Legally Blonde - The Musical

Legally Blonde a musical staged by BOS Theatre Company at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport on Saturday, 7th October, 2023.

Legally Blonde is a 2007 musical: with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin and book by Heather Hach.  Based on the novel ‘Legally Blonde’ by Amanda Brown and the award-winning film of the same name; it charts the adventures of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrols at Harvard Law School in an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend. Harvard has many challenges for Elle… things that she thought were weaknesses, turn out to be strengths. On this journey of ‘self-discovery’, Elle is forced to navigate her way to success whilst dealing with snobbery, prejudice, and treachery!  Then, discovering her knowledge of the law could help others, Elle successfully defends Exercise Queen, Brook Wyndham in a murder trial.  Legally Blonde, with its ‘pink and fluffy exterior’ has become a very popular musical, but take a look beneath that ‘pink and fluffy exterior’… delve into the ‘interior’ and find life changing messages … like ‘Never judge a book by its cover’, ‘Above all, be true to yourself’;  ‘People who put you down are not worth YOUR time’;  ‘True love knows no bounds’ and finally ‘Anything is possible if you just work hard enough’ ask Elle!

The Production Team… Nick Lloyd (Artistic Director) was using Legally Blonde for his directing debut… ‘Omigod You Guys’… surely there were easier musicals to ‘cut your teeth on’ Nick!  But, with a well-chosen, well-rehearsed cast at his disposal, there was little or no doubt that Nick had a good idea of what he wanted from this production and how to achieve it.  I had the opportunity to briefly chat with Nick before the show, during the interval and a chance, at the end, to congratulate him… well done Nick, be very proud sir!  Making up the ‘production team’ and assisting Nick with all things ‘Pink and Fluffy’ we had another ‘debut boy’ in the form of Thomas Corcoran, (Musical Director), plus we had the very experienced duo of Victoria Harrocks (Choreographer) and David Wall (Orchestra Director). Victoria should be congratulated on some simple yet cleverly devised choreography which played to the varied strengths of all the cast members which is never the easiest of tasks… well done Victoria.  This is a tricky musical score which was handled and performed well by the cast!  Instrumental in achieving both elements undoubtedly lies with the talented musical duo of Thomas and David, who should be congratulated on their efforts… be proud each and all… great production!  

