Review: LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL Turns Jackson Positively Pink!

How much pink is too much pink? Elle Woods would argue that there is never enough, and she brought plenty of it to Thalia Mara Hall with the national tour of Legally Blonde when it stopped in Jackson, Mississippi on January 17th. A part of the Broadway in Jackson series presented by Trustmark, the tour itself is presented by Big League Productions, a fitting moniker given that every member of the cast put on a performance worthy of the big leagues.

Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture, the touring production features a fairly simplistic set, relying heavily on projected imagery, that is more than made up for by Bob Richard's exceptionally high-energy choreography and dramatic music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Directed by Jeffery B. Moss, and featuring a book by Heather Hach, Legally Blonde is a fast-paced, riotous piece of theatre that has just enough sweet and soulful moments to keep the plot moving forward to an aww-worthy end.

The full gamut of emotions is run on behalf of Elle, a California sorority girl who follows an ex-boyfriend, Warner, the guy you just love to hate and played oh-so-believably by James Oblak, to Harvard Law School despite being entirely under-qualified (bar an acceptable LSAT score and a 4.0 GPA from UCLA...in fashion merchandising) in hopes of changing his mind. The role of Elle is spectacularly performed by Hannah Bonnett - with perfect comedic timing, killer moves, and vocal chops in spades, her performance is a tour de force. Along the way to her law degree and hopefully winning back her beau, followed by her own personal Greek chorus (Jesse Lynn Harte, Taylor Lloyd, and Rory Furey-King), Elle meets Paulette (Ashley Morton), a hysterical hair stylist with a thing for Irish men named Brendan and a certain UPS driver (Matthew Dean Hollis); Brooke Wyndham (Kaelee Albritton), a personal fitness guru with an alibi she won't divulge, suspected of murdering her (much) older husband; and Emmett Forrest (Aathaven Tharmarajah), an up-and-coming Harvard Law grad with his sights set on making it in Professor Callahan's (Chris Carsten) law firm who finds Elle more than a little bit charming. While Elle comes up against more obstacles in her quest to win back Warner than she expects - difficult classes, Warner's new girlfriend, Vivienne Kensington (Lea Sevola), and an advisor with ulterior motives - she's gathered a quirky but loyal support system to see her through her Ivy League education, however unconventional her journey there has been.

The entire cast of the Legally Blonde tour can only be accurately described as FULL OUT. The energy required to bring this show to life has to be monumental, but they brought their A-game and then some. Hitting hard on the show's more well-known numbers ("Omigod You Guys" and "So Much Better", amongst others), they never let up, making 2 fabulously fun hours fly by in what feels like just minutes. The talent involved in this production is ridiculous, and the show includes all of the iconic moments from the movie we all love and expect to see, while modifying a few details to bring it to modern, current audiences.

This musical is intensely enjoyable and an absolute must-see! The tour's full itinerary with links to purchase tickets can be found below. Omigod you guys, you can't miss this!