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Legally Blonde: The Musical \u2013 Amber Davies and Karen Mavundukure with the ensemble <\/p>\nLegally Blonde: The MusicalBord G\u00e1is Energy Theatre, Dublin\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n
\u201cOmigod, omigod you guys, looks like Elle is gonna win the prize,\u201d the self-styled Greek chorus that are Elle\u2019s best friends squeal in the opening number of Legally Blonde: The Musical. <\/p>\n
The three frothy furies are singing about marriage \u2013 the pinnacle of success for a sorority sister like Elle \u2013 but the prize that she has already won is much bigger. <\/p>\n
From her first shocking-pink appearance, in 2001, in a self-published novel by Amanda Brown, the effervescent Elle tottered over the course of a decade from the silver screen, in Robert Luketic\u2019s charming film version, on to the Broadway boards, in Laurence O\u2019Keefe and Nell Benjamin\u2019s 2007 musical. <\/p>\n
Elle returns to Dublin this month in a new touring production of the musical, just as Prime Video releases the teenage version of the blonde into the wilds of a grungy Seattle high school. Forget about becoming a top lawyer: this fictional beauty has spawned a media empire.<\/p>\n
This context for Elle\u2019s emergence as a pop-culture icon is pretty important when considering the musical, because, without it, it would be almost impossible to make sense of the story in Nikolai Foster\u2019s high-pitched production, as it zips along without pause between its mediocre musical numbers. <\/p>\n
The gist, for the uninitiated, is that Elle (Amber Davies), our nice-but-dim heroine, heads to Harvard to win back the heart of her ambitious boyfriend, Warner (Jamie Chatterton). More Marilyn Monroe than Jackie O, Elle isn\u2019t part of his vision for political domination. <\/p>\n
Luckily, she meets another guy, Emmett (George Crawford), who can mansplain the rules of law school and coach her through the trials of heartbreak and heavy coursework. In a perverse and retrograde revision of the film, Heather Hach\u2019s book makes this love story a central aspect of Elle\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
Ireland too plays a role in the thin plot, through a bizarre backstory attributed to Elle\u2019s bestie Paulette (Karen Mavundukure), a beautician. Discussing her difficult love life, she devotes an entire ballad to the \u201cmisty land\u201d of \u201cEnya and the whales\u201d, a number so vital it gets a reprise and some Riverdance choreography, courtesy of Leah Hill.<\/p>\n
Legally Blonde: The Musical \u2013 Amber Davies and Karen Mavundukure with the ensemble <\/p>\n
If a theatre critic has to wonder how the cultural cliches register elsewhere, the Irish audience on opening night have no reservations. <\/p>\n
Indeed, the production seems to have no need to impress at all. Before she even begins to prove herself, the audience are on Elle\u2019s side, mouthing along to her songs and moving their bodies in time with the music. Some are even in a version of her many lurid-pink costumes, styled by Tom Rogers. <\/p>\n
Is this because the cast is led by the Love Island winner and Strictly Come Dancing runner-up Amber Davies, who gets cheers as she arrives on stage? Or because of nostalgic devotion to the film (which is actually much better)? Maybe it\u2019s because they\u2019re making a return visit to the show, which toured to Ireland in 2018.<\/p>\n
No matter how harsh a theatre critic\u2019s judgment, in the court of popular opinion Legally Blonde: The Musical is a winner.<\/p>\n