My Legally Blonde Experience

My exposure to the original production of Legally Blonde the Musical was limited to the telecast of two years ago and the original cast soundtrack. While I never saw the show on Broadway I wore out my original TiVo and my iPod watching and listening. Heck I even watched MTV's reality show Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods. With all that said, I really couched my expectations as I entered St. Paul’s Ordway theater this past Saturday to see the touring show. Thankfully my expectations were shattered beyond all hopes as me and a theater full of…well…view my partner’s assessment of the crowd below…cheered and jumped out of our seats.



My biggest fear was that the traveling cast would not live up to the high standard set by the original Broadway cast. This may be heresy but Becky Gulsvig actually made me forget about Laura Bell Bundy after the show. Her humor and strength shined through her voice at all times. You never saw her fade completely away even when others were performing. Natalie Joy Johnson who originated the role of Enid on Broadway also had a tall task in playing the Paulette role originated by Ofreh. Again, like Gulsvig, Johnson put a spin on the original performance and yet made it her own. Elle’s Greek chorus also matched the vocal energy of their predecessors. Perhaps the only role that was lacking was that of Jeff McLean as Warner. I found his performance to be out of sync with the rest of the cast. Of course there were many other folks in the cast including Lauren Ashley Zarkin from the MTV show, who along with Gulsvig is a Minnesota native. Perhaps my viewership of the MTV show clouded my perspective but I thought Zarkin mugged far more then any of the ensemble players. Maybe it was being in the home state and maybe I’m harping but it was distracting at times.


The staging of the show did suffer from being packed up for the road. It was far more minimalist but the main elements were still there including the pillars that frame the stage and the action. I also appreciated that while some of the moments were scaled back the intent was still there including Elle’s big first act closing number So Much Better. The orchestra filled the theater with every note of Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin’s old school musical arrangements. Sitting six rows away we were swept up in the music, even my kid to be was dancing in his mama’s stomach. That and the standing O at the end were clear testaments that the touring version of the best musical of the new century is a rousing success.