this year. Its producers are in charge of producing the Emmy ceremony in September, which will be telecast by "Idol's" parent network, Fox.

Photo: Jack Black joined the scores of celebs raising money for the newly formed Charity Projects Entertainment Fund, which distributes donations to needy organizations such as America's Second Harvest, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. (AP)

One of the biggest cliffhangers at the upcoming Primetime Emmys is: Which new shows can break through to become a nominee for best drama series?

That category is already crowded with longtime faves "24," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Sopranos" and maybe "Lost." But many Emmywatchers believe these rookies stand a realistic chance: "Heroes," "Brothers and Sisters," "Friday Night Lights," "The Tudors," "The Riches," "Studio City on the Sunset Strip" and "Dexter."

Read my feature article, CLICK HERE!

"Heroes" didn't exactly achieve superhuman Neilsen ratings when it finally returned to the tube this week after being benched since March 5.

It scored only a series-low 5.3 among adults ages 18 to 49, which is a 20 percent drop from its last original episode. But "Heroes" must take on a formidable tube foe in that time slot, of course — "Dancing with the Stars" — and it suffers from the sagging lead-in viewership of "Deal or No Deal." Biggest obstacle of all was probably the fact that many viewers didn't know the show was back. Numbers should climb steadily between now and the end of the new TV season.

Bottom line: "Heroes" is still the hottest new TV drama of the year, number one among that key 18-49 demo. So it's on the Emmy radar screen. But Emmy voters have the same quirky prejudices that Oscar voters do. Rarely do either groups recognize the greatness of thrillers. But Emmy voters recently hailed "24" (and Oscar voters crowned "The Departed"), so there's hope. Yes, these Hollywood voters often fantasy programs, but "Lost" — which is also a thriller, come to think of it — won best drama series two years ago.

"In years past, there was often a struggle in key categories to find enough worthy candidates to fill out the nomination ballot" for the Tony Awards, reports Variety. "Not so this year since 9 new plays and 10 tuners are eligible. When noms are announced May 15 for the 61st annual Tony Awards, several contenders that might have been front-runners in less fruitful seasons will be out in the cold."

That's part of the intro to an excellent Tonys preview article by David Rooney. Keep reading — CLICK HERE!

Think of the Drama Desk nominations, announced today, as the inverse of the Golden Globe nods. Though both honors are bestowed by journalists in advance of an industry-run awardsfest, there the similarity ends. The Globes separate comedies/musicals from dramas, thereby producing 10 lead actor and actress nominations while the Oscars only have 5 apiece. As the Drama Desks consider both Broadway and Off Broadway performances for the 6 or 7 nominations in each category, there may not be room to include all 5 Tony-worthy contenders. For productions and creative personnel, the odds are even worse with 6 nods at the Drama Desk and only 4 at the Tonys.

Further complicating the use of these nominations as an early indicator of Tony nods and odds is the absence of several sure things from Broadway which competed here last year in their Off Broadway incarnations, including "Grey Gardens," the musical about Jackie Kennedy's eccentric cousin and aunt, sure to dominate the musical side, and "The Little Dog Laughed," which should get an acting nod for Julie White and, perhaps, a play nomination. Also, "Deuce," a new play by Tony winner Terrence McNally, which marks the return of Angela Lansbury to Broadway after a quarter century absence, withdrew from consideration as it is still in previews, though it will be ready for Tony voters next month. With those caveats in mind, on to the nominations for the 52nd annual Drama Desk Awards (CLICK HERE for the full list), which will be handed out May 20 in a ceremony hosted by songstress Kristin Chenoweth, a nominee for "The Apple Tree."

"LoveMusik," a look at the lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, as told through the songs he wrote with Bertolt Brecht, leads with 12 nominations, including actor (Michael Cerveris), actress (Donna Murphy), and director (Hal Prince), and will compete for best musical against four other Broadway shows - "Curtains", the final Kander & Ebb collaboration, movie turned musical "Legally Blonde," and teen angst tuner "Spring Awakening," each of which got 10 nods, and "Mary Poppins," which so impressed the Outer Critics they gave it a leading 11 nominations on Monday but found less favor with this Gotham based group and managed only 6 mentions - and Off Broadway breakout hit "In the Heights" which scored 9 nods.

Tom Stoppard's trilogy "The Coast of Utopia" dominates with 10 nods and will compete for best play against a pair of Broadway productions, the well-received "Frost/Nixon" by Peter Morgan, scribe of "The Queen," and "Radio Golf," the last work by the late August Wilson, as well as three Off Broadway shows, "Blackbird," from Brit David Harrower, "Some Men," by the prolific McNally, and "The Accomplices" by journalist Bernard Weinraub. On the revival side, Broadway productions of "Journey's End" and "Talk Radio" made the cut as did four Broadway musical restagings, "110 in the Shade," "The Apple Tree," "Company," and "Les Miserables."

Though five of the seven lead actor in a play nominees come from Broadway, only one such lead actress, Eve Best, who stars in "Moon for the Misbegotten," prevailed, with Vanessa Redgrave, acclaimed for "The Year of Magical Thinking," competing in solo performance. On the musical front, all of the lead nominees are from Broadway shows. For feature performances, the breakdown is six of twelve for plays and 11 of 12 for musicals. Behind the scenes, nominations for creative types like directors and designers are split fairly even between Broadway and Off Broadway shows.

Notable omissions include Julianne Moore, who made an inauspicious Broadway debut in "The Vertical Hour," as well as her acclaimed co-star Bill Nighy, Broadway veteran song and dance man Nathan Lane who turned serious in "Butley," and the revivals of "A Chorus Line" and "Prelude to a Kiss."

Photos: Tuner "LoveMusik" and trilogy "The Coast of Utopia" lead the Drama Desk nominations with 12 and 10 nods respectively. (MTC/LCT)

Looks like Sarah Silverman did such an OK job hosting the past two Indie Spirit Awards that a bigger kudocast will now sign her up — as MTV just did to emcee its movie awards show on June 3.

Silverman says, "The other day I sat down too hard and sprained my labia majora. I'm okay, but I took it as a sign from God to host the MTV Movie Awards."

Recent past hosts include Jessica Alba, Jimmy Fallon, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Timberlake, Seann William Scott, Jack Black and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Silverman may pop up at another awards show soon, the Emmys, as a contestant. She's so eager to be nominated for her new self-titled series on Comedy Central that she was the first player to send out a campaign DVD to TV academy members.

Photos: First out of the box with her own DVD box — Sarah Silverman officially launched Emmy campaign season last month. At right: what winners get at the MTV Movie Awards. (Comedy Central/ MTV)

Ah, ain't that sweet? Hollywood's overpaid and overindulged actors really do care about the poor slugs who risk life and limb and keister to impersonate them while diving off buildings and leaping through fire on screen. The Screen Actors Guild has announced the addition of a new award to be bestowed next Jan. 27 with other kudos: Outstanding Performances by Film and Television Stunt Ensembles. Maybe the celebs just don't want all that riffraff sitting next to them at the Shrine Auditorium. Strangely, winners of the new prize will be announced prior to the show. That way SAG doesn't have to give away all those free seats to all those stunt folks nominated?