"Legally Blonde" by Good Companions Theatre.

Derby Theatre.

O Mi God U Guys, are you going to love this production! I know I, and the packed derby Theatre audience certainly did on Thursday night.

"Legally Blonde", if you've not seen the musical, or the film before, is the story of Elle Woods who is completely smitten with Warner Huntington III when he tells her that she is dumped as he is off to Harvard to study law, and feels that he needs someone more "serious". Elle decides to show him that she is serious by enrolling in Harvard to win him back, unbeknown to her, he has already found his someone serious in Vivienne.

Elle discovers that she has a flair for this legal thing by using unconventional methods and manages to win the day by winning the murder case and freeing the accused, the fitness queen Brooke Wyndham.

In the interim she finds herself a new love, an unlikely ally and an enemy in Professor Callaghan when she turns the tables on him and shows what a slimeball he really is.

As a group, this cast are faultless, so I won't go into just how fabulous they are individually; they do however all deserve a credit.

Elle is played by the gorgeous Helen Perry, who looked like a walking, talking, acting, singing Barbie doll. Completely pitch perfect, looked incredible and danced like her life depended on it. Helen has some fairly quick costume changes which she carries out effortlessly. I've seen many professional and local productions of "Legally Blonde", and have seen many Elle Woods, but I think Helen has to be my new favourite Elle.

Elle's best friends and Delta Nu Nu Sisters are Margot, Serena and Pilar, played energetically by Lindsey Greasley, Jennifer Alton and Ru Kniveton respectively.

Kate, who is one of the featured Delta Nu Sisters, is played by Cat Howourth.

Gaelan is played by Cass Barrett and Leilani is played by Reema Rose.

Elle's parents, Mr and Mrs Woods are played by Chris England and Claire Jarman, who at one stage arrive on stage in a golfing buggy.

Warner is played by Martin Counter, and this version of Warner Huntington III was not as arrogant or slimy as some that I've seen in the past, and that is quite fresh. Yes, the character is arrogant and shallow, but Martin built on that but retained the human side  as well.

Vivienne, Warner's "serious" girlfriend who eventually sees the shallow side of Warner, is played by Callie Egan, who I last saw as a Roman Ancestor in GCMT's "The Addams Family". Nice to see Callie in a main role because we get to hear her singing more than in the previous show. Vivienne comes from a very conservative East Coast background and is everything that Warner needs to make a serious move to become a lawyer.

Lucy Slaney plays Whitney who is Vivienne's law school friend and partner in mischief when it comes to bringing down Elle.

Emmett Forrest, who Elle fell in love with while at Harvard, is played by Rob Chilton. Every actor who plays any character will bring something different to a role, and Rob does that as well by presenting a more shy Emmett who comes out of his shell more when around people like Elle. A well timed department store changing scene went completely to plan.

Paulette, the hairdresser with a penchant for the Irish, is played by Kate Trail. Paulette Buonafonte has always been one of my favourite characters in "Legally Blonde" because in a world of pushy characters, Paulette is hard working and always willing to help anyone, as proven in the scene where she is helping Elle with her studies. Kate is a lovely singer and love the song she performs "Ireland", and the choreography that goes along with that scene.

Kyle, the hunky UPS man is played with great twinkly-eyed confidence by Charlie Torry. It's very safe to say that Kyle was not just a hit with Paulette as the audience were more than eager to show their appreciation of Kyle,  his large package, as well as Charlie the actor. A nice, cheeky role with swagger.

Dewey is Paulette's brash ex-husband who lives in a trailer and holds her dog captive. Although Dewey doesn't have a lot of stage time, it is a great cameo role for Ross Trail.

The slimy Professor Callaghan is played by Phil Stanley. I have always been a big fan of Phil's voice, which in "Blonde" has a jazzy edge to it, as shown in the song "Blood In The Water". It's quite nice to see Phil play a slightly different character; a character who extracted "boos" from the enthusiastic Thursday night crowd at his final bows.

