Legally Blonde The Musical - Review

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

****

Music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin

Book by Heather Hach

Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture

Directed and choreographed by Anthony Williams

Lucie Jones

Oh my god, you guys. So, this blonde sorority girl from Malibu like totally defies the odds and gets into Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend who dumped her because she wasn't serious enough, and it's, like, totally awesome!

It's a unique start to a law career but, then again, Elle Woods is the epitome of unique.

Legally Blonde The Musical is the stage adaption of the classic 2001 film, which starred Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson and Jennifer Coolidge. At its core, it is a tale of aspiration with the message that anything is possible if you only believe in yourself.

It's a shame that Woods' rousing valedictorian speech - which neatly summarises this concept in the movie - is omitted from the stage version, but its absence serves as a reminder that the musical is wildly different from the film. And treating this show as an entity of its own, offers up a slightly different story. The importance of love as a motivator becomes its own thread, the role that physical appearances play in society is amplified – and it's all served up with a huge dollop of joy.

That much is evident from the outset. The gaudy set design (Jon Harris, Jason Bishop and David Shields), beautifully condensed for this touring production, is over-the-top and dazzling, elevating the story further into a fantastical space. The costuming from Elizabeth Dennis is outstanding, channelling 90s American styles. Each number is a fashion show in itself, making the whole gig feel like an extension of London Fashion Week that ended only a few days ago. 

What's more, the cast are clearly having a wonderful time. Lucie Jones is exquisite as Elle, seamlessly blending nods to Witherspoon's portrayal with her own flavour. This Elle comes with a level of self-awareness and sass that makes her truly memorable. And with a voice that is made for the stage, complete with mesmerising blonde hair, Jones truly embodies the character.

Rita Simons as the flamboyant Paulette Bonafonté is another remarkable performance; the hopeless romantic hairdresser with a knockout voice and witty zingers that elicit rapturous laughter.

The musical numbers make for occasional treats; there is a particularly exceptional number starring Brooke Wyndham (Helen Petrova) performing skipping rope-based choreography, followed soon after by a deliciously comic routine in a courtroom. Under James McCullagh’s direction, the orchestra is fantastic and you can’t help but feel as though they are having just as much fun as their colleagues on stage.

There’s no denying that Legally Blonde The Musical is a raucous, silly and above all fun production. And OMG! - anyone who goes to see it over the coming months is in for a brilliantly entertaining evening.

Runs until 23 September, then tours (details here)
Reviewed by Bhakti Gajjar
Photo credit: Robert Workman

Legally Blonde - Review

Upstairs At The Gatehouse, London


****


Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin
Book by Heather Hach
Directed by John Plews

Abbie Chambers

There's an irrepressible sugary charm that surrounds Legally Blonde. Late into the show's run and on a cold January night too, the Gatehouse Theatre was packed with a grinning audience picking up on the cast's infectious enthusiasm.

Legally Blonde's sexual politics are intriguing. With the exception of Emmett (and possibly Kyle) its underlying premise is that men are duplicitous bums. And whilst (look away - spoiler alert) Elle Woods does of course go on to achieve legal success, she doesn't achieve this recognition through a knowledge of law - but rather by applying her initiative to what are actually stereotypical female reference points: a sensitive "gaydar" and a knowledge of perms. So, does Legally Blonde actually champion female empowerment, or simply reinforce age-old tropes? Discuss.

Either way, Abbie Chambers who makes her professional debut as Elle does a fabulous job in the role. It's a massive part - on stage almost throughout, Chambers never fails to convince as she journeys through heartbreak and endeavour to her ultimate happy ending.

The most sympathetic character on stage is Jodie Jacobs’ hairdresser Paulette, who in a world away from Elle’s pink infused (and albeit superficial) vacuity, is actually grounded in her disappointment. Jacobs keeps Paulette adorably optimistic and able to offer the wisdom of a woman who's seen life for what it really is, in a reprise of the part that she delivered so fabulously at Kilworth House last summer. Jacobs is in a league of her own here, her voice is gorgeously powered, whilst her experience sees her to master Paulette’s wry comedy, perfectly.

Robert Colvin offers a polished and three dimensional take on Warner - who really is a 2-D creation. There is an interesting and timely parallel between the fictional Warner and Grey Gardens' real-life Joseph Kennedy - both characters out to use love to further their own personal career ambitions - discarding relationships as it suits.

Stepping into the role of Brooke Wyndham, Katie Bradley does a fabulous job as the energetic and entertaining fitness guru. And a nod here to Anthony Whiteman's remarkable choreography. Brooke's second half opener Whipped Into Shape is but a blur of skipping rope as her ensemble achieve a wow of a routine in the narrow confines of the Gatehouse's traverse.

John Plews triumphs again. The director is at his best compacting big shows into his beloved venue, assisted here by Matt Abrams and his band who deliver an assured take on the upbeat score, whilst Isobel Power Smith's set also impresses.

The show is only on for another two weeks and this ensemble make it a lovely night out.

