Legally Blonde the Musical Jr

Mid Cheshire Youth Theatre made a welcome return to the stage after last year’s ‘Frozen Jr’ with their production of the pink-tastic ‘Legally Blonde Jr’, directed by Jenna Finnigan. The set looked impressive, with a static set of the sorority house being the focal point. It was a clever set that opened up to reveal different locations throughout, with additional furniture brought on. A backcloth of the interior of Harvard was brought in for scenes inside the university, which looked food. The pace was good throughout, with scene changes handled well. The direction from Jenna was of a good standard, with good stage positioning throughout. Most of the characters were fully fledged and delivered convincing performances. The costumes were well thought of for the production. The muted colours of Harvard made Elle standout in her pink outfits, further showing her as the odd one out. Just one very nit-picking moment – there were untucked shirts in the Harvard scenes, which didn’t seem to fit in with the smart establishment of Harvard.

Beatrice Dorsch was the musical director for this production. The cast performed to backing tracks and did well with this. There were some very good vocal moments throughout from the young cast.

Lizzie Edwards took a lead on choreography with assistance from Jenna. The routines were full of energy and fun to watch. They were performed very well by the cast, who attacked the choreography.

Technical elements were integrated well into the production. The sound balance between the backing tracks and the cast was very good throughout. The lighting design was good throughout the production as well. The colours of the Irish flag for ‘Ireland’ was a great touch.

Taking on the role of Elle Woods was Alice McCall. This was a very good performance from Alice. She delivered on the comedy of the role, as well as delivering on the heartfelt moments. Her performance of ‘Legally Blonde’ was well measured and sung very well.

Aspen Walker did well as Emmett Forrest. Aspen made Emmett into a bumbling character, which worked in his interactions with Elle. There was a good initial friendship developed with Elle, which then changed into more romantic feelings. Aspen had a good vocal as well.

Jess Carter gave a good performance as Paulette. There was a good friendship formed with Alice’s Elle. Jess understood the role, and delivered the comedy well. Her vocals were good as well. She worked well with Louis McManus as Kyle, who swaggered onto the stage in this comedic cameo role – almost stealing the show with his strut!

Caleb Graham gave an interesting interpretation to Professor Callahan that worked for the character. He had a good command of the stage and displayed good authority. Some of Caleb’s movements and actions seemed forced – relax into the character and this will help.

Emma Wickstead was full of energy as the fitness fanatic, Brooke Wyndham. The role of Brooke is demanding with singing and skipping at the same time. Emma handled this well. There were some very good comic moments as well.

Poppy Chapman played Warner. Poppy had a good vocal, and she did well in this role. Poppy worked well with Danielle Iveson as Vivienne, who was able to show the change in Vivienne’s character very well. Amber Larose played Enid Hoopes. Amber was always in character and added comedy to her scenes.

The Delta Nus, Margot (Sidney Causer), Serina (Alice Owen) and Pilar (Sadie Lovett), all worked well together as Elle’s sorority sisters. Their voices blended well together in the songs, and they became a strong trio. They led the opening number very well indeed.

Jay Jackson was full of sass in a number of roles throughout the production, including Chutney. Jay had great stage presence, and your eyes were drawn to Jay whenever they were on stage. Jay had some great comic moments as well.

The ensemble performed well throughout, and it was great to see that they all had their chance in the spotlight. They were well drilled in the choreography and music, and performed the ensemble numbers very well. Some highlights include Evie James’s impressive vocals as Store Manager, and Joe Bateman stepping into the role as Judge and performing the role with ease.

A special mention to Simon for his MCYT debut as Bruiser! This was a totally ‘paw-some’ performance!

Overall, this was a very good production. There were some good performances, the choreography was fun, and there were some impressive vocals from this young cast.

A big thank you to everyone at MCYT for their kind invite and their hospitality.

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