"Legally Blonde" by Kristian Thomas Company Senior Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

First off, let me say that any production that has the Kristian Thomas Company name attached to it is going to be a success in any case; and this show is no different. The level of professionalism and quality is akin to anything that you may see in a touring production at a fraction of the price. Now, on with the review......

"Legally Blonde The Musical" is the story of college sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods, who doesn't take no for an answer. When her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, dumps her for someone serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books and heads for Harvard Law! Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

Elle is played by two actors throughout the run, Charlotte Diggle and Felicity Holman; on Tuesday night I saw Felicity, who has stepped out from the ensemble of KTco.'s "Six: The Musical" and into the pink spotlight. Great stage presence and a voice to match her presence. Felicity performed the quickest on stage costume change right near the start that I'd seen, which also gives kudos to her timing skills as well.

Emmett Forrest is played by Harrison West and Miles Potter, and on Tuesday it was Miles' turn. I've been a long time fan of Miles, having last seen him as Marius in "Les Miserables" about three years back. In that time, Miles' voice has got even better, and I thought that he was wonderful as Marius. One thing you notice about all of these actors at KTco is that they all have stage presence and, combined with a voice made for musical theatre, Miles is turning out to be a very strong and charismatic leading man.

Hairdresser, Beautician and Elle's new style and personal life confidante, and owner of "Hair Affair", Paulette Bonafonte is played by Lucy Shuttleworth. Again, Lucy has moved from the ensemble of last year's "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" to take on this major role. One of my favourite songs, and believe there are so many favourites in this musical, is "Ireland", which is the song that Paulette sings, and does so with a lovely sense of gentle Celtic humour. I also love that wig!

Paulette's ideal man is an Irishman and when she finds out that her new UPS delivery man is not only an absolute hunk, but is Irish as well..... Kyle B O'Boyle, the Delivery Man is played is played by Joe Stewart. I can't remember seeing Joe in other shows at the Duchess, but he seems to be the whole package in this role and shows great confidence on stage as the cool, sexy Kyle, and also as the mega trendy Grandmaster Chad with his rapping skills.

Elle's best friends are Serena, played by Macie Barrington, Margot, played by Evie Fawbert and Pilar, played by Olivia Bonham. This trio are great fun to watch, and their energy levels are hammering on the roof of the auditorium, wanting to light up the Long Eaton skies, and especially with their choreographic skills.

Warner is played by Jake Lightbown, who can now add this character to his expanding theatrical CV after "Jamie" and "Rent". There's a song that introduces Warner to us called "Serious" where he unceremoniously dumps Elle in a restaurant, advising her that he is looking for someone more "serious", more of a Jackie than a Marilyn. the song could be mistaken for a boyband member-ish song but Jake seems to transform it to the musical theatre song it should be, and while there's comedy retained, he brings a different feel to the song which makes Warner seem even more to be the shallow one.  Jake is another fantastic character actor, but that I know runs in the family.

Professor Callahan is played by another young actor that I have a lot of time for, Joshua Preston. He has perfected the sliminess of the character who rides roughshod over the interns' feelings and aspirations. Joshua is an extremely flexible actor and I have remarked often about the richness and maturity of his voice, which is yet again on show in this production. Callahan's song is "Blood In The Water" and, even sitting in the balcony, I heard every word that Joshua sang, due to his perfect enunciation and projection. His emphasis on certain words in the song really bring out the meaning and aim of his song.

Vivienne, Warner's "serious" girlfriend at Harvard is played by Eve Lumley. This character is a brilliant part for any actor to play as there's a lovely change that develops in Vivienne as the play progresses. Elle and Vivienne start off as bitchy rivals, but soon Vivienne becomes Elle's ally at a certain part of the musical, and when that part comes you almost feel like punching the air. Eve has a belter of a voice as well to match her big acting talents.

Brooke Wyndham, the Fitness Queen who has been imprisoned for the murder of her husband, is played by Grace Kolasa. Elle and the legal team have the job of trying to prove her innocence and to discover who really did the dirty deed. We are introduced to Brooke at the start of the second act in an energetic skipping work out which she manages without missing a skip, or a beat. Her breath control is quite amazing as she didn't show any signs of being out of breath as she sings and skips.

Enid Hoops, a feisty intern joining the law class, and plays an important role in discovering the murderer/ess of Brooke's lover, is played by Imogen Croasdale.

Aaron Schultz is played by Ben Hale. Only a minor role but loved the snobbishness of his rich lifestyle in the reasons why he should be let into Harvard.

Chutney Wyndham, Brooke's precocious, perm loving daughter is played by Nora Welham, who also appears a the Department Store manager. Love the accent with Chutney.

Alana Broderick plays the part of Whitney, one of Vivienne's friends.

