"Legally Blonde - The Musical" by Gatepost Theatre Company.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

You can never tire of watching a good show, and this is a very good show.

"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 Woods is played by Hollie Smith and from the very first time she appears on this stage in this show to the final bows, Hollie enchants her audience. Her character voice and her singing voice is so good and her characterisation of Miss Woods, comma, Elle is spot on. Hollie is fun to watch, and there is a tendency to compare actors with previous actors in the same role, but Hollie, like all the Gatepost actors, make their roles special to them. You'll notice, if you've seen as many Elle Woods as I have, little things that are slightly different to the previous Elle, and the other Legally Blonde characters. And what about love? There's a lot of love given to every character by the people playing them.

Warner Harrington III is played by Gary Heap. In this production there are several actors who are playing roles that are quite different to roles that I've seen them play previously, and Gary ticks that box for me with Warner. Warner is arrogant and a social climber who tries to claw back what he had lost after losing his "Jackie". Gary always manages to morph into character perfectly, which is what he does here. A nice smug version of "Serious" sets the tone for his eventual downfall.

Emmett Forrest is played by Christopher Collington, and here is another role that you maybe wouldn't expect Chris to play, especially after seeing him previously as Dewey in "School Of Rock" and Stacee Jaxx in "Rock Of Ages". Chris is a very convincing romantic leading man role - it proves what a very good character actor Mr C is. The vocals for this role are toned down and are really smooth, but what more would you expect from such a smooth person in real life.

Paulette Buonufonte is played by Jude Cliffman. it's down in black and white that Paulette has always been one of my favourite characters in this musical, and Jude brings another version of the Hair Affair owner to the stage, For me it would be impossible to make any comparisons between previous Paulettes because Jude does her vision of Paulette, and I love Jude's vision.

Vivienne, Warner's new girlfriend, is played by Tilly Bedford. Vivienne takes to heart the Shakespeare quote in this musical, "to thine own self be true. And it must follow , as the night and day, Thou canst not then be false to any man", as she changes direction from the initial Vivienne we see at the start (Who'd have thought that Hamlet would have been quoted in such a lovely, fluffy and pink musical as this?). 

Professor Callahan is played by Gavin Owen. Another excellent character portrayal from a man who is the exact opposite to the character he is playing. Watch closely and you'll also see what a good visual - as in his face - actor Gavin is; the expression he emits with his eyes show the character's feelings. I've always known that Gavin's voice is another strong point of his performance and we get to experience this in songs like "Blood In the Water".

Brooke Wyndham, the fitness queen accused of murdering her billionaire husband, is played by Shannon Elmore. It's always the initial scene where we see Brooke that stands out for me with this character. You have to have, not only a good voice, but great breath control as well. Brooke is seen skipping and exercising while singing "Whipped Into Shape". Shannon may have been a bit breathy after this section but during, her breath control and vocals were wonderful. Great stamina.

Enid Hoopes, another of my favourite characters, is played by Jordan Neary.

Kyle, the UPS delivery man with the package is played by Josh Neville until Friday evening where Jack Lawrence  will take over as the weekend delivery man. Josh seems to have developed his own swagger for Kyle, which is similar to a lope, making another difference for a character in this show. Great fun to watch, and the audience loved him.

Margot, Serena and Pilar, Elle's best friends, Delta Nu Nu sisters and biggest cheerleaders are played by Laura Stone, Lottie Lodge and Claire Webb respectively. A very energetic and fun trio, especially in the "Bend And Snap" section.

Grandmaster Chad is a fun cameo role for Harrison Ince, who also appeared as several other characters throughout the musical.

This is a musical with loads of wonderful characters......

Chutney - who would name their child Chutney? - Wyndham has a really bad perm and an even worse attitude.

Winthrop, Lowell and Pforzheimer are three admissions officers of Harvard Law School who eventually admit Elle into the program after some critical evaluation.  

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 interrupts the court proceedings with a little outburst; a scene they both manage to steal.                         .

