Celebrating Two Elle Woods: Why the ‘Legally Blonde’ UK and Ireland Tour deserves support, not division

In a recent article published by Olivia Kemp on Daily Mail, she reported from an insider that there was “backstage tension” currently rising amongst the leading cast of the UK and Ireland tour of Legally Blonde. 

Recently, Amber Davies, who plays Elle Woods, announced she would be taking some leave from the show due to illness. Having just completed an expansive year of opportunities, starring in the London production of The Great Gatsby and the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing, before going into an intensive seven-week period of rehearsals before opening the show in Leicester. Not only is Amber now trying to work on her recovery to get back to the show as soon as possible, but now outlets are trying to assume that a show built on the narrative of female empowerment is being overshadowed by unnecessary comparisons and assumptions.

Within the show’s opening weeks at the Curve in February, sickness began to plague this company, with multiple cast members taking ill, including Amber. Her alternate, Hannah Lowther, who was not scheduled to make her debut as Elle until the show arrived in Sheffield a couple of weeks later, stepped up to the plate and ensured that performances for the remainder of Leicester could go ahead. 

This bout of illness and injury has continued to impact this new production, which has only been on the road since last month! Just this week, in Milton Keynes Theatre, a matinee performance of Legally Blonde was cancelled due to cast illness, and the evening show was only able to proceed with the support of the remaining performers. Understudies and swings are the bones that hold any show together, however, when illness is hitting the entire company, sometimes not even this is enough. The incredibly hard decision to cancel the show on Wednesday afternoon would not have purely been down to Amber being too ill; it would have been because there were not enough cast members to run the show, but to lay something like a show cancellation purely at the door of Amber is vile and incredibly destructive. 

Furthermore, the cancelled show was not one that Amber was scheduled to perform at, as Hannah is the scheduled Elle for matinees on an eight-show week. Something that was put in place in part to protect Amber’s physical and vocal health during this year long tour. 

What has made this situation significantly more difficult for the performers has been the ongoing trend of comparing Amber and Hannah. This started on social media after videos of the curtain call of the first performance, a public dress rehearsal, were shared online. The discussion has continued to become more divisive and toxic as the run has continued, with fans publicly attacking the leading lady.  On one video, a user named Olivia commented, “I genuinely feel that Hannah should have been the main Elle from the beginning,” while another user, Chlo, wrote, “Hannah should have just been hired as Elle, in my opinion.”

Hannah Lowther herself commented on her LEGALLY VLOGS 7💗my Elle Woods debut!!! video, saying that “you are only supporting me if you are supporting those around me”, making an implied reference to the initial conversations surrounding the individual performances as well as a recent TikTok video (see above). Anyone who knows these performers will appreciate how exceptionally talented they are, with the work ethic to back it up. Lowther has been known for her drive as a Swing / Cover during her career, notably becoming the first person to play all the Heathers when that show was in the West End. She also continues to work as a Social Media Influencer as well as continues to record her weekly podcast, How Very Hannah. 

Amber herself recently performed in a special gala performance of Back to the Future the Musical and continues to produce her Call to Stage podcast. Both of the women have since taken to their individual social media platforms in response to the Daily Mail article, as well as an outpouring of support for both Amber and Hannah.

Source: Hannah Lowther TikTok and Amber Davies Instagram.

As a theatre community, we are constantly served a reminder of how important it is to be kind. Reading comments that someone shouldn’t have got a job, unless you are the casting director, is not your decision. Both women have worked incredibly hard in a cut-throat industry to be a part of this production. 

It’s okay to be disappointed that your favourite didn’t get the role you think they were born to play or that they should’ve played. However, fans need to be more considerate of the impact of their comments. Producers for shows in the past, such as Heathers and SIX, have themselves published on social media in response to hate comments and/or parasocial relationships (a completely different issue we must discuss!). An ongoing issue with a performer's fanbase could be detrimental to their future career, as a producer might choose not to cast them based on their social platforms. Do you want to stop your favourite performer from being given an opportunity in the future? Because let’s face it, probably not. 

Images of announcements posted on social media by SIX

We hope as a collective of theatregoers that we stop seeing less of a comparison between the pair but more of an opportunity to celebrate how incredibly fun it is to play one of the most iconic roles in musical theatre. Sickness unfortunately cannot be avoided in the workplace and why is it that performers are not given the same grace when they are unwell to work as we would receive in everyday life? 

Theatre and Tonic understands and appreciates the level of work that goes into ensuring that the show is able to go on, safely and effectively for audiences on a weekly basis. We hope that Amber Davies makes a full recovery and returns to the stage soon and that we begin to see more supportive comments towards her (and the cast) for the rest of the tour. 

Written by Emmie and Kirsty for Theatre and Tonic.