Theatre / Legally Blonde
Review: Legally Blonde The Musical
Monday started way too early, so arriving at the Bristol Hippodrome to watch Legally Blonde I’m very tired and concerned an embarrassing falling-asleep-halfway-through-Act-One situation could ensue.
I needn’t have worried, though: this show is high-energy from the get go and as it ends two and a half hours later I feel more awake than I have for weeks. I also have a firmly wedged earworm that may take a few days to clear – Ohmigod You Guys!
Based on Amanda Brown’s novel Legally Blonde and the 2001 movie of the same name, the show tells the story of Elle Woods, a Californian sorority girl whose only ambition on enrolling at Harvard Law School is to win back her ex-boyfriend. We could have told her he wasn’t worth the effort.
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She soon discovers, via a scene completely stolen by an English Bulldog named Stanley playing the part of an English Bulldog named Rufus, that her knowledge of the law can help others and, despite nobody having much faith in her, defies expectations to win a tricky murder trial. A knowledge of how best to look after a perm also comes in handy.
Lucie Jones, former X Factor contestant and the UK’s representative in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, plays Elle. She’s very likeable and has a great voice. She’s joined by Rita Simons as Paulette, whose solo Ireland is one of the stand-out moments; Bill Ward as Professor Callahan; and David Barrett as Emmett Forrest. Liam Doyle plays Warner Huntingdon III and Laura Harrison is his new girlfriend, Vivienne Kensington. It’s a well-chosen cast.
The sets are eye-catching, a cross between panto and cartoon. It’s never difficult to figure out where a scene is taking place as we move between sorority house, department store, university library, beauty salon and court room.
If I have one negative, it’s that the costumes aren’t great. They’re as bright and colourful as the set but Elle is meant to know her stuff when it comes to fashion and you certainly don’t get that impression: her outfits veer towards frumpy and generally seem too big for her. It’s a minor quibble, though.
If you like your culture highbrow, Legally Blonde may not be the show for you. But if you enjoy energising, musical theatre that’s as pink and frothy as cotton candy, don’t miss it.
Legally Blonde The Musical continues at the Hippodrome until Saturday, October 7. For more info, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/legally-blonde/bristol-hippodrome
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