\u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical\u201d is based on the 2001 hit film and a previous novel.<\/p>\n
It is an old-fashioned love story at heart, but with a modern feminist outlook, and fun at a time when fun is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical\u201d continues through Aug. 16 at The Pennsylvania Playhouse, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
The Aug. 2 performance was seen for this review.<\/p>\n
The Playhouse production, with a cast of 30 in 17 scenes, is more than two-hours-long, but it never lags.<\/p>\n
Sorority sister Elle (Cat McKenna) is dumped by Warner (Robert Samuel Morgan) because she is not serious enough. She follows him into Harvard Law School, where she is accepted for admission after singing with a group of cheerleaders. College applicants should note that this only happens in musicals.<\/p>\n
In the first act, there are many scenes of singing and dancing at the Delta Nu Sorority House and Harvard Law School. The ensemble\u2019s energetic moves, choreographed by Marcell Mackenzie, make Harvard seem like a fun place.<\/p>\n
However, everyone has to hit the books for the class of Professor Callahan (Shaun Hayes). He leads the \u201cBlood in the Water\u201d number, promoting ruthlessness in the legal profession.<\/p>\n
The story also brings in Elle\u2019s hairdresser Paulette (Effe Lambrinos), who has a fantasy about meeting someone from Ireland, which lets the cast do some Irish step-dancing.<\/p>\n
In the second act, Elle and a legal team defend fitness icon Brooke (Stephanie George) from a murder charge, while Elle grows closer to her friend Emmett (John Leiderman).<\/p>\n
The set by Set and Lighting Designer Brett Oliveira is fairly minimal, providing as much room as possible for the large-cast choreography. A few benches are added for class and courtroom scenes. A second level at the back of the stage serves as a bedroom and the front door of a trailer.<\/p>\n
Two dogs are included in the cast, the tiny Bambi and bulldog Matilda, who perform flawlessly.<\/p>\n
The singing is outstanding, with McKenna, Lambrinos and Leiderman reaching amazing high notes.<\/p>\n
Amanda Haag is Music Director. Todd Burkel is Costume Designer.<\/p>\n
Hayes, the only non-student age lead, is notable as a devious antagonist.<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t seen the original movie, it doesn\u2019t matter. The Playhouse production, directed by Kayla Driscoll, will probably want to make you see it for the first or second time.<\/p>\n
This musical might be the most fun you will have for a long time, or at least legally.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegally Blonde The Musical,\u201d 7:30 p.m. July 31, Aug. 1, 7, 8, 14, 15; 6 p.m. Aug. 2, 9, 16, Pennsylvania Playhouse, 390 Illick\u2019s Mill Road, Bethlehem. 610-865-6665, http:\/\/www.paplayhouse.org\/<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY MARQUETT FERRELLCat McKenna (Elle Woods) with, left to right, Danny Carroll (Ensemble), Benito Ortiz (Ensemble), \u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical,\u201d The Pennsylvania Playhouse, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY MARQUETT FERRELLLeft to right: Effe Lambrinos (Paulette), Caleb Flannery (Kiki the Colorist), Cat McKenna (Elle Woods), Lizzie Witek (Enid Hoops), \u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical,\u201d The Pennsylvania Playhouse, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cLegally Blonde: The Musical\u201d is based on the 2001 hit film and a previous novel. It is an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-261880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}