Legally Blonde: The Musical (2009 review)

Looking for a little bit of frivolous fun, I went off to see the musical version of “Legally Blonde” at the Los Angeles Pantages Theater this past weekend. It was a ditzy, delightful concoction of biting satire in which the characters embodied the very comedic essence of the original film, made famous by Reese Witherspoon in her darling pink wardrobe.

The play starred Becky Gulsvig, who played the title role on Broadway, as the dazzling Elle Woods.  It also introduced Lauren Ashley Zakrin as her understudy and Rhiannon Hansen as Margot, both finalists in MTV’s reality show “Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods.” Those young women proved that they were the true heirs of the Elle Woods’ crown and sang and danced their hearts out. They were dazzling to watch and hear sing.

Another delightful standout was Sara Andreas who played the exercise fitness queen accused of murder, Brooke Wyndham. I am not sure where she found the energy to do those incredible dance routines, but I felt breathless for her just watching her dance through it all. Her “Whipped Into Shape” number in the jail with all the inmates and jump ropes was particularly fun to watch.

Then filling the big shoes of Jennifer Coolidge and Bruce Thomas, who played Paulette and the UPS guy in the film version, were Natalie Joy Johnson and Spencer Howard. Just like film, these two characters humorous dance of lust nearly stole the show when they were on stage.

Also surprisingly spectacular was Megan Lewis playing Vivienne, Warner’s uptight finance, whose voice was operatic in resonance and simply captivating.

And last but not least, was D. B. Bonds who played Emmett, the teaching assistant that rallied Elle’s spirits and encouraged her to pursue her dreams. Through some clever use of costuming, he started out as geeky and unassuming looking as you might imagine a teaching assistant might be. But as the play moved along, his wardrobe took a nice detour and the next thing you knew, there was suddenly a stunning looking young man on stage and you wondered where on earth they had been hiding him. Hiding in plain sight is always a tricky maneuver, but he pulled it off with such deft slight of hand.

The other key scene stealers that got the biggest “aaahs” were the adorable puppies used to play Bruiser and Paulette’s bulldog that she reclaimed from her no-good ex-boyfriend with Elle’s quick-thinking legal aid. While not on stage very often, every time the puppies had a scene, they came right on out and performed perfectly. It brought a level of realism that livened up the entire production and got everyone’s attention wishing for more scenes with the puppies. (It should be noted that the puppies were rescued and adopted specially for the production and thus deserve special recognition for such a magnificent achievement and fairy-tale ending of their own.)

All in all, it made for one extraordinary performance in which everyone was enthralled and happy to share in the wondrous experience. Kudos to everyone associated with such an amazing production!

(“Legally Blonde: The Musical” music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, produced by Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson, and based on the MGM film and the book by Amanda Brown.)