Legally Blonde tells the heartwarming story of lovestruck Elle Woods, whose desperate plea to win the heart of her ex boyfriend Warner Huntington III leads her to Harvard Law School and on an unexpected journey to self worth.
This 00’s movie favourite is brilliantly reimagined on stage with exceptionally catchy and comical music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. The pair have given the story a new lease of life with extra sparkle and plenty of energy. Legally Blonde has long been one of my musical favourites and it remains so. Its hard to beat such an uplifting and joyful piece of theatre.
Unfortunately, this particular version felt a bit amateurish when it came to design. The set consisted of basic painted backdrops and the costumes left a lot to be desired for. The cast struggled to fill the vast empty space and as a result the stage felt strangely empty.
Similarly, the choreography also felt amateurish and a little clumsy at times, although it was performed with plenty of energy by an enthusiastic cast. Their timing was a little off in some songs and multiple (usually hilarious) jokes went a miss but otherwise this cast did well. Lucie Jones really put her own spin on leading lady Elle Woods and totally won the audience over with her ditsy but loveable nature. She added plenty of comedy to the role and her absolutely gorgeous vocals stole the show. Other stand outs were David Barrett as Emmett Forrest and Ben Harlow as the hilarious Kyle B O’Boyle – such a dazzling smile!
The whole production seemed to gel more in the second act than the first after being unusually slow to get going. Finally everything came together and I was reminded exactly why I love this musical!! The medley at the end was something fresh and exciting and painted a huge smile on everyone’s faces as they left the theatre! I for one felt thoroughly uplifted!
Although this production fell short of expectations at times, Legally Blonde the Musical will never fail to make me smile. The story is heartwarming, uplifting and a lot of fun and this production will definitely raise your spirits! If you’ve not seen it before, it’s definitely worth a visit but be warned, you’ll have the songs in your head for weeks!!
Legally Blonde the Musical will be at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham until 26th May 2018 before continuing on to Milton Keynes and beyond!
For tickets and information, click here!
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Much love,
Charlotte
*Production Images by Robert Workman
I have to agree with you. This production didn’t have the wow factor it had a few years ago. I felt Whipped Into Shape was particularly amateur and should have been left as was.
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