Legally Blond

I had never seen the show before and never seen the film either, so I had read about the show on the internet. Big mistake number one… never go to a show with preconceived ideas from reading other critics reviews and comments. Big mistake number two… never ever underestimate the talent and ability of a cast and a production team from Weston! This was an entertaining, fast moving block buster of a modern ‘in your face, girly’ musical and given the ‘treatment’ by an all female production team, I thought it was fabulous.

With so much of the show backed by music, the excellent orchestra under the control of experienced MD Annie Ford, produced music that was rhythmic, compelling, tuneful and although hidden away ‘upstairs’, the well trained cast never missed a beat or an entrance, it was all very well managed.

The modern choreography was outstanding. With the whole company at times clearly demonstrating their very good dance skills, Marina Fairhead must have drilled this team so well I was breathless just watching!

The direction from Laura Grace Leadbetter was clever and clear-cut, interesting and entertaining from start to finish. The quite complex story was easily understood and the casting of the boys and girls, men and women, was a dream team. From the back row of the chorus to the leading lady ‘extraordinaire’ Jane Williams, this show had a multi talented cast of characters and my goodness… the audience were so well entertained!  

Could I understand all the words in the songs which obviously ‘progressed the story’… no, but practically every modern production I see from Legally Blond, Hairspray, Sister Act or many others, all suffer from some lack of clear projection. Loud volume doesn’t necessarily equate with understandable diction. With colourful edgy costumes, well worn by everyone, fabulous scenery that glided or dropped perfectly into place (well done crew, you all worked extremely hard) and inventive lighting, this was an evening of dance and music, pure fun and laughter.

Never judge a book by its cover, this audience was very different from the usual at a WSM OS production, but it goes to prove that very modern and edgy shows can have a terrific following and Weston proved it can provide the talent to take a ‘newish’ West End release and fully do it justice. Very well done Weston-Super-Mare!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.