Enid Hoopes is an Harvard intern who is on the case in Callaghan's team, is played by Heidi Hand. The make up and costume completely transforms Heidi into Enid. A few nice comic sections for Heidi to show her strong comedy acting.

Cameron Trail plays Aaron Schultz and Stephen Mura plays Sergei Padamadan who, along with Enid are featured law students with academic credits that would intimidate anyone.

Grandmaster Chad is a fun cameo role for Jake Perry.

Brooke Wyndham, the fitness queen who is on trial for murder of her sugar daddy husband, is played brilliantly by Georgina Bateman.

Chutney - who would name their child Chutney? - Wyndham is played by Eleanor Mallinson. Chutney Wyndham has a really bad perm and an even worse attitude. Eleanor delivers the best accent in this show.

 Winthrop, Lowell and Pforzheimer are three admissions officers of Harvard Law School who eventually admit Elle into the program after some critical evaluation. In the past these roles have been played by male actors, so it's nice to see these roles changed up a bit and played as female officers by Ellie Mallinson, Lisa Scott-Savage and Debs McPherson.

The Judge, who presides over the court proceedings, is also played by Debs McPherson.

Gary Rowley is the Court Stenographer and DA Joyce Riley is played by Louise Simcox.

Nikos, the man in the dock who works for Brooke as a pool man, is played by Tom Banks. A minor comic role where we have to decide if he is gay or European. The truth is out, quite literally when his best friend, or is that boyfriend Carlos, interrupts the court proceedings with a little outburst; a scene they both manage to steal.

Addison is played by Rachel Wallace, Avery is played by Roxhanna Tucker, Quinn is played by Emma Chadwick, Harper played by Olivia Thompson, Jet Blue Pilot is played by Scott Mill.

The ensemble consists of Brian Counter, Ali Watkins, Emma Chadwick, Ollie Hand, Olivia Thompson, Charlotte Hanser, Josh Greengrass and Rachel Wallace.

We must not forget the two canine lovelies here. So well behaved they are and they seem to have enjoyed their thespian roles as their tales never ceased to stop wagging. Neville Parkin played Rufus and Blossom Grey played Bruiser stole the hearts of everyone. Trained by Cat Howourth.

Directed by Helen Oldham and Phil Simcox. This is a massive show with a massive cast and Helen and Phil have made this a massive success.

Musical Director for the show is Richard Hodges. There are some incredible vocal performances in this show which have been teased out of these incredible vocalists by Richard.

Choreographed by Jackie O'Brien, and yet another massive undertaking for one person. The skipping scene, "Whipped Into Shape" is performed by both male and female actors, and has been perfectly timed to the song without any mishaps with the skipping ropes. There are some excellent cheerleader dance moves among all of the brilliantly choreographed pieces for songs like "Bend And Snap", "What you Want", "Ireland" and "Gay Or European".

The set is by Scenic Projects and reminded me of a cartoon page with its' off kilter and slanted scenery, only added to the comic style element. The four big letters that were lit up that were lowered into the set spelling Elle's name really created a stylish section to the show.

The costumes are thanks to Clara freestone and Carole Pratley. I lost count of the costume changes for Elle, every one as glamorous as the previous one.  So many costumes for so many people.

Sound design is by Phil Simcox and Simon Birchall and operated by Phil Simcox. There were a few missed mic cues and I would have liked to have had the volume up just another notch, but I appreciate that this area of production, with a cast this vast is a massive job. I've said in the past that a Sound Operator has to be part octopus to get all the faders in the right place at the right time.

Lighting design by Jamie Vella who delivers an exciting and vibrant programme of illumination.

With such a big cast, another area that deserves mentioning is stage management by Steve Cole and Helen Blakeman.

There's also a BSL interpretation from Seb Probert on the Saturday night performance.

Well, I hope that I have mentioned everyone who brought this gorgeously fluffy musical to life on stage, and if I haven't, please forgive me. Only one name that I couldn't trace in the programme was that of Carlos unfortunately.

Oh My God how I love this musical which is crammed full of catchy tunes, great characters, a fun script, that may not be quite PC - but who cares? It's bright, breezy, bouncy, camp and pink! What more could you ask for?

