Legally Blonde: the Musical is a ‘feel good’ theatre experience.
The Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company’s production of Legally Blonde is bright, colourful and exuberant. Director Carolyn Adams and Musical Director Ben Stefanoff have created a well staged and well orchestrated show.
Lucy Carey is perfectly cast in the lead as Elle Woods. She brings not only glamour but also the high standard of singing and dancing talent required to fulfil this role. Her voice and excellent diction are outstanding. Daniel Fleming as Emmett Forrest gives a lovely performance as the sensitive and supportive friend developing into a love interest and their voices are suited to their duets.
Jay Mancuso provides a dominant portrayal of the law professor and villain Callahan and his powerful voice suits the character well. Eve McMillan as hairdresser Paulette shows great comic ability as does Simon Rich as her dream man Kyle. Kristin Stefanoff as Vivienne Kensington gives a very polished performance that lifts some of the ensemble numbers.
There are some fantastic dance sequences and choreographer Jacinta Vistoli has created some memorable moments. The students partying while Elle is studying is hilarious and showcases the magnificent moves of Shane Huang as Grandmaster Chad. Another highlight was skipping rope and singing – I felt exhausted just watching them. The whole ensemble gave enthusiastic and energetic performances.
The canine cameos from Roxy as Bruiser and Phyllis as Rufus are delightful.
The only drawback was the sound quality and this may be a technical issue. It was very loud to the point of being harsh on the ear and in turn this made it difficult to hear the words particularly in the chorus numbers of Delta Nu and the Greek Chorus. Despite this the charm of Elle Woods works its magic on everyone and you leave the theatre smiling and feeling good.
