Legally Blonde (Tour – Manchester)

Welcome back to the pink and fluffy world of Elle Woods (Faye Brookes) and her quest to win back the heart of her love, Warner Huntington the Third (Gareth Gates) in this extremely witty and sharp musical that seems to have won the hearts of so many fans. Following Elle from her world as a typical Malibu blonde to Harvard Law School where she attempts to become serious, this light and vibrant show features pop numbers, dance and of course, two cute dogs; all the elements for a fun night out.

With simple yet effective melodies from Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin that capture the upbeat mode of the show and with some dynamic lyrics, the musical numbers are hugely entertaining if not overly memorable. Heather Hach‘s book  is ridiculously obvious and the plot could not be described as complex but who cares? The show is dynamic, funny and a real spirit lifter with some fabulous dance routines such as “Whipped in to Shape’”choreographed by Jerry Mitchell which do whip the audience in to a frenzy and bring some high quality and well executed movement to the piece which adds to its charm and likeability.  

Brookes’ Elle is suitably ditzy and fun but really comes in to her own in Act Two with some real touching moments in her scenes with Emmett Forrest (Iwan Lewis) who also proves himself in possession of a fine voice that fills the auditorium with ease. The cast throughout are extremely strong with fantastic comic performances and a real sense of fun throughout.

Legally Blonde is loaded with stereotypes, misconceptions, preconceptions and is totally camp but has a charm all of its own. The set is at times extremely sparse but this not an issue when the entire cast take to the stage. There are a few issues with the sound with a few microphones needing attention as some of the lyrics are lost and inaudible due to poor audibility in places.

However do not underestimate Legally Blonde, highbrow it may not be but entertaining and extremely likeable it certainly is. Give it a try, I am ‘positive’ you will enjoy it; *snaps*.

– Ruth Lovett