The Cast… we had a cast of thirty-one, who, as previously stated, were well rehearsed and as soon as those curtains parted, and those lights came up … ‘gave us their all’… and there’s very little more you can ask!   As usual, this is the time in MY review when I stick MY neck out and suggest ‘MY’ Show Stealer and ‘MY’ three favourite characters!  ‘Show Stealer’ is sometimes a ‘tricky decision’ but not in this case… Kim Helm gave us a ‘masterclass’ in the role of our lead, ‘Elle Woods’.  ‘Elle’ is demanding role… very rarely off stage, deals with ‘multiple costume changes’, whilst being involved in more than two thirds of the songs sung… this is a monumental part!  But, my decision has very little to do with ‘quantity’ and everything to do with ‘quality’!  From first entrance to finale bow, which by the way, brought the house down… Kim just oozed class!  Stage presence aplenty, facial expressions, mannerisms, her interaction with every cast member was confident and assured!  BUT what made this extra special… was her singing!  Every song, every lyric was crystal clear and sung with effortless ease… many won’t know how poorly Kim had been in the lead up to opening night… but knowing that, makes this performance even more impressive… be very proud Kim!   Jacob Bailey took on the role of ‘Emmett Forrest’, the quirky legal teaching assistant who acts as a mentor, friend, and potential love interest for Elle!  Jacob created a totally believable character. Great stage presence, great characterisation, there was a believable ‘chemistry’ between Jacob and Kim which grew with the show and I just loved their rendition/performance of ‘Chip on my Shoulder’… highlight for me… well done Jacob, be very proud!  Chloe Davies gave us a great performance as the ‘quirky’ hairdresser, ‘Paulette Bonafonte’… the hopeless romantic with the big heart, who becomes best friend to Elle.  Chloe, made this part her own, great characterisation, great mannerisms, great stage presence and I loved the interaction with another great character, our UPS God and the object of Paulette’s affections, ‘Kyle’ played ever so well by Luke Rimmer. Luke milked every ounce from this part, from his first entrance, with ‘the strut’, which got probably the biggest cheer of the night, to his last… well done you two… be ever so proud!   Carl Sedman, took on the role of Elle’s Ex… Warner Huntington III; Katie Allen played ‘fitness Guru and murder suspect ‘Brooke Wyndham’.  Philip Power, after an eventful first entrance, took on the role of the sleazy Lawyer/Professor ‘Callaghan’.  Our three Delta Nu’s/Greek Chorus … ‘Margot’, ‘Serena’ and ‘Pilar’ were played by Hollie Wills, Rachael Perrett and Charlotte Littler respectively.  Sophie McGuinness took on the role of ‘Vivienne Kensington’; Evie Twist played ‘Enid’; Mayowa Taye played ‘Padamadan’; Craig Billington played a dual role as ‘Aaron and Lowell’; Nicola Powell played ‘Chutney’; Dan King, another dual role ‘Mr Woods’ Elle’s dad and ‘Winthrop’; Anita Hutson took on the role of ‘Mrs Woods’, Elle’s mum; Phoebe Billing played ‘Kate’; Tom Hallsworth played another dual role ‘Dewey’ and ‘Nikos’ as did Dominic Johnson who played ‘Carlos’ and Pforzheimer’.  The Ensemble/Delta Nu’s and cheerleaders were made up of some named characters plus Emma Blane, Lucy Brown, Megan Barrett, Rebecca Billington, Aynsley Littler, Catherine Dunne, Cathryn Blane, Kayleigh Ryan, Kirsty Wills, Laura Abrams, Phoebe Billings and Sarah Clayton all unnamed. Not forgetting our canine stars … ‘Bruiser’ (‘Not a dog, he’s family’) played by Alvin and Rufus played by ‘Rambo’. Great cast/great show!

Staging/Set/Tech… a simple yet effective set…plus the Lighting Design and plot was under the watchful eye of the ever so experienced Andrea Shacksmyth-Claire. Stage Management, which was excellent, (quiet/slick scene changes) were carried out by Infinity Technical Services and BOS Members. Sound Design was also created and under the guidance of Infinity Technical Service/David Murray… and although we did have a few quiet moments… there was nothing serious enough to spoil the total enjoyment of this production. 

The Orchestra… was under the direction, for the performances of David Wall, with Thomas Corcoran doing the pre-show duties as Musical Director.  Thought the sound and accompaniment was first-rate.

Costumes… as always were fabulous and enhanced the production ever so much… sourced from Charades Costume Hire, St. Helens… congrats to the Wardrobe Team of Wendy Harris and Carole Taylor.

Props…were apt and used by the cast really well, again enhancing the production… supplied by Members and Friends of BOS and Southport Dramatic Club… and looked after by Karen Browne and Anita Hutson.

Obituaries… BOS in their programme notes offer their condolences to two members who had ‘passed’ recently one of whom, Anne Williams, they had dedicated this production to. Anne ‘passed’ in June of this year aged 85 years. The second member to be remembered was John Heywood who ‘passed’ in August of this year at the age of 81.  Gone but not forgotten… RIP Anne/John!  

Can I take this opportunity to apologise to BOS for being unable to attend their VIP Evening on the Thursday due to illness and thank Phil Power and those involved in re-arranging my tickets so that my wife and I did get chance to see their final performance on the Saturday evening… thanks folks, really appreciated!

Thank you once again for another wonderful evening … my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Looking forward already to seeing you all again for Sister Act and celebrating your 65th Anniversary!

Stay Safe and Keep Well” …
‘Stronger Together!’

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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