Legally Blonde

I was seeing this show for the first time and, whilst I had previously viewed the film, I remembered very little about it.  It was not only a first for me as there was also a directorial debut, the first full stage musical for the MD and the society’s youngest ever Choreographer and, together, they did a pretty good job.

The opening sequence was very loud, a bit screechy and maybe a bit rushed and rather took me aback but once I had grown accustomed to what was going on I started to enjoy a really good show.

Leading the way was Tilly Jackson who gave an outstanding performance as Elle Woods and, in an exacting role, absolutely commanded the stage with her style, her voice and her acting ability and she fitted the part perfectly.

I also really enjoyed the debut performance of Connor Canvess as Emmett Forrest who falls for Elle.  He gave a very promising and relaxed portrayal and his scenes and songs with Elle were super.

Elle had followed her errant fiancé to Harvard and Warner Huntingdon III was well played by Charlie Shaw.  Dave Blaker, who was also Assistant Director, played Elle’s tutor, Professor Callahan, powerfully but I did not feel that he was totally comfortable in the role.  His main number, Blood in the Water, is really challenging and, in fact, most of the songs seemed fairly tricky to me with some difficult rhythms in places although I am not suggesting that performances were poor, far from it.

One of the best of the smaller parts is that of the hairdresser, Paulette Buonofuonte, which was very well interpreted by Amanda Wademan.  She also had one of the best songs in the show, Ireland.  I was impressed with Sarah Cox as Brooke Wyndham who Elle and her fellow legal students end up defending in court, and there was some important back up from Claire Edwards as Vivienne Kensington (Warner’s new girlfriend), Pauline Elliott as Enid Hoopes and Rebecca Boag, Alex Asquith, Casey Canvess and Cara Hitchens as Elle’s excitable friends.  A variety of other characters were performed by players from the main body of the cast and this made for a very “together” production.

Choreography was slick and lively and costumes were fine.  The set was really good with great use made of sliding flats behind which scenery and props were placed and then revealed but I did have one downer in that the follow spots, which I like, did not follow well and rather spoilt the required effect.

I got used to the sound and it was in fact ideal for this show and the whole production had a great energy which was fully appreciated by the audience.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.