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Legally Blonde

  • Caroline Russell-King
  • Jun 1
  • 2 min read

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

 

Show – Legally Blonde

 

Playwright/s Composer/s – Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film.

 

Production Company/Theatre space – Theatre Calgary, Arts Commons.

 

Length – 2 Acts (2 hours 30 minutes, one intermission)

 

Genre/s – Musical.

 

Premise A woman interested in cheerleading, fashion, and sororities goes to Harvard Law School to win back the boyfriend who dumped her for a more serious woman.

 

Why this play? Why now? – As Stafford Arima, AD of Theatre Calgary says, “Every season deserves a grand finale” and as Geoffrey Rush in Shakespeare in Love says, “Love and a bit with a dog”.

 

Curiosities – I wondered what 2025 university age women think of this play. Since Harvard has been in the news cycle for a couple of weeks, where was the relevant reference that would have, I’m sure, garnered laughs and applause?

 

Notable Moment  The dogs – always the dogs.

 

Notable writing – Opening on Broadway in 2007, this show was nominated for awards but didn’t win any until it moved to the West End where it won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical. This 21-year-old script has been tweaked to include modern technology. The script is as fun and as sweet as a strawberry cupcake with double pink frosting.

 

Notable performances – The culturally iconic Elle is played beautifully by Kelsey Verzotti. In 2020 Daniel Fong was given the Stepen Hair Emerging Artist Award and with this strong performance we can safely say he has now fully emerged as a professional leading man. Patricia Zentilli who makes her TC debut demonstrates why she has been hired by every major company across Canada. Please bring her back.

 

Notable design/Production – Beyata Hackborn makes full use of the flies and the budget TC can provide to create the marvelous, multileveled, mobile set that backdrops the play perfectly. Rebecca Toon’s hundred costumes are suitably fun, frothy, and fast changing.

 

Notable direction  Director and Choreographer Stephanie Graham transports us effortlessly into the world of Elle the Barbie doll who gets a brain and a better perspective to compliment her beauty. Other directors would do well to study how to set change without stopping the show and dropping the energy. The Whipped into Shape choreography with the skipping ropes earned the admiration of comments from those sitting around me.  

 

One reason to see this show Omigod You Guys go and see it if you’re in Edmonton for it’s second run at The Citadel and as it is becoming more and more popular for the audience to cosplay with the play make yourself pretty in pink.



 
 
 

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Caroline Russell-King is a professional theatre critic reviewing plays in Calgary and the surrounding area. This is an ad free website set up without grants- to show appreciation or to buy me a cup of tea please click the button below.

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