Runs until 31st January

Photo credit: Darren Bell

Legally Blonde - Review

Kilworth House Theatre, Leicestershire


****


Music and Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin
Book: Heather Hach
Director and Choreographer: Mitch Sebastian

Jennifer Harding

Omigod - as autumn approaches and the nights are drawing in, Legally Blonde is creating a fabulously pink infusion of summer fun in the gorgeous grounds of Kilworth House Hotel’s theatre. 

From a distance the show’s story couldn’t be cheesier. Elle expects boyfriend Warner to propose to her but instead the cad dumps her, prior to his leaving town to study law at Harvard – and find a fiancée of greater intellect and social standing. Not to be put down, Elle pursues her man, studying hard and also joining Harvard Law School. What follows is a story as delicious as it is improbable, as through a combination of hard work and sassy female intuition Elle heroically wins the day.

To say any more would spoil – for actually Legally Blonde is all about brilliantly executed song and dance, the breaking and mending of hearts and the lampooning of men whose attitudes to female equality belong in the Stone Age.

Fresh up from being nominated in London’s Off West Awards for Best Female Performer of the Year, Jennifer Harding is Elle. Barely off stage throughout, the strikingly blonde Canadian drives the show with stunning vocals and breathtaking presence. We sense her indignation, resilience, passion and yes at times, a deliciously ditzy blondeness that fuels the narrative. All of Harding’s singing is a treat, with her take on the title song and its Remix, proving spectacular. 

Supporting Elle are a raft of featured characters. Greg Miller Burns is good-guy Emmet, who convinces in his transformation from geek to chic. The accomplished Jodie Jacobs is a delight as Paulette – scene stealing deservedly in her big number Ireland and bringing the house down during the Find My Way/Finale number.

Jenny Gayner puts in an eye-wateringly energetic turn as fitness guru Brooke Wyndham, a woman whose circumstances provide the opportunity for Elle to triumph. Gayner’s Delta Nu Nu Nu duet with Harding proves to be another of the show’s ridiculously memorable moments.

Mitch Sebastian directs and choreographs imaginatively – and for such a charmingly quirky venue, Philip Whitcomb’s set along with Chris Whybrow’s well-crafted sound design ensure all the action is both seen and heard as the sun sets behind the trees, with John Morton’s 11 piece band making fine work of the sugary score.

Fun musicals don’t get better than this!

Runs until 20th September

Legally Blonde UK Tour - Southend on Sea - Review

*****

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

18 January 2012

It’s a confident production company that can stage the touring version of a major West End show so geographically close to London. But with a talented young cast and a sprinkling of famous name cameos, Legally Blonde rolled into Southend to start its 2012 tour.

The lead roles remain largely as cast when the tour commenced last July and the company displays a well-drilled ease in performing the show, demonstrating not only a clear understanding of the sugar sweet plot line, but also the occasional darker nuances of the story.

As Elle Wood, the graduating UCLA student, Faye Brooks leads with an energy that combines elegance , poise and ditz. Her role is immense, 14 out of the show’s 20 numbers include her, and she is outstanding throughout. The show opens with her character being defined in her college sorority house, Omigod You Guys, swiftly followed by her being dumped by her boyfriend Warner in the song Serious. This provides the storyline of the show, as Elle commits herself to studying, so as to follow Warner to Harvard Law School. Perhaps the one weak-link in the long established show’s story, which at times in true Hollywood stye is deliciously implausible, is how Elle, a girl who is extremely strong in character, could even seek to pursue a man as blatantly shallow as Warner.

Arriving at Harvard, Elle becomes a pupil of Professor Callahan, a fiercely adversarial attorney, played here by Matthew Kelly. Callahan’s big number, is Blood in the Water, reflecting the popular image of the lawyer as shark. Kelly relishes every word, and is at his best when reprising the American curmudgeon, recently seen in Lend Me a Tenor.

Elle’s striking blonde locks lead inevitably to a friendship with her hairdresser Paulette, a feisty woman past her prime. Claire Sweeney in this role is a delight. Her wistful yet earthy delivery of Ireland, in which she rues her tattered love life to date is arguably the high spot of the show’s first half.

The true love interest of the story is developed as Emmet, a fellow Harvard student develops a fondness for Elle. He teaches her to look outside of her self in the song Chip on My Shoulder, and her initiative and talent is recognised in So Much Better, a clever number that stirringly closes act one.

Opening the second act, Hannah Grover as Brooke leads an energetic and wonderfully choreographed number, Whipped into Shape, and provides a key plotline that allows Elle’s character to develop further. Without spoiling the story, it is cutely feminine touches that see the plot turn firstly on one woman’s concern over liposuction and later upon Elle’s own self-described “gaydar”, her ability to detect a man’s sexuality, hilariously delivered in the song There! Right There!

Before concluding with an appropriately happy finale the story honestly portrays Elles brave defiance of Callahan’s attempted sexual harassment and in her journey through the second act, Faye Brooks ( a future Glinda perhaps?) truly makes the show her own.

The touring company is a scaled down version of the West End production in terms of orchestra size and scenery. There has however been no compromise at all with the production’s performance values. The vocal work and dance of the entire company is simply outstanding throughout, and the creative team of this UK Tour, ably led by resident director Graham Lappin have excelled.

This production brings West End quality at a fraction of the cost of a London ticket. Go see it!