Review: Legally Blonde at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
For those of us who grew up in the early to mid noughties, the film Legally Blonde is a classic. I actually rewatched it fairly recently after not having seen it for many years. Perhaps surprisingly, it still stands up incredibly well in 2022 as a comedy about believing in yourself and smashing stereotypes.
A musical adaptation followed in 2007, which I first saw when it toured the UK in 2011 starring Faye Brookes (who, coincidentally, I’ll be seeing as Roxie Hart in Chicago later this week). This year’s production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, though, was billed as a thoroughly different and contemporary reimagining. That, coupled with the fact that it was directed by Six creator Lucy Moss, meant I just had to go and see it.
Luckily, the weather - always a risk with outdoor shows - behaved perfectly, and we got to sit back and be entertained for a couple of hours in the sunshine.
The Legally Blonde set pre-show. Photo: mine.
What’s it about?
(Note: review will contain plot spoilers.)
I’m sure most of us have seen the classic 2001 film this musical is based on. But just in case you haven’t, here goes: Fashion Merchandising student and sorority president Elle Woods excitedly prepares for a date with her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, believing he is about to propose. Instead, he breaks up with her as he is going to Harvard Law School and wants to date someone more “serious”.
Heartbroken, Elle soon comes up with a plan: she’ll follow Warner to Harvard and prove that she deserves to be taken seriously. With the help of months of study to ace the LSAT, plus a song-and-dance number in the Harvard admissions office, she is accepted.
Unsurprisingly, Elle struggles to fit in at Harvard, eschewing studying in favour of chasing Warner. But with the help of her friends, Elle slowly learns to believe in herself and realises that she does have what it takes to become a great lawyer.
Any content notes?
The scene where Callahan hits on Elle might be difficult for survivors of sexual abuse or harrassment to watch. It’s also heavily implied that Paulette’s ex was abusive.
There’s some mild bad language and a few sexual references, almost entirely played for laughs.
Legally Blonde: My Review
Ohmigod you guys, this show!
It’s pink, it’s camp, it’s completely over the top, and I loved every second of it.
This production is far more than just some noughties nostalgia. A few lines in the script have been updated, giving us contemporary references to things like the Kardashians and social media. But it is the casting, more than anything, that brings this revival bang up to date. With racial and body-type diversity, it also starts several trans and non-binary performers including Alžbeta Matyšáková as Enid and Isaac Hesketh as Margot (a first for the role).
Courtney Bowman simply shines as Elle Woods. Seeing a curvy woman of colour playing this role, which has until now been almost exclusively cast as thin and white, is a revelation. After all, why should only one type of person play a certain role, especially in a show that’s all about tearing down stereotypes? Bowman, who has previously played Anne Boleyn in Six, gives a powerhouse performance that delivers both Elle’s youthful exuberance and vulnerability in spades.
Courtney Bowman (centre) with members of the Legally Blonde Cast. Photo: Pamela Raith.
The role of Elle also gives Bowman a chance to show off her incredible vocals. A highlight was seeing her belt out “So Much Better”, marking the internal shift in Elle as she realises that she doesn’t need Warner’s approval to succeed and feel good about herself.
The other standout performances come from Elle’s two main allies. Nadine Higgin steals the show as Paulette every time she’s on stage, getting to show off both her comic abilities and her fabulous singing voice. And Michael Ahomka-Lindsay is perfect as quiet, smart, supportive Emmett. His transformation in “Take It Like a Man”, when Elle takes him shopping, is genuinely touching and their slow-burn romance is sweet and believable.
I know reviewers have had mixed opinions about the dogs being played by actors in dog costumes rather than, well, actual dogs. I liked it for a couple of reasons: first and most obviously, bringing live animals on stage is both ethically complex and risky in case they decide not to behave. But also, it just… makes total sense in context. This production leans into Legally Blonde’s silliness and a human-sized chihuahua and poodle up the camp-and-kitsch factors that make it work.
Ellen Kane’s choreography is excellent, and a particular mention has to go to the “Whipped Into Shape” scene led by Lauren Drew as Brooke. How on earth Drew and the other dancers were able to continue singing throughout a vigorous skipping rope routine I don’t know, but pull it off they did!
Lauren Drew as Brooke Wyndham. Photo: Pamela Raith.
Visually, Legally Blonde is a sea of bright and vibrant colours, with pink and pink and more pink taking centre stage. Costume colours are used to differentiate between different "groups” of characters: Elle and her sorority sisters wear pink, Paulette and the other salon staff wear orange, Brooke and her dancers wear pale green, and the “serious” law students wear muted shades of dark green, brown, and grey. At the end, everyone appears in hot pink graduation robes.
Legally Blonde’s set design is… strange. I understand that the blonde tassels all around the stage are supposed to represent Elle’s hair, but it didn’t work for me. Making them pink (like almost everything else in this show) or just a neutral colour like black or white would have worked much better. As it is, they drew my eye but in a bad, distracting way.
There are also a few problems with the sound, notably that the band was far too loud in places. Getting sound balance right is notoriously difficult in outdoor spaces, but there’s really no excuse to have the sound up so high that it’s audibly distorting. At times, the music also drowned out the spoken dialogue, meaning that we completely missed a few lines.
Issues aside, though, this is a glorious reimagining with inspired casting and an aesthetic that is as sweet and fun as the pink candyfloss it resembles. Moss, Bowman, and the rest of this wonderfully diverse cast have dragged Legally Blonde into the 21st century with a production that will surely be considered almost as iconic as its source material.
My only regret is that I was driving and therefore did not get to enjoy an “OMG & T” at the interval!
Where to get tickets
It’s finished, unfortunately! We didn’t get a chance to catch this show until its penultimate performance on Saturday afternoon. But you can see some of the performers being thoroughly awesome at West End Live here.