A Review

Think Pink

By R. J. Donovan

It turns out blondes do have more fun. They’re also exceptionally nice -- at least in “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” now at The Opera House.

Based on the Reese Witherspoon MGM comedy of the same name, “Legally Blonde: The Musical” is all about Elle Woods, a perky, blonde, California sorority gal who knows about clothes, has plenty of style and lives to cha-cha through life in a pink marshmallow swirl. All while maintaining a 4.0 grade average.

She also has big plans for a happily-ever-after life with her preppy stud boyfriend, Warner Huntington III. Only as they approach college graduation, it turns out Warner has plans of his own. And they don’t include her.

What they do include is heading off to Harvard Law School, leaving Elle behind with her degree in fashion while he looks for someone more matching his political ambitions (i.e., someone who wears black even when nobody’s dead).

But Elle, knowing that it’s their fate to be together, decides to get into Harvard Law School, study alongside him and prove herself right -- even though her Mallibu father tells her that law school is for people who are “boring and ugly and serious.”

She trains like an Olympian to pass her exams, and when she forgets to submit a personal essay with her application, she simply makes a personal appearance on campus to state her case.

Yes, she gets in, and she finds a whole new world of students and law professors -- most of whom judge her to be an airhead. But ever-resilient, she rises to the occasion, believes in herself and proves to have a brain under all those blonde tresses (along with a fairly big heart).

Does she wind up with Warner? Not so much. But in the end she gains far more than she’s lost.

As on Broadway, director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell rules the Greek Chorus fairy tale with a combination of athleticism and bubblegum snap.

With a book by Heather Hach and music and lyrics from Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, the story’s original trademarks have all made the transfer to the stage, from “Oh My God, You Guys!” to the finger snaps. Funny topical references have also been sprinkled in. (And on opening night, following on the heels of Michelle Obama’s wardrobe comments on “The Tonight Show,” a reference to J. Crew got a surprise laugh.)

The touring production offers a energetic company of players, led by Becky Gulsvig as Elle. She understudied the role on Broadway and brings a warm, sparkling personality to the role, often looking and sounding like Kristen Chenoweth’s Glinda. Only in pink.

D. B. Bonds is Emmett, Elle’s brotherly mentor. Gentle and kind, he underplays the role a bit, but does a nice job with “Chip On My Shoulder.” (Boston audiences last saw Bonds in the national tour of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”)

As the law professor who’s swimming with sharks, Ken Land has his moment with “Blood In The Water.”

And as Paulette, a hairdresser who befriends Elle when she considers going brunette to gain respect, Natalie Joy Johnson (left, above) is just great. Armed with a very funny Boston accent, she gets to convey her own dreams in the equally funny solo, “Ireland.” Ultimately, Elle helps Paulette find her own way to happiness.

Several of the folks in smaller roles get a chance to shine as well, including: Ven Daniel (above with Johnson) as a razor-sharp UPS guy who oozes testosterone; Gretchen Burghart as the quirky, pig-tailed Enid; Megan Lewis as Vivienne, the icy cobra who replaces Elle in Warner’s life; and Adam Zelasko, who does double duty as a smarmy, royal law student as well as a pool boy of questionable sexual orientation.

By the final curtain, Elle once again learns that being true to yourself never goes out of style. Plus it also makes life totally fun-ner.

"Legally Blonde" is at The Opera House, 539 Washington Street in Boston, through November 9. For information, call Ticketmaster at 617-931-2787.

Production Photos: Joan Marcus

-- OnStage Boston

11/01/08

 

 
 
 
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