"Legally Blonde - the Musical" is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 18 May. Seeing this musical will definitely leave you feeling in the pink!

 "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" by The Mellow Dramatics.

The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton Upon Trent.

How many times have I seen this musical and why does it never get boring? I still love seeing this show which is a testament – if you’ll pardon the pun – to the wonderful writing of Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Sir Timothy Rice.

By now there surely must be no one who does not know the story and at least a few of the songs from this incredible soundtrack, so I do not need to outline the plot about Joseph, sold into slavery by his scheming and jealous brothers and his rise to fame.

The Narrator is played by Lucy Robinson, who has a lovely voice, telling the story and moving the story on in a nice pacy rate.

Joseph is played by Jonathan Moore, who actually looks like a cross between Jason Donovan and Donny Osmond, two other "Josephs" - take a look at the photo below! There's a big range in Jonathan's voice and when he unleashes his vocal powers in songs like "Close Every Door" you get tingles at just how controlled his vocals are.

Jacob, Joseph's Father, is played by Peter Smith. I really enjoyed the small comedy drop ins for Jacob, especially in the hoe down scenes of "One More Angel In Heaven". the whimpers of sadness Jacob emits are something I don't think that I have noticed in other productions, and they raised Jacob's status in the play to a minor comedy character. It really is the small additions that can make the biggest differences.

Andrew Warner plays Potiphar, and again visualised in a different way to other productions, almost typically British in sound and looks, especially in that gold smoking jacket.

Mrs Potiphar, the hussy who lusts after Joseph, causing him to be thrown into prison by her husband after she and Joseph are found in an uncompromising position, is played by Olivia Matlock. The character is played very sexily but also with nice comic overtones, and an eye catching costume!

Pharoah is played by Kieran Barrett. Not a big role in the musical but a big character who gets a big reception from Wednesday's very appreciative audience. As anyone knows who has seen the musical before, Pharoah is a pastiche of Elvis "The King" Presley, and "Pharoah's Dream" aka "Song Of the King" is a fun Presley influenced song that gives the actor chance to almost steal the show with plenty of hip thrusts and lip curling. Kieran looked to be loving every second of the audience adulation, and so he should as he did a great job.

Tom Patterson, who does a brilliant job on lead vocals on "One More Angel", bringing some lovely comedy to this particular scene plays one of Joseph's brothers.

Theo O Brien, who I have seen before in The Mellow Dramatics previous production of "Bonnie & Clyde", also shines as one of the other brothers. Why does Theo stand out to me? Because he has a face that is really expressive and shows all the emotions that his character is feeling. Especially in that brilliant song that I keep mentioning "One More Angel In Heaven".

Another actor I've seen before, and on several occasions, the most recent playing Herr Flick on Encore Productions "Allo Allo", Gabryl Olenshko, who plays another brother.

A new name to me, Faris Harlow-Makin, is another brother and does a really fun version of "Benjamin's Calypso", complete with a mini Carmen Miranda style headwear. This calypso always reminds me of "Island In the Sun" and has a wonderful, warm vibe.

The other brothers are played by Mike Wells, Jules Lowe - who also doubles up playing the Butler, Jess Moore - also doubles her roles playing the Baker, Tom Bailey, Paul Edwards, Sam King and Matt O Donnell make up the eleven brothers, and a great band of brothers they make.

The ensemble consist of Megan Asher, Laila Baines, Lucy Boyle, Ella Edwards, Emilia Edwards, Harley Gazzard, Jeff Hurd, Angela Kirk, Freya Kirk, Isabelle Lewington, Annabel Morris, Lily-Mae Norcup, Samantha Norcup, Emily Padmore-Flint, Annelise Revell, Izzy Revell, Jasmine Revell, Shauna Seagrove, Maria Smith, Francesca Stamp and Ivy Veasey.

The off stage choir consists of Jean Edwards, Suzanne Huthmacher, Edward Moore, Donna Nolan, Brian Robb and Helen Thrupp.

