Legally Blonde
Information
- Date
- 17th June 2022
- Society
- Dryburn Theatrical Workshop
- Venue
- Park View Theatre
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director
- Michelle Coulson
- Musical Director
- Luke McGarey
- Choreographer
- Jack Hindmarch
I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to cover for Dryburn Theatrical Workshop’s production of “Legally Blonde” recently. Cast at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and finally able to make the stage in 2022, it was worth the wait. Legally Blonde isn’t a show that’s a favourite of mine, being a lawyer myself, if law school was as easy as spotting a discrepancy with a perm that would have been a relief, but as a show it’s fun, likable, good for a large younger cast and has some very important lessons for us all about not judging by appearances and that true love and friendship can appear when you least expect it.
The set was bright and colourful, sound perfectly balanced and lighting well designed to get the most out of the cast. The scene changes were very noticeably slick and well executed – well done to all of the off stage teams involved.
Legally Blonde tells the story of Elle Woods whose boyfriend Warner breaks up with her for a “more serious” lifestyle at Harvard Law school and a smarter girlfriend in Vivienne. Elle works to improve her grades and attend the same school in an effort to win him back.
“Omigod You Guys” was a fantastic opening, bright, bubbly with some fantastic voices shining through really setting the pace and tone for the remainder of the show. “Serious” was well transitioned and very funny and the change into the dress was incredible. Alison Beveridge as “Serena, Victoria Clark as Margot and Katherine Donal as Pilar were really excellent players here, extremely focused and animated, keeping the bright bubbly tone throughout as Elle Woods Delta Nu girls. “Positive” was lovely and bright and I really did love “Ireland”. “Whipped” was incredible and “Bend and Snap” execution was just perfect.
Emma Coulson as Elle Woods was a powerhouse. Almost all of us who grace the boards have a character in a musical which really suits us. This was most certainly Emma’s. Her grace and energy never faltered once on stage and she brought life to Elle Woods. The ever dependable to deliver a sterling performance, Frances Wood also excelled in her role of Paulette bringing a comedic energy I really loved on stage. Joe Coulson delivering a wonderfully likeable performance as Emmett was very good and his sincerety with Elle was gorgeous to watch, as was Adam Donald as Warner. Julie Duncan as Vivienne provided just the right amount of contract to the characters and Pete Johnson provided us with a stern Callaghan. I loved Erin Boyle as Brooke, how anyone can look that fabulous whilst skipping and singing at the same time is beyond me. We also were complemented in the main cast with Anne Holt giving us a great Enid and Chris Coates cracking us all up as Aaron and Nikos especially with Lee Passmoor’s interjection as Carlos, I was genuinely in stitches at them! Well done to Phil Martin for the Irish dancing efforts – impressive!
Well done to every single person on stage – you are all fantastic.
Special mention really has to go to Skye and Maggie the dogs playing Bruiser and Rufus respectively. They did brilliant especially bearing in mind the roar of applause they received and took in their stride.
Michelle Coulson always gives an edge when she directs to anything she turns her hand to and this was no different. The multi-talented musical director Luke McGarey certainly must have worked hard on their voices as the sound was lovely and the orchestra very well delivered. Jack Hindmarch, your choreography is excellent, always making the most of the varying abilities on stage delivering well-rehearsed and apt movement. Well done to you all. Sterling job team!
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