NEW YORK—The feel-good musical of the year, with a core message about the need to find the person dwelling beneath the façades we all wear, Legally Blonde: The Musical (book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Neil Benjamin) is a delightful and sugary—if not always filling—treat. The show is based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the MGM film.
Elle Woods (the magnificent Laura Bell Bundy), a blonde California fraternity girl whose signature color is pink, is expecting a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Richard H. Blake). However, he dumps her for someone more socially acceptable as he prepares to enter Harvard Law School.
Determined to get him back, Elle gets herself admitted to Harvard only to find herself the butt of everyone's jokes. Helped by a recent graduate (Christian Borle) and the owner of a local beauty salon (Orfeh), Elle perseveres, and finds herself in the midst of a sensational celebrity trial where she shows she's got more than just her golden locks.
Bundy is helped immeasurably by the strong supporting cast. This includes, in addition to those already mentioned, Kate Shindle as Warren's snobbish new love, and the always dependable Michael Rupert as a lawyer with a "kill-or-be-killed" mentality.
Another nice touch is having some of Elle's California school friends function as a sort of Greek chorus, which only Elle can see. There are also some enjoyable musical moments, such as the strong opening number and a delicious parody of "Riverdance."
The only problem with the show is that it sometimes can be too cutesy for its own good. Several characters, such as Elle's parents, are too cardboard to care about. There are also a couple of songs (one which takes place during the trial) that could be easily dropped.
Costumes by Gregg Barnes are fun; sets by David Rockwell and the lighting by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller work well, as does Jerry Mitchell's direction for the most part. The show is more flash than substance, but on the whole, it's a crowd-pleasing good time.
Also in the cast are: Nikki Snelson, Annaleigh Ashford, April Berry, Paul Canaan, Beth Curry, Amber Efe, Gaelen Gilliland, Becky Gulsvig, Manuel Herrera, Natalie Joy Johnson, Andy Karl, Nick Kenkel, Michelle Kittrell, Leslie Kritzer, DeQuina Moore, Kevin Pariseau, Matthew Risch, Jason Patrick Sands, Noah Weisberg and Kate Wetherhead.
Legally Blonde: The Musical
Palace Theatre
1564 Broadway
Tickets: 212-307-4100 or www.ticketmaster.com
Open Run
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London publication The Stage.
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