Directed by Chris Moss, who has added some wonderful things to this show, especially the glow in the dark section, singing Sphinx and the wonderful singing camel, none of these I can remember from other productions of this musical, and believe me, over the years I've seen many versions of this musical. Full of pace and comedy with a selection of novel touches. Chris is also responsible for the set design which was simple but effective for the requirements of the musical.

Choreographed by Abbi Burns and although I loved all of the choreography in this production, my highlights were, of course, "One More Angel In Heaven", the brilliantly comic "Those Caanan Days", and of course the finale of "Any Dream Will Do" where you get to see the full extent of that multicoloured coat.

Musical Director for this show is Tim Robinson. I will confess that I thought the backing music was a backing track, until I saw in the programme that there is a live band, such was the quality of the musical sound. You can see that Tim has invested a whole lot of work into getting the vocals in the production as good as they are as well. 

The soundtrack to this musical is one of the most recognised with classic pop songs like "Close Every Door", "Any Dream Will Do", my absolute favourite "Those Canaan Days", "One More Angel In Heaven", "Go Go Go Joseph", "Benjamin's Calypso" and more. My toes were tapping all night long.

The Lighting and Sound is by Matt Bancroft and Tom Berriman. The lighting is as vibrant and colourful as Joseph's coat and there are some nice lighting effects throughout the show, The sound suffered from a few issues; late mic cues, crackling mic packs and humming feedback, but not even these could dampen my appreciation for this production.

The costumes are by Jane Bagshaw, Janet Powis and Natasha Ingham and Joseph's Amazing Dreamcoat is thanks to Wendy Prestidge.

It's one of my favourite musicals and it's always great to see new actors take on the Joseph role, and this production is just as exciting to see as any that I have seen in the past. So go go go get your tickets before they all go go go.

"Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" by The Mellow Dramatics is at the Brewhouse Arts Centre until Saturday 18 May.

 "Bonnie & Clyde The Musical"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

At the height of the Great Depression, West Texas' Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow went from two small-town zeroes to America's most feared heroes, and Texas law enforcement's worst nightmares.

When Bonnie and Clyde meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame immediately set them on a mission to chase their dreams. Their bold and reckless behaviour turn the young lovers' thrilling adventure into a downward spiral, putting themselves and their loved ones, Buck Barrow - Clyde's brother - and Blanche, Buck's wife, in trouble with the law. Forced to stay on the run, the lovers resort to robbery and murder to survive. As the infamous duo's fame grows bigger, their inevitable end draws nearer.

Not only do the shotguns have double barrels, a lot of the cast also have names that are double-barrelled!! Coincidence or what?

This touring production is ever so slightly different from the previous productions that I've seen before, changes made I assume by the Director to keep the show even tighter that it is with local productions. Both young Bonnie and Clyde are played by the older Bonnie and Clyde actors, where as both local productions I've seen previously had child actors in force, so straight away that was new for me.

Clyde Barrow is played by Alex James-Hatton. Alex portrays Clyde as a cock-sure arrogant young man with a real eye for the ladies, well one in particular in Bonnie. Alex's vocals are very strong and shows that he has power and control in his voice, especially in the song "The World Will Remember Me" and "Raise A Little Hell", and a lovely bluesy tone in the song "Bonnie", but every song he performs highlights him as being a very versatile vocalist.

Bonnie Parker is played by Katie Tonkinson, and as with all these performers in this musical, the vocals are incredibly strong. Bonnie's head was turned by the confident and cheeky jailbird who won her heart and set her on the path to infamy and fortune. Throughout her joint reign of terror though she kept up her poetry. Katie has a lovely voice and her harmonies are gorgeous, whether it's in her duets, or in the whimsical "How 'Bout A Dance".

Buck Barrow is played by Sam Ferriday. After the siblings' initial jail break, Buck was torn between his loyalty to his brother and his love for his wife, Blanche, and doing what she told him to do, exhibited by her forcing his hand by getting him to return to jail after Clyde and Buck's initial jailbreak. There's a duet between Buck and Clyde called "When I Drive" which is great fun, and there's some clever choreography in this scene which reminds me slightly of the old gene Kelly style movies.

