Oh My God you guys! This show is everything I wished for! It's so good I had to see it not once but twice!
The show centers around the main character Elle Woods, a bright, bubbly girl living the high life in California but when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her to study law at Harvard, she packs her bags and follows to win him back. But, of course, she is completely out of place surrounded by business driven, hard working, Harvard students. She soon realises the only way to win him back, is to buck up her ideas and study to get the internship to impress him. Supported by her Greek Chorus, and her new friend Paulette Bonafonte, as well as her adorable dog Bruiser, she realises she is so much more than who she thought she was and successfully turns the whole world of Harvard upside down into one big, pink party.
Lucie Jones was magnificient at both performances as Elle and her voice was incredible, captivating the audiences right from the beginning. Lucie fitted the role perfectly, portraying the privilged, perfect young girl with no clue what to do at Harvard. She really managed to capture the slightly spoilt side to Elle which was great too. She is so sharp, witty, bubbly and energetic and got lots of laughs from the audience throughout the show. I loved her performance, I hope she goes into musical theatre more as she is perfect! (I think she'd be a really good Glinda, just saying.)
Beautifully paired with Lucie, is David Barrett who was the nerdy/geeky/adorable guy, Emmett. Lucie and David had great onstage chemistry and they managed to bounce off each other which made their relationship onstage brilliant. David is brilliant at playing Emmett and you feel sad for him at the beginning as he doesn't really fit in but soon after he becomes who he is meant to be with the help of Elle. Overall, David's performance was very strong and I thought his soft, lovely voice really fitted well with Lucie's powerful, energetic belt.
As a member of the audience at both performances, I was both attracted and enthralled by Rita Simon's portrayal of Paulette Bonafonté. Her vocal ability was greatly shown through songs like 'Ireland' and 'Bend and Snap' and she was extremely slick and sharp with her portrayal. The audience was in laughter during many moments throughout the show because of her funny and witty character. I don't think I could have picked anyone better to play Paulette and I'd love to see Rita in some more shows soon!
Liam Doyle and Laura Harrison played Warner Huntingtion and Vivienne Kensingtion well, Liam was very funny in certain parts and Laura's snobbish, mean character was very good and was the complete opposite of Lucie's Elle. Laura's high belt in the remix of 'Legally Blonde' on both nights left me completely shook to the core by her vocal talent that I felt was not shown the best it could be in this show. Special mentions, have to go to the ensemble in songs such as 'There! Right There!' and the cheerleading routine in 'What You Want'. The ensemble brought it each and every time with performances packed with energy and over the top with joy. I simply adored Nancy Hill as Enid Hoops and she was possibly my favourite character in the whole show. Helena Petrovna and the ensemble were great but slightly threatening in the Act 2 opener, 'Whipped Into Shape'.
Legally Blonde is just what you want and it is so much better than anything I could have wished for! It is definetly not a serious show but it had infectious songs, a great storyline and packed to the brim full of energy. An amazing way to spend a couple of hours at the theatre and I promise you will not be disappointed. It proves that being yourself, never, goes out of style!
Legally Blonde is currently visiting various venues on its UK tour until June 2018.
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