 Rio Cundy plays Nikos, the man in the dock who works for Brooke as a pool man. 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, played by Finley Eden lets the cat out of the bag! Finley also doubles as William Amhurst, another of the new interns at Harvard.

Dewey, Paulette's ex is played by Miles Potter and Harrison West, who share thew role.

The Judge is played by Jess Peel and D.A. Joyce Riley in the Courtroom, is played by Gracie Foster.

Charlotte McDonald plays Elle's Mother as well as the Court Stenographer, and Tristian Bromley plays Elle's Father as well as the Prison Guard.

Courtney is played by Maisie Denney, the TV Reporter is played by Hannah Pattinson, Kiki The Colourist is played by Sophie Ross and the Bookish Client is played by Isobel Osbourne.

Elle's Delta Nu Gang/Greek Chorus, who appear to have the energy to light up the National Grid consist of Amy Shelmerdine, Evie Radmore, Izzy Gallagher, Laila Cook, Sophie Ross and it was great to see the inclusion of a male dancer in Rio Cundy. As far as I could remember I have not seen a male actor in the Greek Chorus and that inclusion made such a difference to the group. The choreography was high energy and had a kaleidoscopic feel due to the tightness of this group's musicality.

The ensemble are Alana Broderick, Ben Hale, Charlotte McDonald, Chloe Hale, Finley Eden, Gracie Foster, Hannah Pattinson, Isobel Osbourne, Jess Peel, Maisie Denney, Millie Denney, Nora Welham and Tristian Bromley.

Now we must not forget the two canine lovelies here. Cooper played Rufus, Paulette's dog, and AJ played Bruiser Woods. They say never work with children or animals but these dogs performed coolly and unaffected by the singing and dancing. And of course every time they came on stage the audience loved them to bits.

Directed by Katy MacLaughlin. I loved the staging of this production because of the sped and ease that the scenes were changed which made the pace of this show perfect. there really is nothing at all to fault in this show, I did try to spot anything, but just couldn't, so I just sat back and soaked up the entertainment. 

Choreographed by Kristian Cunningham. I've noted earlier about the energy that the Greek Chorus bring, but I also must mention the quality of the arm and hand shaping with much of the choreography, and it's these little things that move Kristian, as well as the dancers themselves up that extra notch. The lifts are executed with ease and confidence and even to the untrained eye, you can see the work that has gone into this area of the musical from all involved. Dance Captain was Macie Barrington.

Wigs and quick changes are thanks to Eva Sheppard and Kristian Cunningham. 

Set Design is by Phil at PyroMaster. Not the most extensive of sets but I loved the sections in the Department Store, the Courtroom, which then transformed into the Wyndham residence/bathroom. With the minimum of prop changes though, the set could be transformed suitably for the needs of the show.

Great use of props provided by Claire Collishaw, Grace Collishaw and Carol Lawson.

The soundtrack is brilliant with varied styles to keep everyone happy. Right from the opening “Omigod You Guys”, the funky “Serious”, the wonderful “Ireland”, the energetic “Whipped Into Shape”, the naughty but nice “There! Right There!” through to the title track, it’s big and bouncy all the way and led by Musical Director Sam Hedley and the Vocal Captain is Finley Eden.

Sound design is by Dave Dallard and operated by Jack Clark and Tom Hopcroft. Dave and Jack are the dream team where the sound is concerned, especially in this show. The sound was as big and vibrant as the lighting, and with just a couple of very, very minute missed cues, this sound operating team, along with Tom here, are as close as you'll get to perfection.

Lighting design is by Stephen Greatorex, and another massive and colourful success for Stephen, who is also the Technical Manager. At times it almost had a concert feel about it and drove a lot of the energy. I don't know how subtle some of the design was supposed to be but during the song "Ireland", apart from the green hues, there was also a flood of green, white and orange lighting to show the colours of the Ireland flag, which didn't go unnoticed by me. Spectacular, vibrant and exciting are three words that came to mind when I thought about the lighting design.

The Lighting Operators were Stephen along with Kiah Smith.

The Technical Team are Max Thorpe, Poppy Cock, Katy Mac and Carol Lawson.

Produced by Kristian Cunningham, assisted by Katie Lawson.

You will never be left empty or disappointed by any show that Kristian Thomas Company stage because they have only the best of the actors locally available, alongside the best production and technical teams, so you have the guarantee of excellence in every show. Also just looking around the audience, on the first show, I spotted many young local actors who have come to support the actors on stage, and that is so important to see that support and love.

"Legally Blonde" is at The Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 19 July. I can pinky promise that you'll love this production!

 "Into the Woods Jr" by LEOS Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

If you've never seen this musical James Lapine, who wrote the book, took several fairy tale characters and gave them all a little story within a bigger story. It's as if there was a land where fairy tale characters live and this was a day in the life of, well three days in the lives of. This being the "junior" version of it condenses the story to just over an hour long. No mean feat due to the intricacy of the original storyline and the libretto.

