Legally Blonde, ~outdoors~
As a rule, I don’t engage with musicals at all until I’ve seen them on stage. I avoid listening to music or watching recordings of any show, including the big ones like Hamilton, until I’ve seen them on stage. For me, this preserves the sanctity of the first viewing. On a few occasions I’ve broken this rule (when a show has closed and isn’t coming back, for instance), but Legally Blonde has been one I’ve avoided for a long time, including having never seen the movie, and in many ways, it was worth the wait. I have a lot of thoughts on this particular staging of it:
To start, I am convinced that this is a really great show. The numbers are crazy strong, the writing is clever and the characters are bold and distinct in what they bring to the story. In this particular viewing however, I think that only the numbers were done justice. I felt that the acting fell flat repeatedly. I think this is because of the iconic nature of the show and the movie’s place in pop culture. A few of the actors clearly knew what the audience’s reaction would be to certain lines and certain songs, which meant that in a lot of instances it was obvious that they were waiting to deliver said line or start said song, rather than being on-partner and in the moment. This resulted in many instances where the play’s twists and turns felt like convenient plot points and fan-service, rather than an earned journey on the character’s behalf.
I also think the limitations of the venue, i.e. it being an outdoor amphitheater, had a negative effect on my perception of the show, particularly act 1. It is just a heroic and essentially unachievable task to make a painted pink stage look nice in the daylight when footprints and dirt show up so clearly. And what’s more, the golden streamers which decorated the dramatic double-staircase and rear of the stage were tacky and not a particularly creative solution to the play’s entry and exit needs. However, early in act 2 when it got dark and the shimmering streamers took a backseat to actual lighting design, the show rose to new heights. No longer distracted by the shortcomings of the set, I was able to buy into the play’s action much more and was having a great time by the final number.
Ultimately, this was a campy interpretation, and as a first time viewer this hurt my experience. Existing fans loved it, but I felt a bit alienated, as if I wasn’t in on the joke. In some cases this was literal, the audience was laughing before the jokes had even been made, which brings me to my final verdict on this one: the Regent’s Park staging is Legally Blonde for Legally Blonde fans. First time viewers deserve a better introduction to the world of Elle Woods.
[now playing: It’s Hard to Say “I Do,” When I Don’t – Fall Out Boy]
Theatre in London U of A 
Thank you!
LikeLike