BWW Reviews: LEGALLY BLONDE at The 5th Avenue Theatre

The 5^th Avenue Theatre has brought Heather Hach, Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin's musical adaptation of the Reese Witherspoon movie, "Legally Blonde" to their stages.  And while this is not the best production of the show I've seen, it certainly gets snaps for bringing the fun.

I should start off by saying, I love this show!  It is not thought provoking or meaningful like "Les Mis" or "A Catered Affair" or "Grey Gardens".  But it is one of those wonderful evenings of theater that are just plain fun.  You'll walk out humming the tunes and giggling all the way home.  And why?  Because the show does not take itself too seriously.  How can it when the opening song is entitled, "Omigod You Guys"?  And that's just the beginning of the pink clad joy ride you're about to go on.

For those that haven't seen the movie, the story centers around Elle, a perpetually perky sorority girl from UCLA who has been dumped by her boyfriend Warner because she's not serious enough to fit into his goals of becoming a Senator by the time he's 30.  He needs a Jackie and not a Marilyn.  And so in an effort to win him back and show just how serious she is, she follows him to Harvard Law School.  And the hilarity ensues as she disproves the dumb blonde image they all ascribe to her and finds out just how strong she is herself.  Now, this could have been a complete disaster of a cliché movie were it not for the talents of Reese Witherspoon in the lead role.  She took what could have been a stereotypical character and made it into someone with humor, brains and heart. 

So when it comes to the musical not only does the girl playing Elle need all that and to look the part but add into that a killer voice and dance moves.  And in it's original production this show had all that in it's star Laura Bell Bundy.  She is the original quadruple threat, acting, dancing, singing and she looks the part.  And yes, I did see the original cast perform the show so any subsequent Elles will need to live up to Bundy.  And unfortunately the tour's Elle, Becky Gulsvig, comes very close but doesn't quite make it all the way there.  Gulsvig definitely looks the part and she is funny and smart and has a wonderful voice and great moves, but she never really wowed me and Elle should.  We need to root for her from the minute we see her and part of that comes from how amazing the performer is.  Let me be clear, I am not saying she was bad by any sense of the word.  She is a very talented performer.  She just didn't knock my socks off.  Furthermore there are some songs in some shows that really showcase when you have a powerhouse singing the song.  Maggie's shining moment in "At the Ballet" from "A Chorus Line, Bobby singing "Being Alive" from "Company, and Elle's final crescendo in "So Much Better" from "Legally Blonde".  I should get chills when she hits that final note letting me know I am in the presence of someone beyond spectacular.  I did when I heard Bundy sing it.  But last night I was simply satisfied but remained chill-less. 

The rest of the cast managed to turn in some equally magnificent performances but was also just missing something.  The amazing Michael Rupert reprises his role from the original Broadway cast as the overly superior Professor Callahan and his rendition of "Blood in the Water" with his maniacal twinkle was just as great as I remember.  Natalie Joy Johnson's Paulette, the lovable hairdresser who befriends Elle, was hysterical and sure packed a punch.  A special shout for Ven Daniel who can not only fill out the UPS delivery guy Kyle's uniform with the best of them but also milked every overly punctuated and hilarious move he had in every scene for everything they were worth.  And yes, the show has more eye candy than you can shake a pom pom at.  So no drawbacks there.

But the stand out for the show I felt had to have been D.B. Bonds as the geekily adorable Emmett Forrest.  Not only does he have a great voice but he infused the character with so much nerdy charm that you can see why Elle falls for him.  He really nailed a fresh approach to the character.  Something I felt was lacking in the original Broadway Emmet, Christian Borle.  It was nice to see someone really making the part their own.

So it's a good show.  It's fun and fluffy and oh so pink and will leave you with a huge smile on your face.  If you were privileged enough to see the original cast perform live then you may want to leave that memory intact and stay home.  But if this is your first time visiting Elle in her rose colored world then you don't want to miss out on a totally super fun time.  All in all is the show worth seeing?  Omigod yes!

"Legally Blonde The Musical" is playing at The 5^th Avenue Theatre through March 14^th.  For tickets or information contact the 5^th Avenue box office at 206-625-1900 or visit them online at www.5thavenue.org.

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