Dewey, Paulette's ex is a caveman of a person who lives in a caravan with Rufus, Paulette's dog. 

Anyone who knows the story, they also know that there are two four-legged stars involved, who are always going to get the audience "ooohing" and "aahhing". 

Woody plays Elle's beloved dog, Bruiser and Don plays Paulette's much-missed dog, Rufus. Since Paulette split with her ex, Dewey, Paulette has been separated from Rufus. Whoever said not to work with kids or animals have never worked with Woody, Don and Chris (Chris isn't included in the animal simile by the way!)

The ensemble play several parts throughout and consist of Alana Grummitt, Ben Gray, Christie O' Connor, Dean Porter, Ellie Heap, Hilary Sherwin, Isobelle Walker, Jade Buckingham, Jessica Collis-Milward, Josie Cunnington, Kasia Cichocka, Kate Russell, Kiah Smith, Max Wilde, Olivia Docherty, Phoebe Owen, Sally Elliott, Sarah Butler and Steph Dennett. One of the best ensembles I've seen as they work so hard throughout, and they sound brilliant also.

Directed by Chris Collington, who is also the MD for the show. I have been asked in the past, why do I go and see the same show over and over again? Well, the reason for that is because you may go and see the same show, but it's never really the same. With a good Director, no two productions are ever the same, be it a play, piece of Shakespeare or a musical. A good Director will make the show their vision, and that is what we have with Christopher Collington. There are several little bits in this show that I have not seen in previous productions of "Legally Blonde", and that is down to this man, so thank you Chris for giving me something slightly different in parts to watch.

Musically, the show is full of bounce. I am sure that I don't need to mention every actor and say how good their vocals are, because anyone who has attended a Gatepost performance before will know the calibre of vocalist they have in their ranks. Nuff said on that point, I think.

Choreographed by Lottie Lodge, the amount of energy that has been put into this area of the show is evident with the routines, but never once do any of the dancers look breathless; again, the stamina in this group is absolutely applaudable. Harrison Ince also needs a mention for this section as Dance Captain. If you've seen Harrison in any show before, you'll know what a flexible mover this young man is.

The Set design is by Mark Green and Laura Stone. Another area where the difference to any other production is evident. The design makes the opening of the show also different to what I'd seen anywhere else.

The props involved in this show are completely off the scale, number wise. You may not notice a lot of them but the number of props is massive, thanks to Tilly Bedford and Lottie Lodge.

Costumes for this production are by Lottie Lodge, and as you can see from the size of the cast and ensemble, there are a load of costumes to make and source. Loved the fact that at the final bows, everyone, as far as I could tell, on stage wore pink costumes.

Hair and make up is by Georgia Oliver, rounding off a wonderful visual aspect of the performers.

And while I am on the subject of the size of the cast and ensemble, I must also give a shout out to the Stage Managers John Cliff and Mark Green for a smooth continuation of stage flow.

Lighting Design is by Stephen Greatorex. Particular attention has been paid to certain areas of the lighting for particular segments, which I certainly appreciated. The wash of green during Paulette's homage to "Ireland" and the rainbow lighting for the "Gay Or European" section particularly stood out. Apart from that, the lighting was as exciting as the performances, creating an atmosphere worthy of any touring production.

Sound Design is by Mascd Audio. There were a few minor sound issues, possible mic pack issues may be the cause of that which, once you're on stage can't be sorted out until the actor leaves the stage. Plus, what I'd have liked to have heard was the volume of the music turned down slightly because in some places, not all the time, it seemed to overpower the vocalists.

Let's face it, this musical is such fun, it's frothy, it's pink, it has cute dogs, a great soundtrack, wonderful characters, an excellent cast, so a couple of sound hiccups is never going to spoil my enjoyment of this show. You will leave the theatre feeling in the pink.

"Legally Blonde The Musical" is at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 14 September. This is yet another local production that has SOLD OUT for the run, but you may want to contact their box office just in case there are any returns.