Legally Blonde The Musical – Daneside Theatre

On a dark and dreary October evening, The Daneside Theatre in Congleton was glowing with hot-pink and the productions opening night appeared lively and high-spirited.

Directed by Jill Mason, the Congleton Musical Theatre’s rendition of Heather Hach’s ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ is kitsch, cringe and wonderfully camp.

The musical is based on both Amanda Brown’s novel and the 2001 hit-movie starring Reese Witherspoon, following the journey of the ‘Malibu-Barbie’, Elle Woods, as she navigates her way through Harvard Law School and eventually dispels all stereotypes of her ‘Legally Blonde’ persona.

The curtain opens to Elle (Abbie Lloyd) and her ‘Delta Nu’ Sorority Sister’s performance of ‘Omigod you guys’, a flamboyant number that immediately characterised Elle and her love for Warner Huntington (Rob Tagell) and set a tone of excessive and exaggerated enthusiasm that would continue throughout the entire production. Both Marilyn Blank’s fluid musical direction and Nicky Evans’ choreography perfectly captured campness and comedy in its entirety. Their roles were appreciated, considering the amount of cast members that were often on stage at once.

The star of the show, Abbie Lloyd, successfully adopted Elle Woods character in her every trait – girly, shallow, enthused, fashionable and overly-dramatic. She continuously demanded the audience’s attention with her abundance of stage presence and her vocals were consistently strong. Her canine companion was also an endearing touch to the production that audience members adored.

The performance of Paulette (Sam Sherliker-Hewitt) and Callahan (Ben Obeid-Findley) must also be praised for their incredibly strong vocal performance and their fantastic stage-presence. Moreover, both minor character’s Nikos (Arran Johnstone) and Carlos (Matthew Hampson) were comedically amusing in the ‘Gay or European’ ensemble and courtroom scene towards the latter half of act two. However, it is important to highlight that all the leading cast members shone and vocals were largely strong throughout.

Staging and set design were also to be applauded. While the set was relatively simple (including props such as a Harvard Law bookshelf on the left of the stage and Elle’s cluttered and girly bedroom on the right), the transitions between scenes were seamless and both the stage and the lighting always complimented each scene. The unsung heroes were the musicians who further enhanced the storyline and their timing was always on-point. It would be remiss not to comment on the minor sound quality issues at times on stage, however this did not take away from the coherency and the comprehensibility of the musical.

While the original script of the musical often played into gender roles and was at times predictable, Congleton Musical Theatre did an excellent job of providing a night of surface-level fun and comedy and truly brought all the characters to life.

If you want a night full of perms, pink, and pitch-perfect ‘O-M-G’s’, this musical is a must-see for both young and old and certainly for all Elle Woods wannabes! The production can be seen at the Daneside Theatre until Saturday 26th October. Tickets are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/daneside-theatre-trust-ltd  

Reviewer: Hannah Kelly

Reviewed: 22nd October 2024

North West End UK Rating: