Legally Blonde, Christchurch Theatre Club, Loughborough Town Hall, Leicester.
Legally Blonde
Christchurch Theatre Club
Loughborough Town Hall, Loughborough
Christchurch Theatre Club
Loughborough Town Hall, Loughborough
★★★
You wouldn't believe that the 2001 movie of Legally Blonde is now 16 years old, that makes even me feel old. unfortunately, this was a musical production that I missed when it was both in London and when Curve Theatre produced it. I couldn't possibly miss it again for the third time when local amateur theatre group Christchurch Theatre Club announced it as their January production at the Loughborough Town Hall.
Christchurch Theatre Club are certainly a company who know how to decide on their production offerings with maximum audience appeal, having previously performed shows like Cats and Evita. Their next musical will be Gypsy in May 2017 so I will definitely be looking forward to that.
Legally Blonde is a really uplifting musical, following the ventures of the not-so-dumb blonde Elle Woods and she pursues a place in Harvard Law School to win her boyfriend's heart back. Elle Wood is a character whose enthusiasm and fun personality is well interpreted by leading lady Lucy Maden who has been involved with the company since 1994. Her experience shows in her performance and her singing capability definitely executing the diction and pace of some of the musical numbers well.
Her now ex boyfriend, the one she presumed that she was going to be engaged to and live happily ever after, James Daw is a great choice as Warner Huntington III. Whilst he looks aren't your typical 'chiselled heart throb' there is something about his honest, straightforward manner that you don't want to slap his face when he announces he's breaking up with Elle. His rendition of the song 'Serious' was very good - and very funny with the help from Elle's initial reactions to be being dumped.
Elle Woods teaches us to not let anybody tell you that you aren't smart enough as she wins her place at Harvard Law School and shows she can kick ass, with the help of her Delta Nu girl pals along the way!
The show is packed with choreography and musical numbers to the brim, with great songs like OMIGOD You Guys, Positive, Bend and Snap to name a few. It was well choreographed by the also director of the production Michael Gamble. However there were times when I just wanted more from the dance numbers, whether that was more energy or movement vocabulary as some of their cast definitely looked like great dancers that could handle that challenge.
There is a real sense of Girl Power in CTC's performance with it being a heavy female cast, however, there are undoubtedly some male performers that stood out just as much, especially the hot postman Kyle B. O'Boyle played by Aaron Murray who was definitely a treat for the ladies in the audience in his tight shorts. He falls into Paulette's life, the man of her dreams. Also Craig Butterworth and Jack Hardy as Carlos and Nikos camp it up big time and very hilariously too! The cast had clearly worked very hard on producing this musical over the months and even local dogs played Bruiser (Chilli) and Lola (Lola). Whilst the dogs don't sing or dance, they are extremely cute and handled the pressure of being on stage very very well!
At the end your glad Elle falls into the arms of Emmett, played by Ashley Bright proving that sometimes sticking around to win the heart of your ex isn't always the answer when there's someone just as good for you right there! I loved their chemistry on stage!
My favourite performance by far was by Julie Easter as the lovesick hairdresser Paulette Bunonufonte. Her lively and equally funny performance was brilliant, and the audience reception showed that they loved her just as much as I did. You definitely wanted her to be your chum!
These performances don't function without an excellent Musical Director and they definitely deserve just as much of a mention! The orchestra didn't fault in their delivery of the musical soundtrack, the live sound emphasising the entire production! The changes between the various scenes were well executed giving the feel of a great professional impression from their backstage crew. Christchurch are definitely delivering high quality performance in Leicestershire and I would highly recommend watching some of their future performances!
Photo Credit: Rosie Bambury