"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!