5 STARS. Legally Blonde the Musical is on at the New Wimbledon Theatre from Monday June 18. Richard Davies loved every minute of it
Robert Workman
Legally Blonde is a musical version of the hit film that starred Reese Witherspoon. The heroine, Elle Woods, is a young blonde woman from UCLA more interested in Armani than academia, who goes to Harvard Law School to win back her man, but who discovers she has so much more to offer. The show became a huge success on Broadway in 2007 and no wonder: it is the ultimate feelgood night out, accurately described by one New York critic as a “non-stop sugar rush”.
Elle Woods is played by Lucie Jones, who represented the UK in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, a selfless act of career sacrifice that suggests she is made of tough stuff. Unfortunately on the press night, Lucie was unwell. But you would hardly know that her understudy Rebecca Stenhouse was a stand-in. She delivered a belting performance, totally confident in the role without a single slip or step out of place. Several members of the audience near me screamed and cheered their heads off every time she sang. When I asked in the interval if they were her friends, they said no, they just wanted to support her. It’s that kind of show.
Legally Blonde is a fairy tale of female self-empowerment for the 21st century. When Elle is dumped by her wealthy but dim boyfriend Warner, it is because his family has political ambitions for him. They want him to get “serious” and marry a Vanderbilt like his brother, someone “classy, not too tacky”. An underlying theme of the story is a conflict between the relaxed, west coast ‘new money’ and uptight, east coast ‘old money’ – people who in Elle’s assessment “wear black when no one is dead.” Elle takes on the establishment on her own terms. Instead of writing a personal statement for Harvard, she bursts into the admissions offices with her sorority girl squad to perform an irresistible cheerleading routine.
Robert Workman
Having got into Harvard, Elle has a steeper mountain to climb to gain acceptance, starting with her condescending classmates. In the song Harvard Variations, the students roll out their credentials in delightful counterpoint with the refrain “pretty impressive.” The most hostile is Warner’s new girlfriend Vivienne, who Elle fears will “stab me in the gut with the stick that’s up her ass.” After a few early wobbles, Elle learns to draw on the power of her sisterhood and have faith in herself to realise her true potential.
Legally Blonde is the best musical I have seen in many years. The book by Heather Hach is wonderfully witty and packed with laugh out loud lines. It also has some fantastic songs, including “Bend and Snap” and the wonderfully camp “There! Right there!” with the chorus “Gay or European”, an hilarious satire of how some Americans struggle to interpret European behavioural codes.
The real star of the show is Rita Simons (formerly Roxy in EastEnders) as Paulette Bonafonte, a hairdresser who is coached by Elle Woods (channeling her inner Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse) to get her man, the dreamy UPS delivery guy Kyle. Simons reveals a superb bluesy voice and a great comic talent.
Overall, this is a super production: great singing and wonderful dancing with a gorgeous riot of bright lights and colourful costumes. Grab a ticket while you can and inject some Elle-style positive thinking into your life!
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