...However, I do know that the Tuesday after Laura Belle Bundy's last performance, the "winner" will be starting her run as Elle Woods. -Sadly(?), I suspect they may end up editing the MTV show to make it look like the girl learned the whole show in the span of a week or less, when, in fact, she's basically been in training and in rehearsal for almost two months now.
Jose makes an important point here. Many of these shows have been filmed/taped months in advance. They are
not broadcast live. The "liveness" is an illusion, created by the show's host (and often the contestants) speaking directly to the camera, which generates the effect that they are speaking directly to the audience. They are not. They are speaking to the guys working in the control booth and the editing room.
There's also a great amount of attention given by the producers of these shows to creating "personas" for the contestants. I remember during that
Grease contest that they kept referring to the girls as the "perky" Sandy, or the "dark haired" Sandy, and so on. (Der Brucer insisted on watching. He enjoys the occasional train wreck, he also watched
Hells Kitchen, what can I say.

) This is audience manipulation, and rather base in my opinion, reminiscent of
They Shoot Horses, Don't They.
My bet is that, after Laura Belle Bundy leaves
Legally Blonde, even with the contest for her replacement, the show's
days nights will be numbered.