Legally Blonde The Musical | Review | New Wimbledon Theatre

What do you do when your boyfriend dumps you because he sees you as a dumb blonde? Get a law degree of course! That, in a nutshell, is the plot of Legally Blonde The Musical. The show is an adrenaline rush of joy and fun that just keeps getting better and better. At the end you just want it to start all over again. It’s that good. I would pay for a ticket just to see “Gay or European” again. It’s the funniest musical number of the night and is up there with the all-time greats. One line from that song will give you a sense of it – “Depending on the time of day the French go either way!”

The blonde in Legally Blonde is Elle Woods (Lucie Jones ) who reacts to being dropped by her boyfriend Warner (Liam Doyle) by deciding that she will follow him to Harvard University and graduate with a law degree thus proving that she is ‘legally blonde’ and not a ‘dumb blonde’. The comedy starts when the pink loving, Chihuahua carrying cheerleader from LA applies to join the most exclusive law school on the planet. Elle Woods pulls it off (indeed there are echoes of both Daisy Pulls It Off and Educating Rita) through charm, common sense and the support of her friends.

The direction (Anthony Williams) is unremittingly fast-paced which keeps the show on edge, electric and exhilarating. The invention, wit and humour in both the lyrics (Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin) and the choreography (Dean Street) is top draw. The gay cupids on roller skates, the sexy UBS delivery guy Brendan O’Boyle (Ben Harlow) in shorts and t-shirt, the bend over, trick (Bend and Snap) to detect gay men or the transformation of the courtroom into a bathroom, for the climatic perm scene – there are numerous comic tricks and devices they make Legally Blonde the most joyous, funny and uplifting show in London today. Go, go, go, it’s right out of the top draw.

Review by John O’Brien

OMG you guys!!! Legally Blonde The Musical is coming to a venue near you!
Starring Rita Simons as Paulette Bonafonte, Lucie Jones as Elle Woods and Bill Ward as Professor Callahan.
The smash hit Broadway and West End Musical based on the best-loved movie follows beautiful and popular sorority sister Elle Woods who loves to be pampered and is passionate about pink. When she is dumped by her boyfriend Warner Huntington III for a more serious girlfriend she puts down the credit cards and picks up the books. Packing up her trusty pooch, Bruiser, she bags herself a place at the prestigious Harvard Law School to try and win him back. With the support of her new friends, she learns that you can be both smart and fashionable.
Rita Simons is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in BBC’s Eastenders for which she has won numerous awards and is one of Britain’s best-loved actresses.

This all singing, all dancing romantic comedy is a fun-filled, feel-good pink fest, so bend and snap up your tickets today!

CAST
Elle Woods – Lucie Jones
Paulette Bonafonté – Rita Simons
Professor Callahan – Bill Ward
Emmett Forrest – David Barrett
Warner Huntington III – Liam Doyle
Vivienne Kensington – Laura Harrison
Lowell/Kyle B O’Boyle – Ben Harlow
Whitney/Brooke Wyndham – Helen Petrovna
Winthrop/Dewey/Elle’s Dad – Mark Peachey
Margot – Rebecca Grundy
Pilar – Delycia Belgrave
Enid Hoops – Nancy Hill
Kate/Chutney – Rosie Needham
Aaron Schultz/Stenographer – Michael Hamway
Sundeep Padamadan/Nikos – Felipe Bejarano
Elle’s Mum/Pforzheimer/Store Manager/Judge – Lucyelle Cliffe
Gaelen/Laker Girl/Da Joyce Riley – Sally Frith
Leilani/Assistant DA – Alexandra Wright
Grand Master Chad/Skater – Brett Shiels
Kiki/Carlos – Connor Collins
Female Swing – Laura Mullowney
Male Swing – Craig Tyler
Bruiser – Bruisey Williams-Dodd
Rufus – Stanley
All other roles played by the company

CREATIVE TEAM (selected)
Director and Choreographer Anthony Williams
Co-choreographer – Dean Street
Production Director Andy Batty
Musical Supervisor – James McCullagh

New Wimbledon Theatre
18th – 23rd June 2018

Palace Theatre, Manchester
25th – 30th June 2018