Legally Blonde

I can't quite believe it is now 20 years since this feel-good musical, about a fashion-obsessed Californian girl going to snooty Harvard Law School in order to impress the man of her dreams - is this not a little dated as society is today? Not a bit of it, as LIDOS proved that with talent and hard work, this story has such relevance today.

Music and lyrics were by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, with book by Heather Hach - based on a novel by Amanda Brown - and of course, the MGM movie starring Reese Witherspoon.

The production had the 'wow' factor in spades. Direction, musicality, top-flight casting and amazing technicalities were all of a professional standard - from the opening number, the energy and vitality burst from the stage and made the audience gasp with incredulity.

Let me begin with the Director - Sian Lomax, a talented actor in her own right, has made the transition to director seamless - there were lovely production touches on a simple but effecive set and she made the most of the very amusing dialogue by not letting her cast rush things - this can confuse an audience, especially with American accents being difficult on British ears! Musical Direction was in the young but experienced hands of Sean Gleeson - unseen from the audience but neverless a driving force with strong rhythms and a great sound.

The show relies a lot on the choreography - once again, that fantastic double act of Emma Tempest and Donna Wells gave us some stunning routines and movement - all performed perfectly by the company. They even managed some Irish dancing, which thrilled me no end! I understand that they both succumbed to the dreaded Covid just prior to technical rehearsal - but I can assure them, they were not let down in any way by the performers!  The cast....Headed by Megan-Leigh Bassett as the sassy blond Elle Woods, she provided the strong anchor for the entire company - she handled the comedy and pathos in a truly professional way with a strong singing voice, good dance moves and excellent dialogue. Her snooty boyfriend, Warner Huntingdon lll. was played to perfection by Liam Gordon, his scenes with Elle were superb - but of course he had to be the 'bad guy' and this led to some hilarious scenes as the show developed.

Elle's friendly hairdresser, Paulette, was played assuredly by Jenny Wemyss, who made the most of her character's agony aunt persona. The always - reliable James Sidgwick played Elle's nemesis, Professor Callahan perfectly, with Nikki Zoe Hosker playing Warner's tacky girlfriend, Vivienne (her character became Miss Nice Girl toward the end!). Chris Webster played Elle's supporter and geeky friend, (becoming boyfriend!) Emmett - a very touching interpretation - his performance was spot-on.

Elle's UCLA's Delta Nu Sorority 'sisters', Margot - Lauren Hampshaw, Serena - Sophie Massa and Pilar - Amy Lodge, all gave exceptional performances - their vitality and energy were joyous - Honey Schofield played the studious Kate, Elle's study friend with good characterisation. Katie Barnes played one of Elle's law student classmates, Enid Hoopes, with good comedy. And the character we all love - Kyle the delivery man, was played brilliantly by Ross Tonkin. Claire Hoyland played the jailbird, Brook Wyndham with her usual pizazz, incredible vocals and a skipping routine that tired me out just watching!

I hate to use the word 'chorus' to describe that wonderful group of performers who work so hard to support the main characters - these were all individuals who were each given a certain role to play and they did it so well - I always say the cameo  roles can often spoil a production, but these were at the top of their game! Well done!

And now for the creative team - Ian Thomson drew around him a first-class crew back-stage - the very experienced ASM, Paul Harding: DSM, Lynne Folkard: lighting Design, Adam Moore (brilliant): Lighting Operator, Dan Dainter: Sound Desgn, Chris Beardwell and Duncan Bavister (can I say that so many times I am told the band drown out the performers - not so in this production - I heard every word of lyric and dialogue - great!)  Props, Helen Thomson; Follow Spot, Leigh Craven and Mandi Rugg (the one job in the theatre I got sacked from - I made a serious play resemble the Blitz, no control over the spot light!)  and the hard working crew, with flawless set changes led by Sam Woodall; Emma Cole, Kira Dable, Gill Mulllins, Tina Nutt, Charlotte Stenhouse, Jordan Stenhouse, Matthew Tempest (lovely to see on video as an American weather man!)  and Helen Thomson. The costumes were provided and sourced by Bryan and Carolyn Craven - all authentic to period and lots of pink - very hard work - very well done!

I cannot finish without mentioning two very special performers - canine-perfect, Colby played Elle's dog, Bruiser (A chihuahua) and Gary played Paulette's dog, Rufus (A bulldog) - what stars! And to think that if you go,to see the Regents Park Open Air Theatre's production of 'Legally Blond' - the dogs are played by humans!!!  They need these two stars!!

This was indeed a first-class production full of energy and perfection - I was so envious of you all and wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved - as I left the theatre, one of the cast (who played Nico in the court-room scene) stopped me and thanked me for coming to see the show - oh no, I replied, thank you for an unforgettable evening!

 

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