Legally Blond

After a very busy week it was so nice to have been invited to The Point Theatre to see Legally Blonde. Welcomed to the foyer by the usual friendly front of house, I was led to my seat to settle down for what, hopefully would be a great evening. As usual with Southampton Musical Society I was not to be disappointed.

The stage was pink, but that is only to be expected from Legally. With a full width building flat to the rear with two large door flats to stage left and stage right, allowing the full staging to be used to its fullest extent and this was taken full advantage of. The Lighting was inventive and effective and worked well to enhance the performance and the sound, usually a difficult proposition at The Point Theatre, was of good quality. All could be heard and the balance between the cast/chorus and Orchestra was just about right.

The show, directed by Carrie Bellett and choreographed by Dotty Evans was slick and well rehearsed. All of the chorus knew where they were to be, at what time and more importantly why. The choreography was entertaining and challenging in places, however all of the cast rose to the challenge. High energy songs often lead to poorer than usual diction, not here, all was well delivered and nothing was lost, the story was easy to follow. The cast were enthusiastic and happy, they really looked as if they were enjoying themselves. That's great for us as an audience as it makes the whole experience involving.

The Principle line up all interacted well, with Morgan Dunn as the lead Elie Woods, Rory Bincow as Emmett Woods, Kenney Adegbola as the love rat Warner and Adrian Jones as the misogynistic boss Callahan - all put real characterisations into their roles and were very ably backed up by Ellen Coggin, Megan Jones and Rhiannon Morgan as Serina, Pilar and Margot, and the very funny Katy Chalkley as Paulette who had real stage presence and comic timing. Has to be said though, all the leads were of a very high quality.

However...

Here is the real story of the show. Show week Monday, Morgan Dunn as the lead lost her voice. Up to the plate step Dotty Evans. I knew earlier in the week that this was the case. Little did I know that this was still the case by Saturday. Dotty lip synched the show, spoken and sung. This was quite impressive, not only that it was completely in character both spoken and sung! and this was for the ENTIRE show week. Equally impressive was how well Morgan did with it too, unless you knew, you would not have been aware. Bravo Ladies!

The entire show was professional in every aspect, performance, sound, lighting, costume and choreography. Well done Southampton Musical Society, congratulations.

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