Bailey Hanks was cast as the lead in "Legally Blonde The Musical" after competing against other Elle Wood-hopefuls on MTV's reality show "Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods."
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Heather Hach, "Legally Blonde's" playwright and one of the judges who helped choose Hanks as the lead, told ABCNews.com that she was unsure at first whether a reality show could really succeed at picking a Broadway star.
"I was definitely skeptical," said Hach, who added that she'd been "blown away" by Hanks' first performance. "You just never know if someone is going to buckle under the pressure, but Hanks didn't."
"What a pro," added Hach.
Casting director and fellow judge Bernard Telsey said that he too found himself surprised at how smoothly Hanks' first performance went -- proof that maybe reality shows really can find true talent.
"There were no mistakes," said Telsey. "She should have at least walked the wrong way on the stage once or something!"
Elysa Gardner, a music and theater reporter for USA Today, is equally confident in Hanks' ability and said that finding Broadway performers by way of reality television may soon become more common.
"People understand that reality television is part of reality now," said Gardner.
"[The casting directors] knew going in to this that this was a young woman who didn't have a lot of professional experience but that's been the case now for principals in 'Rent' and will be for other [Broadway shows in the works]," added Gardner.
Asked whether she thought the rest of the "Legally Blonde" ensemble may be resentful of Hanks' quick rise to fame, Gardner said if anything, they will probably appreciate the press the MTV exposure will give the musical.
"The cast is sophisticated and smart enough to know that this is how things are done nowadays," said Gardner. "And it helps draw attention to the show, which is a good thing for all of them."
And attention is certainly what Hanks and the rest of the cast received at the debut – screaming and cheering audience members almost muffled the lead's voice during her first song of the night.
During a champagne toast after the performance, "Legally Blonde" director Jerry Mitchell raised his glass to his new heroine.
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