Playbill of The Week: Legally Blonde

16/53

People love to adapt movies into Broadway musicals. It makes sense, take known source material, characters people love add some singing and dancing and you're set. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it fails. But for Legally Blonde it worked oh so well. I never actually saw Legally Blonde live, but since MTV so kindly recorded it I have watched it about 500 times (not kidding, this isn't an exaggeration.) Everything in this show fit as a musical, the characters were big and interesting, yet still real people, it has a perfect love story, an array of villains and a loveable leading lady. For me the movie comes second to the stage version. The book is witty and clever, and the songs are catchy, smart and memorable. This may be a cheat on my part, but if you know me, you know how much I adore this show.

Let's start this off with the lady in pink, miss Laura Bell Bundy, who of course played the iconic Elle Woods. What I loved most of all about Laura's Elle was her silliness. She didn't try to play Elle as a bombshell blonde, she gave her some goofy, playfulness that works with this character. Everyone can identify with Elle, people not giving her the credit she deserves, thinking she is incapable of accomplishing something, but she perseveres and proves everyone wrong. And she does this while being a decent human being, a nice, kind person who sees the good in everyone. She made her totally approachable and likeable, she made us laugh, cry and care for her. You can see why a character like Emmett, from a completely different world would fall in love with her, because she's just a genuine person. She just happens to be wrapped up in pretty pink and blonde packaging.

This show was packed with an incredibly talented ensemble. First we have Kate Shindle who belts the roof off as Vivian, the evil preppy girlfriend of Warner. She goes from a total mean girl to one of Elle's best friends. Kate Shindle plays the role perfectly, she's cold and brash and has pipes for days. We also get the amazing Michael Rupert who also plays a villain. He plays the suave Professor Callahan. Charming and sleazy all at once, Michael Rupert nails this performance. There isn't much good about the Professor, even when he isn't being a misogynistic man, but his voice makes you want to like him. He has such a unique tone to his vocals, which works for Callahan, since he believes no one can match his brilliance, having a different quality to his voice is perfect. I also have to mention one ensemble member in particular, Paul Canaan who plays a variety of roles, but most importantly he gets the most memorable line in the show "The bend and snap works every time!" It's incredibly iconic, and Paul is one of the most energetic performers out there. He has so much fun on stage and it just radiates into the audience.

One of the most brilliant things this show did was bring Elle's group of Delta Nu's on her Harvard journey as her Greek Chorus. I always wished we got more of the girls in the film, so the fact we get them in all their glory popping up in Elle's life, works perfectly. They bring such a magnetic energy to the show, and we get some of the most fun songs out of them. Bend and Snap, Positive and all of their back-up in So Much Better and Chip On Your Shoulder. What girl doesn't want a group of girls as their Greek chorus? Not to mention this show shot Annaleigh Ashford who played Margot into stardom. Her comedic timing, amazing belt and goofiness made her a standout among the Delta Nu's.

I cannot leave out the husband and wife duo who make up the cutest couple in the show. Orfeh as Paulette Bonafante and Andy Karl as Kyle the UPS Guy. This real life married couple played the perfect Paulette and Kyle. Their chemistry radiated off the stage; or in my case screen, and was absolutely perfect. Orfeh is one of the best voices of our time, there I said it. She has such an amazing brassy, bold, deep sound. It's one of those voices that just makes your ears happy. And although Kyle doesn't have much, Andy Karl gets to play around, have a great time, and make us all swoon. This show also made Karl a more household name and led him onto further roles like Rocky and Groundhog Day, two more movie adaptations. I'm gonna start a petition to get them in more shows together.

Now we come to the part in our show when we talk about the men. To start we'll talk about Warner. The love of Elle's life, charming, rich and a complete jerk. Every move he makes is for selfish reasons, yet Richard H Blake makes him still likeable. I talked about my love for Richard in my 'A Bronx Tale' review, and this show is no exception. Warner get's a great song and reprise in Serious, where he makes us fall in love with him, until it crashes and burns at the end. He's a perfect villain, sort of a modern day Gaston. You don't want his character to succeed or have a happy ending, but because Richard H Blake is playing him, you secretly do. And of course we can't talk about Legally Blonde without mentioning Emmett Forest, who was played by Christian Borle. If you don't read these blog posts regularly then you wouldn't know my adoration for Christian, and this show is truthfully what set it in full force. His version of Emmett is so loveable, sweet, kind and dashing. He wants nothing from Elle and in return get's everything. Christian may be known for his big comedic performances, but he is also a master of subtlety. He gives Emmett these small little moments, whether it's a look or the way he's standing, but you can just see the character growing throughout the show. I said earlier how I could see how he fell for Elle, but truthfully there's no way Elle couldn't fall for Emmett. Christian makes him so comforting and familiar, that you easily fall in love with him. I think everyone would watch this performance and fall in love with Emmett in the end, or Christian, truthfully they are a pair, you can't have one without the other.

Honestly I could write a 10 page essay on all the things I love about Legally Blonde. It's extremely fun and entertaining, yet is serious and truthful at the same time. It's a story that I know every woman can identify with. People not giving you the credit you deserve because of your looks, and having to work 10 times harder to get the recognition you should have. It's a great love story, it's about friendship and loyalty, and it teaches us the importance of the bend and snap. I do have one complaint about Legally Blonde and that's at the end of Positive when Elle says she's going to go brunette and all the girls are taken aback in horror, like the only reason Elle could be a smart, serious person was to become a boring mousy brunette. As much as this is true to the story of people judging based on looks, I hate that it puts such a negativity on brunettes. And this may be a silly thing to nitpick at, but it truthfully does put a damper on the show for me, for about five seconds but still, brunettes and blondes unite! Other than that I think everything about this show is flawless. I get a bulldog, Christian Borle, fabulous lady belting, Paul Canaan, gay or European and a song performed entirely with skipping ropes. I will love this show forever, and 100% want to play Elle Woods.