Legally Blonde

From the opening number to curtain down, this show is full of fantastic performances from both principals and ensemble, with lots of energy and brilliant vocals. They all had great support from the orchestra led by MD Steve Trill whose tempo needed to be spot on to drive the show. The hired in scenery was good and there were slick scene changes, although it was a shame we had to see backstage crew in black, in full light, moving scenery/props. This drew the eye away so it might have been better for them to have been in appropriate costume. Talking of which, costumes were excellent and you would marvel at the speed of the many costume changes.

The plot of this modern musical, based on the 2001 film, sees blonde sorority queen Elle Woods dumped for not being serious enough, so she takes the opportunity to turn this around and manages to get accepted into Harvard to complete a law degree. Becky Histed as Elle Woods was on stage for most of the time, a very demanding role with big songs and dances, but she absolutely nailed it and looked sensational. Becky was ably supported by Sophia Wallace, Scarlett Leigh-Fawcett, Edie O’Brian and Chloe Randall as her friends and of course the rest of the Greek chorus. Each girl successfully showed their own personality together with some very slick dance routines all performed confidently. 

Warner Huntington III played by Jack Thrower was suitably dislikeable and worked well with Holly Sturmer as Vivienne, who played this character in just the right way, dislikeable at first but then we warmed to her. Tom Tapsfield always gives us his all in whatever character he is playing and as Emmett Forrest this was no exception. He has a fine voice and is always a pleasure to listen to. There was great rapport between him and Elle. Wonderful to watch was Cheryl Storer as Paulette, Elle’s best friend, she had a great sense of comic timing, especially in the scenes with Kyle the UPS guy played by Gary Russell. The ‘River Dance’ style number was classic. A special mention must go to Becky Walker as Brooke Wyndham, a fitness instructor. To keep the strong vocals while skipping is a real achievement. Professor Callaghan, played by Simon Judd, was suitably sleazy while still commanding a presence in the classroom.

There were lots of lovely moments in the show for individuals, some heart warming, some comedic and it seemed that every cast member put their own stamp on their individual character.  David Hynes and Matthew Westrope as Nikos and Carlos did a great job and oozed energy. We mustn’t forget the two smallest stars of the show – Bruiser (Daisy) a Chihuahua and bulldog Rufus (Bodie) both beautifully behaved.

It was great to see so many youngsters  - on both sides of the footlights in an almost full theatre. For Artistic Director David Street’s first production with TWODS this was a credit to him and the hard work of the cast and crew. A very pink but poignant show.

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