Continuing its trend of taking pop music or films and chopping them up and then gluing them back together again in the form of a musical, Broadway's tour of "Legally Blonde" is now in session at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre.
And it is funny.
Based on the hit film of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon, the musical follows Elle Woods down the pink-brick road of her "Omigod You Guys" love life and the navy-blue dreariness of the American legal system. Contrasting Elle's ultra-pink playworld of boys, chihuahuas and fashion against Harvard Law School's thick books, thick glasses and definitely un-pink issues, creates a sort of collision that's hard to take your eyes from.
Elle, played by Broadway veteran Becky Gulsvig, is the president and most popular girl at UCLA's Delta Nu sorority. With her boyfriend, Warner, who is being groomed for nothing short of the presidency of the United States, Elle's life is a John F. and Jackie Kennedy mimeograph. But she is coldcocked one evening when Warner suddenly dumps her. He claims he needs someone serious on his arm. Unwilling to give up on the seemingly perfect relationship, Elle, with her toasty toned chihuahua, Bruiser, follows Warner (Jeff McLean) to Harvard Law School where she is accepted on spirit more than grades.
But things don't go as planned. Still, she befriends the Lon-Gah Island-esque salon owner Paulette (Natalie Joy Johnson) and gets steady, dream-sequence support from her Delta Nu crew. And gradually, a new and self-confident Elle is born.
Along the way, Elle helps Paulette get out of a bad relationship, reclaim her English Bulldog pet, Rufus, and work up the nerve to talk to the super sexy UPS guy, Kyle, who comes into the salon. Every time Kyle, played brilliantly by Ven Daniel, strutted into the salon, women in the audience cheered and hooted with sinful delight. If not for Gulsvig's strong singing ability and comedic chops, and the supremely talented Joy Johnson, Daniel's hilarious entrances would have stolen the show.
In fact, it was the comedic elements of the musical that made the musical worth singing. The majority of songs, and there were 20 of them, were weak and quite forgettable. Only the sultry "Bend and Snap" in the second half of the show, and the catchy "Omigod You Guys" had any zing to them. The rest became disruptions to an otherwise skillful comedy.
The set was surprisingly bland, too. The only color present was within the blue and pink boxes framing the stage that flashed during some of the musical numbers. Beyond that, any attempt to bolster Elle's exuberant and shiny pink world were squandered.
One of the brighter aspects of the musical is that it attracted dozens of pre-teen and teen-age girls. They clearly love Elle. And in a world wallowing in tawdry and unhealthy images of women, to have an "Elle" emerge is encouraging.
"Legally Blonde" plays the 5th Avenue Theatre through March 14. Tickets start at $22.50. For more information visit www.5thavenue.org.
