Elle Woods may have Marilyn looks, but under the flashy blonde curls there’s a smart, confident and capable woman, so Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
This musical adaptation of the 2001 Reese Witherspoon movie, Legally Blonde, is a fast-paced joyride with all the memorable characters from the movie singing and dancing to a score of toe-tapping tunes that will make you want to spring up and twirl.
The movie, Legally Blonde, released in 2001 was based on the novel with the same title by Amanda Brown. On April 29, 2007, the musical with book by Heather Hach and songs by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre and ran until October 19, 2008, garnering seven Tony nominations and ten Drama Desk nominations.
Legally Blonde centers around Elle Woods (Emma Flynn Bespolka), president of the Delta Nu sorority at UCLA, a motivated, intuitive and strong-minded young woman with a splashy style all her own. In the high energy opening number “Omigod You Guys,” word has gotten out that Elle’s boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Nathan Haltiwanger) is about to propose to her. But all the excitement is squashed when Warner breaks up with Elle giving the excuse in “Serious” that since he is going off to Harvard Law School intending to be a senator by the time he’s thirty, he needs a Jackie not a Marilyn.
Heat-broken, Elle decides to attend Harvard to win back Warner. She aces the LSATS, includes her headshot with her application and instead of writing some boring personal essay, she with her sorority sister cheerleaders performs the best rah-rah routine “What You Want” for the Harvard admitting board who accepts her application. Elle, with her adorable chihuahua, Bruiser by her side, takes on Harvard.
In her first class, she meets Emmett Forrest (Quinn Corcoran), law-teaching assistant to the bloodthirsty Professor Callahan (James D. Sasser) who befriends Elle in “The Harvard Variations.” But he can’t help when she comes to class on the first day unprepared with the homework and gets tossed out at the suggestion of another student, Vivienne Kensington (Nicole Fragala), a dull brunette wearing an even duller black pants suit, who as it happens is Warner’s new preppy girlfriend. Enter the ghosts of the sisters of Delta Nu, the celestial Greek chorus in Elle’s mind encouraging her to remain “Positive.” They reappear whenever Elle needs a boost of self-confidence.
To become more serious looking, Elle heads to the local beauty salon owned by Paulette Bonafonte (Chanel Edwards-Frederick) who warns, “the reason behind all bad hair decisions is love.”
Bespolka as Elle Woods is sheer perfection. She is an adorable quick-change artist slipping from one pink confection into the next while never missing a note of her rich mezzo soprano. Chanel Edwards-Frederic’s Paulette is a force of nature that stops the show with her delightful ruminations in “Ireland.” Her dreamy UPS man is a showstopper himself with electric moves that take your breath away!
Haltiwanger gives us a Warner we love to hate with his calculatingly self-centered demeanor and assisting him in this regard is Fragala’s snooty, mean-spirited Vivienne. Corcoran’s Emmet is sincere and concerned with a powerful tenor. James D. Sasser delivers a threatening Callahan warning students, “You’re nothing until the kill becomes your only law” then magnifies this message in “Blood in the Water.”
A central character always there to cheer on Elle is her precious chihuahua, Bruiser, performed by Little Ricky or U/S Cha Cha given the performance, who takes on the stage with gusto.
This show is a delicious romp in the hands of director, Trey Compton. His stellar cast is effervescent from the first note to the finale that scored an enthusiastic standing ovation at the night of this review. The band under the musical direction of Benjamin Marten Stayner keeps the party going at an exhilarating pace. Choreographer, Jay Gamboa, injects so much fun with lively dance routines including an acrobatic jump rope number “Whip Into Shape” adeptly performed by Julie Roberts as fitness queen Brooke Wyndham, Callahan and company. Costumes by Dustin Cross define each character with Elle embracing bright pinks to Vivienne’s dull blacks. The Delta Nu sorority sisters’ miniskirts and tops in assorted colors add to the youthful, breezy feeling while the Greek chorus is wrapped in white.
The Engeman Theatre has a reputation for turning out Broadway caliber shows with sets to match and Legally Blonde succeeds once again. Scenic Designer, Kyle Dixon’s splashes of pink reverberate throughout each scene that morphs seamlessly from one location to the next. The set is framed with giant latticework columns embellished by lighting designer John Burkland’s neon and ever-changing illuminations.
The Engeman has given us a polished, visually spectacular and fun Legally Blonde that resonates with the message-Be true to yourself. Catch it now through August 25th.
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