Legally Blonde
At Theatre Under the Stars until Aug. 17
Tickets: 604-696-4295
tuts.ca
Omigod You Guys, this show is fun. Thats the opening song in this hilarious hoot in hot pink directed and choreographed by Valerie Easton. Have these young performers got the moves? And does Easton put them through them? You bet! Just wait til you see Bend and Snap a calculatedly flirty move designed to get a guy to notice what youve got if you know what I mean.
Company coming from out of town? Take them to Legally Blonde. Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) is all about the whole package: Stanley Park, the beautiful formal gardens in front of the Pavilion, the tall evergreens, the squirrels, the popcorn, the seagulls and sometimes even an eagle soaring through which there was the night when I was there. Do you want to impress your guests from Jolly Olde who think, hem, hem, good theatre only happens on their side of the pond? Legally Blonde will convince them otherwise.
Before the curtain went up, I got talking to a woman from Yorkshire who, with her husband, is on a three-week western Canada holiday hiking in the Rockies, three days in our very own Jolly Olde Victoria, a few days in Whistler, all the highlights. She had met someone on the street in Vancouver who told her to go to TUTS. Before the curtain went up I was a little worried. I mean, these are amateurs on stage, eh? Sometimes theyre almost kids.
The curtain went up on Omigod You Guys and I stopped worrying. There may only be four professionals in the show but youd have a hard time determining who they are. Once Breanne Arrigo, as Elle Wood (the naturally blonde, later the legally blonde) arrives on stage in pink, Elles signature colour, you cant take your eyes off her. If she had any more energy, shed blow up like a big pink balloon and explode right there on stage. Shes cute, shes curvy, she sings and dances, and if you read her bio, youll discover shes also an advocate for children in need. With all that going for her, Arrigo is a shoo-in for Elle who at first seems silly and frivolous but turns out to be a warrior for the falsely accused.
And then theres Katie Murphy who, as Brooke the fitness instructor, is also cute, curvy etcetera and does it all while skipping rope. Whipped Into Shape she sings and the ensemble falls into place, whirling skipping ropes like lassoes and singing: Whip it! Whip it! I had trouble catching my breath just watching them.
Cathy Wilmot isnt a card-carrying professional, but she doesnt need a card to tell us shes a pro. Shes got a big voice on her and a flair for comedy. Shes Paulette, the hairdresser, with a yen for Enya and men from Ireland. And that, of course, gives director Easton an in to get everyone stepdancing à la Riverdance.
The love interest guys Warner and Emmett are excellently played/sung by Peter Cumins and Scott Walters.
But its a power-to-the-girls show and proud of it. Elle is a sorority gal who loves to party; what we dont know about her at first is that shes really smart. It takes getting into Harvard Law School in pursuit of the man who dumped her for her to discover that theres more to life than bend and snap although sometimes it comes in handy in the courtroom.
Legally Blonde is more than a fluffy musical based on a Reese Witherspoon movie. Although it is that, too. Its got a message for girls and a good one, too love is important but knowing who you are is more important. Forget yesterdays message: Now that a man [has chosen] you/Your life begins today. Omigod, we actually used to buy into that nonsense. Elle gets past that, finds her way and find loves, too. OMG, how great is that?
For more reviews go to joledingham.ca
