February 25, 2007

Remember the movie 'Legally Blonde'?

The 2001 release stars Reese Witherspoon [right] as the highly optimistic sorority girl Elle Woods who, after being dumped by her boyfriend, follows him to law school to win him back.

Woods is over-the-top spunky, loves to wear pink, carries her pet Chihuahua Bruiser and turns the hallowed grounds of Harvard Law School upside down by showing that she can be cute, stylish and smart. Get it?

The movie is enjoyable enough. Witherspoon has some chops and is able to give the role some depth in what might otherwise be painful and dumb. 'Legally Blonde 2' followed soon after, and now we have 'Legally Blonde: The Musical' which is finishing a preview run at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco. It's heading to Broadway April 3, 2007.

The musical starts out very strong with the opening number in Elle Woods' [Laura Bell Bundy] Delta Nu sorority house.

With brilliantly bright, candy-colored sets and costumes, smiling co-eds, and strong voices belting out the catchy tune 'Omigod You Guys,' it's well-paced, funny, and really sets the groundwork for the rest of the show.

'Serious' follows soon after, featuring Elle and her dopey boyfriend Warner Huntington III [Richard H. Blake] in a clever and well-done send-up of those corny romantic musical theater songs.

After this excellent opening, the rest of the show has a tough time keeping up. And with the addition of about 12 or 15 more strong fun characters, it starts to get difficult to know who, or what to follow.

Law Professor Callahan [Michael Rupert] [below]] does a great job explaining the world of law with 'Blood in the Water.'

Elle's new friend at school, Emmett Forrest [Christian Borle] sings about the 'Chip on my Shoulder, [he's got a great voice but a bit too aw-shucks].

We also meet Elle's friend and hairdresser Paulette [Orfeh]. Paulette has a dynamite song called 'Ireland' that shows off her powerful voice.

But the whole sequence with Paulette and her dog becomes a bit of a distraction from the main thrust of the show, which is….well, that dumb blondes aren't really dumb. Or something.

One of the funniest songs takes place in Act II in the Courtroom. Entitled 'There! Right There!' Professor Callahan and his interns are trying to determine just by dress and mannerisms, if a particular male witness is gay or European.

Featuring rapid fire delivery and cleverly written lyrics, It's funny stuff.