"Legally Blonde"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

"Legally Blonde The Musical" is the well-known story of sorority president Elle Woods, as she crosses the country on a mission to find love at Harvard Law School after being dumped by Warner Huntingdon III, who is looking for someone more "serious". After discovering that she can use law for the greater good, she uses her new found skills to defy the odds and prove that pink really can save the day.

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.

This is a musical which seems to get better every time I see it, and I've seen it a few times now. And when you see a show a few times you pick up on different things, and this production has many differences from any other production I have seen, and I dare to say that this is the BEST production of "Legally Blonde" that I have seen, and that is not being discriminant against every other production, because as I have said, it grows and gets better on every viewing.

Amber Davies is Elle Woods. Now I have not seen Amber on stage before; I thought I may have done, but I can't find any confirmation of that; but boy, what I've been missing. Amber has a seriously powerful set of pipes on her, and she's not the only one in this show. She really drives this show, there aren't many scenes that she is not involved in, and the stage time is full of magnetism. I already knew she was an excellent dancer, having seen her on "Strictly Come Dancing", but seeing such a dancer just feet away from you on stage is an absolute dream to behold. She simply does not stop performing on stage creating an Amber that goes through the green light, never hitting the red.

Warner Huntington III is played by Jamie Chatterton. A great voice and a great look; throw into the mix the ability to dance well and Jamie is one of those all rounders that catch the eyes of Directors like Nikolai Foster, who retain their names for other productions. Nikolai directed Jamie in Curve's "The Sound Of Music". Even though the role is a slimy one, Jamie brings an awful lot of likeability to the character.

Hairdresser and Beautician, Paulette Bonafonte, is played by Karen Mavundukure. Paulette has always been one of my favourite characters in this musical, and Karen has now cemented that feeling yet again. This woman has the most incredible voices that I have heard in a long while. You can hear those soul and gospel roots every time she starts to sing. There's so much power in Karen's voice that I had half expected to see a hole in the roof of the theatre tonight. Karen gave me tingles, and I adore that in a vocalist. Her characterisation of Paulette was slightly different to most others I've seen, making the character quite giggly when she first meets Kyle, in complete contrast to the confident "Hair Affair" shop owner. I loved every thing about this character and about Karen.

Professor Callaghan is played by Adam Cooper. This man is seriously talented; just take a look at his theatrical CV. The sliminess is slightly played down, but the "I'm in charge" feel is there, providing an aura of not to be messed with, and that is perfect for this character. He makes you not like, I won't say "hate" Callaghan, as that is not the right word for the character. The few "boos" at the final bows were expected and I loved that Adam stayed in character and did not emotively acknowledge them one iota.

Emmett Forrest, who Elle fell in love with, was played by George Crawford. From the off Emmett is one of those characters that you get behind and root for, and George brings out every ounce of likeability in Emmett. He is also another who has a great voice, and a big range, which we get to hear in this show.

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 has Irish heritage as well..... Kyle, the UPS man is played with great confidence by Ty-Reece Stewart. I've seen a few productions where Kyle is portrayed slightly dumbed down, but this Kyle is streetwise and flirty, which works so much better and is much more believable. Another slight character change in the story that creates a more modern and acceptable character for today's society.

Vivienne, Warner's "serious" new girlfriend, is played by Annabelle Terry. Here is a not so bossy or authoratively driven character, again creating a more human role for the story. You can see the arc from where we first encounter Vivienne become broader to how she becomes a more independent business woman shining through and taking Elle's request for all girls to stick together to heart and becoming Elle's ally.

Elle's best friends are Margot, Serena and Pilar, played by Hannah Lowther, Rosanna Harris and Remi Ferdinand. These Greek Tragedy/Chorus Girls are always great fun to watch, but the energy this trio have is off the scale. Brilliant harmonies and wonderfully colourful outfits for all three.

Enid Hoopes is another Harvard intern who is on the case in Callaghan's team, and a lovely comedy part for Keanna Bloomfield. This character has also been updated and again works well for a modern musical character. This change doesn't become that apparent until the change in lyrics in the song "Blood In The Water", but of course only apparent for anyone who has seen the musical before.