Blanche Barrow is played by Daisy Wood-Davis. I loved the fun vocal style of "You're Going Back To Jail"  in the scene where Buck turns up at Blanche's hair salon where she works; this scene is also slightly different to the alternatives I've seen but just as fun. Daisy's duet with Katie on the gorgeous "You Love Who You Love" is breath takingly good..

Ted Hinton, who is slightly obsessive over Bonnie, which gives him an unhealthy reason to eradicate Clyde, is played by Daniel Reid-Walters. Ted Hinton is part of the Sheriff's posse out to stop the murdering and robbing spree but that dangerous obsession overtakes Ted's view of the situation and gives the character an edge.  Another brilliant duet in this musical is with Ted and Clyde when they sing "You Can Do Better Than Him". Daniel has one of those soulful voices that sounds like it should be part of a band like Boys II Men.

 James Mateo-Salt plays The Sheriff who is in charge of the operation to track down the outlaws and take them off the streets by whatever method in a smaller but quite ruthless character role. All of these actors absolutely smashed the accent but I especially noticed The Sherriff's accent which seemed to have just that extra twang, and you all know that I love a good accent!

Jaz Ellington plays The Preacher. I love the gospel sound of his voice and "God's Arms Are Always Open" and "Made In America" are real gems. I am aware only too well of the vocal quality that Jaz has because he was a guest on my radio show a couple of years ago when he released an incredibly soulful song called "Watch Over Me". His voice never fails to give me tingles.

 Jasmine Beel plays Bonnie's mum, Emma Parker. She's very protective of her daughter, especially when Bonnie turns up at the house with Clyde in tow, she drops into the conversation that Bonnie's husband would be home soon, just to make sure that Clyde got the lay of the land around the Parker residence, which puts Clyde on the back foot.

Playing the Barrow boys parents are Taryn Sudding as Cumie Barrow and  Alexander Evans as Henry Barrow.

There are also some lovely comedy moments in the ensemble, especially when Bonnie and Clyde are robbing one particular bank, and one of the men they are holding up recognises them and asks for their autographs, and the mini-issues this causes for the two outlaws.

The soundtrack to this musical has a bit of something for everyone with several earworms; try getting "Raise A Little Hell" out of your head!. There is blues, rock, country, bluegrass and a sprinkling of gorgeous ballads. You'll hear echoes of "Jekyll and Hyde" music , due to the fact that Frank Wildhorn wrote the music for both musicals, as well as parts sounding similar to musicals like "Bugsy Malone", but that could just be because of the era that both of these musicals are set. 

Every track, and there are twenty four musical numbers in this show, so they come thick and fast, are so catchy. This has to be one of my favourite soundtracks of recent years.

Directed and choreographed by Nick Winston. The ensemble numbers are immense fun to watch and the numbers like "When I Drive" are technically not an easy routine, involving chairs and car tyres, but every choreographed section is so joyful to watch. the show is pacy and steams along at a great rate, leaving you almost as breathless as the escaping criminals.

The costumes and set are designed by Philip Whitcomb. I absolutely love the style in these costumes, especially the Barrow Brothers costumes, but that style of the 1920's is so classy, and visually very eye pleasing. Loved the set design and especially the video design by Nina Dunn which brought a real cinematic feel to the story.

I must also mention the realistic make up, especially on Clyde in one of the scenes. The wigs, hair and make up is by Helen Robinson-Tsingos.

Sound design is by Tom Marshall and you heard every word spoken and sung with clarity. Beautifully balanced all round.

Lighting design is by Zoe Spurr and this area created real excitement for me. The use of the pin spots, which looked exactly like light streaming through bullet holes all over the set.

It was only eighteen months since I first saw this musical, but in that short time, it's become a firm favourite of mine with its gorgeous soundtrack, its exciting story, and not forgetting that it's based on a true story, and every production I've seen has had the most excellent of casts.

There's also a Sign Language Interpreted Performance on the evening performance of Thursday 16 May.

"Bonnie & Clyde The Musical" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 18 May, so miss it at your peril!