That said, this afternoon it was difficult hanging on to the fact that this is a "youth group" performing a "junior" production, it was exceptionally good.

The baker and his wife want a baby but the wicked witch who lives next door had put a spell on them and she only agrees to lift the spell if they bring her four things belonging to some of the other fairy tale characters, and the baker has to go into the woods to collect these four things. It's the story of this search, but do they succeed in the quest?

The music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, and being a fan of Sondheim's intricate and stylised way of writing, and especially of this musical, that in itself gave me a great starting point.

There are six narrators for this production, Owain Jones, Finn Cliff, Sophie Atkinson (who makes her LEOS Youth Group debut), Niamh Syson and Alice Whitaker. Now, I know what you're saying, that's only five! Quite true, but Quillen Parker stood in for Emily Dexter who, on the opening day broke her arm while playing football, which meant that, after all the hard work that had been put in by her, she was unable to perform at all. All the best wishes for a speedy recovery, Emily. The six narrators did a great job, and with spot on timing in their delivery as well.

The Baker is played by Ivan Hager, who I last saw as part of the ensemble in "Les Miserables" in February of this year for LEOS. I am so pleased that he was chosen to take a main leading role in this because we got to hear what a fine, and very strong voice he has, as well as leading man qualities.

His wife is played by Maddi Woodland, who was also in the "Les Mis" ensemble in February, also gets to shine with another fine voice. There are some really good couplings in this production, and putting Maddi and Ivan together vocally was just the first.

The Witch is played by Jess Chatten. This is a wonderful example of characterisation because all the way through Jess's physicality and delivery of the role was consistent. In the opening montage Jess's musical section was rapped, almost as if it had been an unused song written by Lin Manuel-Miranda, which gave this witch a very modern feel about her. I got Bette Midler witchy vibes from the film "Hocus Pocus"; not sure if this was intended but I was caught up in her spell!

The Wolf is played by Tom Lightbown. I've seen Tom in several shows for LEOS and he gets better with every show because we see a different side to his acting skills. In this role we see him play sneaky. communicating to the audience that he will get what he wants, no matter what. I also loved the song and dance section with Little Red Riding Hood. His part in "Les Miserables" was a serious one, and it's lovely to see that comedic side from him in this choreography.

Little Red Riding Hood is played by Libby Stockdale who gives a beautifully precocious rendition of Red Riding Hood, even down to her ear splitting screams when she thinks that the Baker is attacking her for her cape. Brilliant.

Granny is played by Flori Tasker, who we only see after The Baker has freed her from the stomach of The Wolf, but we can see where her granddaughter gets her precociousness from. A minor but memorable part for Flori.

Steve Kirkham plays the part of The Mysterious Man who pops up every now and again to offer certain words of wisdom to some of the characters. If the role of Fagin in "Oliver" comes around and you need someone to look and be that part, Steve is your man, because the costume and wig and the whole feel about this mystery man character is Fagin-esque and Steve does an incredible job at it. A nice touch as well to have echo on Steve's voice to add to the ethereal feel of the man.

Harrison Ramplin plays Jack, of The Beanstalk fame. Harrison played Gavroche in February's "Les Miserables" and I stated how good he was in that role. He is equally as good in this part and we also get to hear more of his vocal talents' He also seems to look taller than in his role of Gavroche, which gives him an even bigger stage presence.

Jack's Mother is played by Emily Jones, who makes her LEOS debut in this role, bringing out the frustration of the mother who is trying to make her money eke out as far as possible to put food on the table for Jack and herself.

Milky White, the cow that Jack is asked to take to town to sell, is played by Bethany Stockdale, who also doubles up her role by playing Cinderella's Mother.

Cinderella's Step Mother is played by Beth Dooley Roberts, in her first show with LEOS Youth Group.

Finlay Tomlinson is Cinderella's Father, and with just the one look from Finlay to his daughter you could read everything about who wore the trousers in his new relationship with Cinderella's Step-mother. Finlay also shared a couple of the Narrator pieces in the second act when Quillen was needed at the same time.

Florinda, one of Cinderella's Step-Sisters, is played by Eliza Garavan with Lucy Gordon playing the other one, Lucinda.

Cinderella, who relates her experience at the Prince's festival, and her escape to the Baker's Wife, is played by Roisin Parker. An important part of the story as it's her shoe that is needed as part of the Wicked Witch's challenge to the Baker. Yet another lovely vocalist as well as a lovely young actor.

Neve Johnson plays Rapunzel with all of that golden hair, who is also the daughter of the Wicked Witch. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

I have two favourite songs from the brilliantly complicated soundtrack for "Into the Woods". The first is "Children Will Listen", which is sung at the end of the show, and the other being the brilliantly funny "Agony", which is sung by the two Princes, which brings me on to two excellent young actors....

