Omigod you guys! I didn’t realise I was coming to see an amateur production of Legally Blonde the Musical at the Floral last night and, were it not for a couple of tiny microphone glitches, I’d have been none the wiser.
From crowd-rousing curtain-up to fabulous finale, it was as polished and perfect a gem of a show as you’d pay top dollar to see. Running until Saturday, there’s still time to nab some seats for this Wallasey Musical Theatre Company production.
If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know that it’s a piece of fairytale froth as a story, where the assertion is that you can be both brainy and blonde, principled and a princess.
Elle Woods, a lethal combination of girlish naivety and steely determination, applies for Harvard Law School (despite having majored in Fashion Merchandising) in a bid to get her ex back. By virtue of just being nice and having more intelligence than her fluffy appearance would suggest, she ultimately wins the respect of her classmates, the heart of the guy and the high profile case.
I don’t actually believe a word of it: in my experience, the beautiful will succeed where the merely bright do not (bitter much, moi?) and there’s not much room for principles in the legal profession, but it’s a nice conceit. And omigod, Ciera Evans is as flawless as Elle Wood’s complexion. Her vocals, by turns belting, yet never strident, and sweetly lingering, yet never feeble, are faultless.
Ably supported by the fabulous Delta Nu sorority, in particular Sophie Ellis-Kemp’s Margot and Chloe Warde’s Serena, the show announces itself with a high-energy, high-kicking bang.
With a professional quality set and seamless scenery changes, one of which provides the hilarious Stuart Wilson-Manor the opportunity to stage-strut before us to a musical phrase reminiscent of ‘Whatta Man’ played by the excellent live band, the candy-spun fantasy is largely lit in Elle’s signature pink hues. Which is very apt, creating as it does a veritable rose-coloured spectacle in line with Ms Woods’ personal philosophy.
Okay, so sometimes the distance between Bel Air and New Brighton seems a bit of a stretch (and I wouldn’t mention it but for the fact that many of the characters are defined by their Beverly Hills looks and much of the action takes place in a beauty parlour) but this is not to denigrate the performances.
Special mention goes to Gabrielle Stanfield’s turn as Paulette, combining power with pathos. And Jack Darker brings the burlesque in his accent-perfect comic turn as Nikos the pool boy. The number ‘Gay or European’ treads a fine line, in danger of being both homophobic and racist at once. But wait, what am I talking about? If it’s not camp, it’s not really musical theatre.
Perhaps inevitably for a feminist fantasy, the female cast were stronger than their male counterparts. I’m not sure Jack Parry was given much to work with, his numbers appearing largely conversational rather than belt-worthy (and I’ve seen him give great anguish as Jesus in JCSS.)
But, taken as a whole, this near-faultless production is top quality, top value and top entertainment.
Reviewer: Miranda Green
Reviewed:14th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: