It does seem odd in what can seem like an endless conveyor belt of stage adaptations of hit Hollywood movies that Leeds Amateur Operatic Society are the first to stage Legally Blonde in this historic theatre where they have been putting on shows since 1890.
The don’t judge a book by its cover trope is one of the classic musical theatre narratives, with the traditional happy ending always coming from the most unlikely of sources. In this version staying pretty faithful to the smash hit Reece Witherspoon movie, our unexpected heroine is sorority queen and fashionista Elle Woods, who wins a place at the prestigious Harvard Law School proving to have a sharp legal intellect beneath all her fluffy pink exterior as she wins the day.
It’s a high energy show with plenty of humour and some great tunes, but at times feels like a dated feminist fantasy filtered through Hollywood and was a bit of a flop on Broadway before Sheridan Smith won a new audience of people in the West End who simply loved Reece and her little dog. No doubt Lawrence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin meant Gay or European to be ironic, but today it feels out of place, and borderline offensive despite the big laughs it gets.
Legally Blonde is the perfect mid range choice for this longstanding non-professional society to stage as a big cast offers plenty of their members young and old a chance to show what they’ve got, and English teacher Amy Barrett says Elle is her dream role. She grabbed this big role with both hands getting to the steel underneath the blonde hair and painted nails, leading the cast through some big numbers like What You Want with great confidence. She has real chemistry with the impressive Liam Gordon as sympathetic law lecturer Emmett, who to absolutely no-one’s surprise falls in love with Elle, and their duet on Legally Blonde had just the right amount of pathos.
Susan Wilcock is pure comedy gold as lovelorn hairdresser Paulette and is by far the best singer in the cast belting out a wonderfully droll Ireland. The experienced Richard Pascoe is nicely slimy as arrogant law professor Callahan singing well on Blood In The Water, and Kirsty O’Sullivan was nicely catty as Elle’s love rival Vivienne.
Director Louise Denison was kept busy choreographing all the big numbers but kept her direction of performers with wildly different levels of experience brisk, supported by a nimble orchestra under Jim Lund’s baton. Special mention to the charming troupe of Delta Nu sorority pledges who were great fun, despite one or two minor choreography errors that would no doubt be fixed on a longer run, or if this production was going on tour.
Shows like this need the strong ensemble that showed off the depth of talent that LAOS has in its ranks, and a fun, entertaining Legally Blonde can take its place in the society’s role of honour since its first production was staged here before moving pictures were really a thing.
Reviewer: Paul Clarke
Reviewed: 29th March 2024
North West End UK Rating: