Legally Blonde eeeek!

I think it’s safe to say we all knew how excited I was for this show. Legally Blonde has been close to my heart for years now and Elle Woods is a role I have to play before I die. I memorized the entire score almost immediately after watching a bootleg of the OBC on youtube, but I have never gotten the opportunity to see it in person until now and oh my god you guys! Thinking about this show alone gives me so much joy, but watching it live for the first time gave me a high I know no drug ever could. Now, even though I felt like my heart was going to burst from happiness because it was Legally Blonde, doesn’t mean I don’t have a couple…small…notes. Before I rain on my own pink parade, let’s talk about Regent’s Park!

I thought Regent’s Park itself was so gorgeous. I love flowers so much, so seeing all the different colored roses planted throughout the park + other beautiful spreads of plants made me want to frolic all day long. We went to the little pizza place for dinner, then we all just spent time together and lived out our London park dreams. I had so much fun talking and soaking in all the moments I have here with such awesome people. Not to be too sappy, but I am so appreciative of this program because of all the obvious theatrical reasons, also because I have formed relationships here that will last a lifetime. Friendship is so sweet.

If there’s one thing they did wrong, it’s having Legally Blonde the Musical outdoors. Woah, woah, hear me out. The theatre was gorgeous and I had high hopes going in, but as the show started I was so disappointed that having the production outside meant that we wouldn’t see the full affect of the lighting design until the end of the show. The pink & orange lights were so pretty, but the lack of lighting in the first half of the show made the whole production feel like a Legally Blonde concert, not the actual show. Another element that took away Legally Blonde’s original charm was the lack of set pieces. I understand that there’s only so much you can do at an outdoor theatre, and they absolutely did everything they could, but the set design or lack thereof also made me feel like I was welcome to sing along with the performers. However, the one thing that made me giddy was the choreography. The choreography raised the quality of the performance massively to me, it honestly saved the whole show in my opinion. If I didn’t have that rope choreography during Brooke’s song and a transgender woman doing splits while twerking simultaneously during ‘Positive’, I think I would’ve cried. While Paulette, the greek chorus, Vivienne, Warner, and the rest of the company gave incredible acting & vocal performances; I was slightly disappointed by Elle & Emmett. Hot take, I assume. Laura Bell Bundy really set the bar for the type of performance needed to be Elle Woods, and while I thought Courtney Bowman was great, she left me wanting more. I felt the same for Michael Ahomka-Lindsay. Some of the verses in his songs/duets felt too low to me and even though he did have one of the prettiest tenor belts I’ve ever heard live, those few moments were the only times I was ever impressed by him vocally. I am not even going to go into why I didn’t enjoy his acting, but I just didn’t fall in love with him the way I do watching Emmett in the OBC. However, Christian Borle will always be my favorite Emmett, so I know I’m biased and was watching him with Christian’s performance in mind. The only other thing I noticed after leaving the show and discussing with my buds, was that the entire experience of watching Legally Blonde did feel like it was catered toward an audience that has already seen the show. I think the open air venue gave the audience more space, opportunity, and confidence to be vocal about their reactions to what was going on throughout the show. I could see how if you had never seen it, some parts were either confusing or just didn’t land for you because they felt anticipated by the audience. Whereas, if you were watching it for the first time in a closed theatre with all the elements that offers, the audience would more than likely be quieter during it and just applaud after songs/scenes. It was also kind of freezing, and I did worry about them dancing on the rain misted stage. I was worried they were stopping the performance when they paused to mop, but I was so happy they continued after making the stage safe for the actors.

Overall, I will never not get that excited to watch Legally Blonde. It’s one of my favorite shows of all time and I have never felt so similar to a character than I have Elle Woods. I can’t wait for the next time I see it whether that be live or in the comfort of my home through my laptop. I especially can’t wait to do the show for the first time. That may seem bold, but I am a huge believer in the whole “ask and you shall receive”, speak things into your life, don’t just dream but PLAN big type mentality. So, with that, I leave you with what I assume is the longest review of the show and a formal invitation to the future production of Legally Blonde the Musical that I will be in one day.

If you read this, I hope your day is just as pink & giddy as the picture of me frolicking in Regent Park.

Hugs & high fives !!!