Legally Blonde (Tour – Oxford)

I doubt that there is, or has ever been, as pink a show to hit the stage as Legally Blonde. It is a riot of colour, glamour, sequins, sparkle and good-natured camp fun. In many ways, it is a perfect modern musical comedy – great orginal tunes, a straightforward but never dull plot and a heroine to cheer for. This touring production, though nowhere near as lavish as the Broadway original (or the rather trimmed down version which played in London), still succeeds with a huge amount of charm and good humour.

From a performance perspective, this is a very solid team. Gareth Gates has joined the tour in Oxford to play Warner – and makes much of the character and his stage time – without ever seeking to furn the attention onto himself. Faye Brookes starts off a little too stridently for me and takes a little time to find the warmth in the role. However by the time she reaches the emotional core of the show (singing the title song) she has the audience rooting for her completely. I enjoyed Andy Mace as the lecherous and manipulative professor – a strong vocal combined with some understated acting makes for a winning combination in this particular role which could all too easily become pantomimic.

Ivan Lewis is particularly strong as Emmett – bringing a lot of heart (and some well-placed top notes) to the character. However near enough everyone on stage was completely outshone by the two dogs – you just can’t compete with that much cuteness. Well, I tell a lie… Lewis Griffiths (Kyle) and his impressive muscularity presents the audience with more eye candy than many could hope to ever see again!

Technically there are some issues with the sound – far too often the microphone levels were not properly tailored to either the singers or the auditorium. This unfortuantely means a lot of the lyrics were lost and occassionally the female voices are given a very hard, almost shrill, edge – which is a serious blemish for a tour that has been running for some time now.

Overall, this is a polished and thoroughly enjoyable piece of theatre. It provides great entertainment and deserves bigger audiences than it appears to be getting. Go on, indulge in the sheer pink-ness of it all…