Brooke Wyndham, the fitness queen is played brilliantly by Jocasta Almgill. Powerful in every scene she is in, and I love the power dressing court room scene. 

I would love to tell you who plays Chutney - who would name their child Chutney? - Wyndham, step daughter of the accused Brooke, but it isn't mentioned in the programme, so I assume that this role was played by one of the ensemble. The physicality and vocal characterisation of this particular actress was wonderful.

I have a feeling that Jaime Tait plays Nikos, again there's no credit in the programme. Nikos is 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 Bradley DeLarosbel has had enough of Nikos' macho lies and decides to make a dramatic entrance into the courtroom and reveals the real Nikos!

Now we must not forget the two canine lovelies here. Milo played Rufus and Sprout played Bruiser, two of the most adorable fur babies.

And then there's the ensemble and stage swings who add more energy and layers to this gorgeous musical - James Lim, Aaron Shales (Dance Captain), Jaime Tait, Daisy Twells, Louie Wood, Raiaz Fisher, Dylan Gordon-Jones, Lauren Hampton, Alishia-Marie Blake, Ollie hart-Bradford, Alex Waxman and Emily Martinez.

Directed by Nikolai Foster. Here is a Director who is not afraid of getting out the virtual pruning shears and nipping of bits that are not as relevant as some of the other pieces, and by chopping bits out, creates a tight piece of theatre that enhances the smoothness of the run without affecting a story. Having seen the show on several occasions I immediately spotted several amendments and edits to the story, as well as updates of the script, referencing Timothy Chalomee and Drag Race, plus tweaking some of the characters to make them more PC if you like.

The scene changes were particularly worthy of mentioning. There was no hanging around in this part of the show. The scenes segued so smoothly and easily with the ending of one scene dovetailing perfectly into the next scene, making for a really smooth change of scene and setting. One scene ends, BAM! straight into the next scene, no time wasting, no incidental music or instrumental reprisals to cover changes, just straight through. 

I knew that this production was going to be a bit special right from the start where Warner and Elle break up. Instead of being in the middle of a restaurant, it went straight from Elle shopping straight into a scene like a posh arcade with one of those cabinets with a three pronged grasp where you try and pick up a furry rabbit, which made the transfer so smooth and uncluttered. How warner managed to get the furry prize out with the grasping thingy is a mystery. the wonder of theatre!

Set Designer is Colin Richmond, and here is yet another part of the musical which appeared new and different, and the simplicity of the set created the smoothness of the scene changes. The set design has been slimmed down which works so well in my opinion.

Choreography is by Leah Hill. I think I may have hinted to just how excellent this area is. It all seems so fresh and almost as if it were the first time I had seen this show, well that's the feel it gave me. Exciting, energetic and quite exhilarating all the way through. 

Musical Supervisor and Additional Arranger is Matt Spencer-Smith. Every area of this show is done with utter supremacy.

Sound design is by Adam Fisher and lighting design is by Ben Cracknell. Ditto the above comment. Fresh and vibrant lighting and the sound was crisp and loud without being too much.

The costumes for this show are always excellent and this time around are the design by Tom Rogers. Gone are the dated 1980's image and vibe and in comes a fresh and modern style of clothing for the cast, straight away visually bringing the musical up to date.

Stage management do a brilliant job, which is why the change over scenes are done with such ease.

This show is like when you get a new format of a piece of music that you absolutely adore. It's fresh and clean, sounds clearer than you remember it being and has flashing lights, bells and whistles attached. I loved it - you will too, and I have seen this show quite a few times but shows that with a good Director, who knows what to trim back while still retaining all the great bits, you can see a musical with fresh eyes and ears, and love it as much as ever. Of course, if you've never seen this musical, and there are people who haven't, you are in for an amazing night of fun and entertainment.

Be serious, you're not going to miss this show are you? That would be criminal!

"Legally Blonde" is at the Nottingham theatre Royal until Saturday 23 May.

Photography by Matt Crockett.