Legally Blonde Jr

This was Atomic Theatre Arts first NODA show although the group have been running for a number of years. Their first production that they have invited us to was Legally Blonde Jr.

The story follows the transformation of Elle Woods, a fashionable Malibu sorority girl, whoenrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend, Warner. Along the way, shediscovers that knowledge and determination can take her further than she ever imagined.

The show began with an extensive ensemble of young performers in the pink drenched auditorium making their way around the audience and speaking to people about Elle. The ensemble was made up of 84 performers.

As soon as the first number started, the cast assembled onstage for the first company number. The company choreography started really strong and didn’t disappoint throughout the show. There are some very clear dance skills in this group and they shone through from all the members of the cast and ensemble. The ensemble singing in the show was also very strong in all the numbers that they were involved in. The screaming from the ensemble was a little loud at times and with such a number in the ensemble could be quite overwhelming.

Elle Woods, played by Sienna Withey really owned the stage in this production. Her characterisation, vocal ability, comedy, and presence onstage was brilliant.

Vivienne, played by Neve, stood out as a strong character with a great voice. She gave Vivienne her expected forceful nature but also then gave a good change in character at the end when Vivienne joins forces with Elle. You could see this clearly and her singing was good too.

Paulette, played by Ella English gave good comedy in the Hair Affair and her timing in the comedy was very good too.

Emmett, played by Emily Sisson, sold the part to me. They were both strong and kind and showed Emmett’s inner thoughts and feelings well. Their singing was a highlight in the show and alongside Elle, we saw a power duo onstage.

The lighting was strong and really set the scene for the performance in the theatre. Some great effects were used and the theatre was used to its full potential.

However, if I can offer some constructive criticism, I would comment here that bringing the cast forwards in front of the speakers did lead to a little feedback and meant that the sound for the show was kept quite low. There were moments in the show where I found the sound to be too low and also the musical backing not being loud enough for the cast to keep time well and to give the audience the full effect of the show. Alongside this there were some diction issues from cast members and with the accents, this meant that some dialogue was lost or tough to understand. I also found the scene changes to be quite slow and this broke up the story and the production a lot and made me lose the emotion of what was happening sometimes.

But! The most important part of all this was seeing so many young people engaged and enjoying our strange and wonderful theatre life. To see so many young people given an opportunity to do something like this filled my heart with glee and I teared up a little at the end when everyone was onstage performing and showing such clear friendships with each other. I also noticed the older cast members helping the younger ones in the bows and showing them where to go and stand which I thought was just brilliant. At the end of the day, this is what it is all about, giving young people an opportunity and allowing audiences to see their talents and skills.

Thank you for your kind invite and warm welcome. I hope to come to see many more of your productions in the future and see the group shining each time I come along.

See you all soon

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