Rapunzel's Prince is played by Findlay Parker. I have been a fan of Findlay for a few years now and can honestly say I have never seen him put a foot wrong. I have seen him play serious characters like Jean Valjean, and I have seen him play wonderfully camp characters like Ryan in "High School Jr". I know that he has a feel for comedy and as this Prince, he hammers home the comedy, both vocally as well as physically. His "horse riding" gait is so funny and put a smile on my face straight away. Visually Findlay has one of those expressive faces that can make you smile before even saying anything in character, so combining the two makes this young man a definite triple threat because he has one of the most amazing set of vocals as well.

Nathan Crookdake plays Cinderella's Prince. Nathan and Findlay are another genius coupling because they are both very funny actors and they are perfectly matched where the comedy aspect is concerned with these two Princes. Nathan also has a brilliant vocal technique with just the right amount of vibrato. I don't think that I have seen Nathan in a major role like this, I know that he was second in command at the Barricades and was in the ensemble of "Oklahoma Jr", but it was time that we saw Nathan in a role that showcases his comedy and singing skills, and that is what we saw in this role.

The Steward, who accompanied Cinderella's Prince is played by Quillen Parker. This young man seems to be doing a lot of work in this production, especially when he has to follow the Prince around with a pair of coconuts to emulate the horses hooves. This may be why the Steward is played as a bit bossy, he does not stand time wasters, like Cinderella's Step sisters, and shows that trait visually. Quillen is also one of those actors who knows the quality and importance of projection, which is probably why he was an obvious choice as the fill in Narrator. Can you imagine Christmas in the Parker family when it comes to carolling? Findlay, Quillen and Roisin, not to mention their Mum, Siobhan!

Directed by Siobhan Parker who has taken a long musical and condensed it so well that it's almost like "Into the Woods - Speed Version". Brilliantly pacy with none of the goodness taken out, and we even get a double helping of "Agony". What's not to love about this production?

Choreographed by Eleanor Carty. I mentioned earlier in the review that I loved the choreography for this show, and especially the "showbiz" choreography for The Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood for "Hello Little Girl", and that love of the choreography is consistent throughout the seventy five minutes of this show.

Musical Director is Shannon O'Donnell. "Into the Woods" is not easy for an adult cast to get their tonsils around due to the sharp key changes and intricacy of the whole soundtrack, but that's Sondheim for you. Shannon has done a brilliant job in this department because every person on that stage absolutely nailed their vocals, as I said, it's sometimes hard to remember that these are not adults singing and performing. The end section where everyone was on stage singing sounded heavenly. No wonder they received a standing ovation for their talents. Assisting Shannon was Becky Kirkham.

Production Team Assistant was Claire Collishaw and the whole show was stage managed by the master of stage management - I'm quite certain that she has won an award for stage management, and if not, she should  have, is Katie Bird.

Managing the many props is Props manager Becky Kirkham.

Sound is by Dave Dallard and Jack Clark. What a team this pair are. Just a couple of missed mic cues but I tell you what, it's only because I listen out for them that I spotted them. Sound wise it was spot on and I loved the volume level which really made an impact drama wise on the whole feel of the show. I can't be doing with having to strain my old ears to hear speech or singing, but that has never been an issue with Dave and Jack in charge of sound

Lighting is by Stephen Greatorex and Kiah Smith, and the effects for this show were as magical as the story itself. There's a section where the Wicked Witch transforms back to her younger, beautiful self and I sat there with my mouth open at the green lighting effect that made it look as if she was spinning around in almost vacuum state during the change. throughout the lighting was fantastic.

As you'll imagine, with this amount of characters, the amount of costumes are massive and everyone looked superb, thanks to the Wardrobe team of Carol McTernan, Judy Watson and Janet Whyatt.

This is a very stylish show and to match the show, the soundtrack, sound and lighting, costumes etc., there was even more style with the hair styling, thanks to Carol McTernan.

There was a backdrop that greeted you when the curtains opened but, you know what, after the first few minutes I even forgot to take any notice of what was at the back due to the talents on the actual stage, so whether it changed or not, I couldn't tell you!

This is one of the most professional Youth Group productions that I have seen, which gives me great aspirations for these young performers for when they move up from the Youth Group and into other groups. They have obviously been trained in such a way to get the very best out of their performances, which will make them very useful actors for any theatre and drama group, and when they reach that certain age, they have every chance of a professional career, if they want it.

Thank you for a faultless piece of theatre on an afternoon that shone almost as bright outside the theatre as it did inside the theatre.

"Into the Woods Jr" is on until Saturday evening, 12 July.

Photographs by Martin Holtom.