Review: THE GIRL WHO BECAME LEGEND at The Kennedy Center

The musical The Girl Who Became Legend showcases the strength and bravery of a young girl, the power of big dreams and even addresses the topical issue of book banning.

At the center of the show is Raina (Blakeney Mahlstedt) who sets out on an adventure to capture a cloud she claims she saw. In her hometown of Dustbin, it hasn't rained in years (hence, the name Dustbin). The locals have gotten scared and small-minded, which leads to books being banned and the libraries being shuttered! When Raina sees a rain cloud, no one believes her, so she sets out to find said cloud and bring it back. 

My six-year-old son thought the lighthearted moments where Raina attempts to catch the cloud were hilarious.

While there are those moments of light, the show starts out slow, so the viewer isn’t hooked in off the top. I think that for young audiences, a show needs to have more light and funny moments. The Girl Who Became Legend didn’t have enough of those, which I think led to my son getting bored toward the end. Many of the songs were downers and it seems like, when Raina meets new friends, there could be an opportunity for a more fun song, along the lines of when Simba famously meets his new friends in The Lion King.

Mahlstedt has a pretty voice and her energy shoots out from the stage. I also loved the costuming. I couldn’t take my eyes off Raina’s skirt at the end of the show. My son also commented and enjoyed when actor Jeremy Rashad Brown was dressed to look like a train. Very creative choices by costume designer Aaron Flynn.

I love the idea behind The Girl Who Became Legend: making the girl the hero and anything anti-book banning is okay in my book. However, there is just something missing from this show. More humor should be written in and the songs could be a little brighter at times. I wasn’t connected to what I was watching, although the actors did a great job with the material they were given.

Running Time: 1 hour

The Girl Who Became Legend is playing at the Family Theater at The Kennedy Center until February 11th and is recommended for grades 2-8.

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