"Legally Blonde" by Erewash Musical Society Youth Group

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

In my review I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, blah blah blah, so here goes.....

Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life hits the skids when her boyfriend, Warner Huntingdon III, dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law and to match the image expected of a Harvard Law student, he needs someone "serious". Determined to get him back, Elle ingeniously charms her way into the prestigious law school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors and her ex. With the support of some of her new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her personal potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

One thing that really impressed me in this production were the quick costume changes from the start. One change did take just a bit longer than expected with Emmett, but I'll come to that later.

Alice Renshaw (Elle Woods) is a perfect casting and her voice is so modern and natural. Think of a young Christina Aguilera with that power and tone and you will be in the right area. Alice lights up the stage and looks completely stunning in every costume she wears.

Oscar Hugenholtz (Emmett Forrest) is charismatic and instantly likeable. The scene where he changes from his corduroy suit to the smart suit that Elle has chosen for him when shopping in the department store took slightly longer than expected but what I loved about this was the professional way Oscar, and Alice dealt with it.

Sky Stacey (Paulette Buonofuonte) played the hairdresser, one of my favourite characters in the musical, and I love the highlight song that Paulette performs called "Ireland".

Stephen Perry (Warner Huntingdon III) gets to play the very smarmy beau of Elle's who sees a partner as a social climbing prop. There are so many brilliant songs in this musical and Stephen gets to perform another of one of my favourites in "Serious", which also gives Stephen a chance to show his sense of comic timing within song.

Katie Chamberlain (Pilar), Livvi Hickling (Margot) and Emma Foster (Serena) may seem to be figments of Elle's Greek tragedy imagination, but there was no missing this trio with their bust out moves and harmonising.

Bethan Moore (Enid) plays the closeted lesbian character who enrols into Harvard Law, but in this production is played down somewhat, especially with the omission of the scene where Brooke Wyndham, fitness guru's fitness video is showing in the full production. Bethan manages to hint at the character's leanings, but the omitted scene does not detract from the overall story at all.

Francesca Foster (Vivienne Kensington) gets to show a nice change in character, first as the "serious" new girlfriend for Warner, who then witnesses Professor Callaghan's sexist behaviour towards Elle, and also sees warner for who he really is and..... well go and see what the result of that epiphany is! Francesca also has a really strong voice and a powerful duet partner for Alice.

Amy Dawson (Brooke Wyndham) is the fitness guru accused of murdering her husband and the case that Elle and Emmett manage to crack. There is a difficult dance routine to "Whipped Into Shape" that Amy and some of the cast have to perform to open Act Two involving skipping ropes, which they all got through without missing, or should I say skipping a beat!

Gabryl Oleshko (Professor Callaghan) is one of several stand out young actors within EMUS Youth Group. I've seen Gabryl perform before and he always gets under the skin of the character and he does not fail to do so with Callaghan. proof of this was when he took his bows at the end, he received a few boos, a tribute to his character acting skills. Loved his highlight song "Blood In The Water".

There are a couple of other actors I really need to mention. 

Joel Dawson plays a couple of parts, both very memorable. As Kyle the UPS delivery man he is described by Paulette as "walking porn" and I loved the irony of this as normally the role is played by a more ripped actor. Joel cannot be described as "ripped" but he plays the role with all the swagger of a hunk. This created lots of laughter from the audience and also gained Joel some fans for his obvious sense of humour.

The second character is Carlos, where he throws himself totally into this role. I'll not describe the character any further because if you go and see this production, Carlos is one of the "surprise" characters, but Joel's performance is definitely one to watch!

Another young actor who doubles up his roles is William Robbins who plays Paulette's ex, who Elle and Emmett manage to get Paulette's dog back from, using their legal know how. William also plays Nicos, Brooke Wyndham's European "pool boy". Again this character creates a brilliant comic scene as part of Elle's "Bend and Snap" test in the hilarious "There Right There" number.

Harry O Boyle also gets to play several characters, and once more an audience favourite in his role as the prison guard. He received comic appreciation from the audience due to the physical appearance of his role. More than that I won't expand on but again, a lovely touch of irony.

A large ensemble who presented some impressive vocals and moves.

And we must not forget the two canine co-stars who behaved impeccably on stage and extracted plenty of adoring sounds from the audience. They say never work with children or animals but whoever said that have never seen an EMUS production!

Zak Charlesworth directs and is also Musical Director for this production and has created a very mature production with good pace, highlighting the cast's comedy abilities.

Ellie Simmonds choreographs this upbeat show, and I loved the energy that all the cast put into the dance routines. Both Ellie's and the cast's hard work have most definitely paid off here.

There were a few issues with mics but the sound for the majority of the production was excellent, thanks to Dave Dallard and Phil Holland.

This show is very pink and bright and the lighting by David Martin accentuated the colourful, bright show perfectly.

The costumes were also excellent, especially Elle's.

The set design, by Mark Robbins was relatively sparse but it was nice to see a "less is more" outlook with an uncluttered stage, giving all actors the freedom of the stage. The scenery and props used though were well used.

In short, and there's more irony for you, this is probably one of the best productions that I have seen by Erewash Musical Society's Youth Group. I know that some parts were omitted to trim the performance times down but the time flew, always a good sign that you are loving what you see on stage. Full of energy with some brilliant performances and a great way to start your weekend off. 

In the words of Elle and co. "Omigod You Guys" this is a Seriously just What You Want, so Find Your Way to Long Eaton, that's it, There, Right There on the map and experience this Positive piece of theatre. Go on, Take It Like A Man, it's So Much Better than stopping in, and much more fun!

"Legally Blonde" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 5 February.