Review: LEGALLY BLONDE at Tri-M Productions At Santa Fe High

Legally Blonde

Tri-M Productions June 13-23 at Santa Fe High School

Here we go – another summer of fun, frothy musicals all over northern New Mexico. This week alone you can choose from Kinky Boots, Head Over Heels or this one, Legally Blonde. Tri-M’s latest offering is playing now through June 23 at the Santa Fe High Theater. I know what you’re thinking – do we need ANOTHER musical based on a well-loved movie about a young woman overcoming adversity to win the day? Maybe we do.

The plot of Legally Blonde follows the movie for a while and then goes its own way every once in a while. If you are one of the three people in North America who has not seen the original film, here’s a breakdown: popular pretty girl has great boyfriend, he dumps her to go to Harvard, she decides to go as well (“what, like it’s hard?”) to get him back, she’s a fish out of water, learns that there’s more to life than boys, becomes a strong, independent woman who loves the law!

Got it?

The show’s opening number features the sorority girls of Delta Nu celebrating the pending engagement of their president, Elle Woods (Daryl Hale) to Warner Huntington III (Jeremiah Vigil). Elle is off buying a dress for the occasion and joins her sorority sisters in the exuberant "Omigod You Guys" (nice choreography throughout from Laura Orozco Garrett). Later, at dinner Warner tells Elle that he needs a Jackie (Kennedy), not a Marilyn (Monroe), and breaks up with her. Elle is devastated, but soon realizes that the way to win Warner back is to follow him to Harvard Law School. The number “What You Want,” which follows Elle’s journey to prospective Harvard student to accepted member of the class, is the highlight of this production, both vocally and choreographically.

Elle has a rough landing Harvard, where she stands out as a frivolous girl, not a serious student. She learns that Warner has a new girlfriend, fellow law student Vivienne Kensington (played with a nice dose of frostiness by Lucia Porterfield-Ortiz). She bemoans being ridiculed by Professor Callahan (a very angry interpretation by Caleb Heaton) to his TA, Emmett (the always endearing Bear Schacht), who might be the only person at Harvard that sees that there is more to Elle than her blonde-ness.

Along the way she meets hairstylist Paulette (a very strong and funny performance by Samantha Scarborough), who befriends Elle and becomes her close confidante. Elle is dead-set on getting Warner back, but soon realizes that there may be more to her as well, and she begins to excel in class. When a big murder case breaks, Callahan opens up his firm to first-year law students. Elle is picked, along with Vivienne and Warner, to clerk for the professor, now defending fitness guru Brooke Wyndham (Hayley Horowitz) in her trial, where she is accused of killing her much older husband.  Elle realizes that this accomplishment is so much better than being with Warner, and commits to becoming a serious force during the trial.

The Wyndham trial begins. Elle has befriended the fitness guru and learns that she indeed has an alibi, but can’t reveal it, or she might lose her fitness empire. Together, Emmett and Elle figure out a way to crack the star witness, Brooke’s pool boy Nikos (a very funny Cameron Wilson as Nikos and his boyfriend Martin Chavez-Borjas as Carlos almost steal the show).

Unfortunately, Callahan still sees Elle as just another pretty face, and comes on to her in his office, causing her to want to throw everything away and go back to her easier life in California. Emmett and Paulette convince her to stay, she takes over the trial and realizes that she deserves to be more than just a pretty face (the unfortunate title number, “Legally Blonde,” is trite, to no fault of the performers. It’s just really formulaic and we all deserve better here).

Do they all live happily ever after? Of course they do! – except for Warner and Callahan, both revealed to be the worst types of men.

Hale is strong in the role of Elle; not a carbon copy of Reese Witherspoon in the movie, Hale brings a little more goofiness and honesty to Elle, which automatically endears her to the audience. Schacht is also very likeable and sweet in the role of Emmett. Scarborough plays Paulette with the right notes of humor, silliness and sadness all rolled up in one. I wish that the script gave Porterfield-Ortiz more to do as she is always engaged and laser-focused onstage.

I left the production liking the musical numbers but wanting stronger vocals from the ensemble – if you take on a show like Legally Blonde, belting is required – there is a wispy quality here that needs to be stronger, both in volume and diction. Microphones can enhance performances; we still need volume.

Ditto the acting between musical numbers. This company gets singing and dancing for the most part; they need more guidance on acting across the board. Perhaps choose a show with less dialogue next, or commit to perfecting the acting between numbers with the same amount of vigor put into the music. Director Marilyn Barnes is a strong, seasoned choral teacher, that is clear, but some more emphasis on acting will serve this company well.

The musicians for this production were excellent under the direction of Kathlene Ritch. Of all the local production companies that use live orchestra, this one tends to be the most balanced.

Once again I will bemoan the lack of theater space in Santa Fe – the theater on the Santa Fe High campus is great, but it is a high school theater, which takes a bit of the luster off this company – please City of Santa Fe, get your you-know-what together and help fund at least one 200- to 400-seat venue in this town. We need it!

Legally Blonde runs through June 23. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.trimsantafe.org/ .

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