Legally Blonde

Girl-power musicals weren’t born with Legally Blonde but the show has done more than its fair share to keep the franchise going. An average success on Broadway, and a monster hit in London, the musical has been embraced by community theatre companies around the country and it’s now Savoyards’ turn, in a first-class production by director Johanna Toia.

Every young actress wants to play Elle Woods. And why not, it’s one of musical theatre’s dream roles - the street-smart fashionista who gets a Harvard Law Degree to win back her man, has the audience rooting for her from the moment she is dumped for not being serious – “less of a Marilyn more a Jackie.” Stacie Hobbs, as the pooch-loving sorority-sister carried the show. Blonde, perky and talented are the requirements and Hobbs had it in spades, belting out “Positive”, “So Much Better” and the title tune like a pop-princess.

Jesse Ainsworth was a scruffy but likeable Emmett, the guy who eventually wins her heart, whilst Marcus du Toit did well as the shallow, but handsome, ‘dumper’ Warner.

Natalie Ridoutt was a knockout as Paulette, Elle’s hairdresser and confidante. She landed every laugh, worked the UPS delivery-man sequence to the max, and was no slouch in the Riverdance department.

Emma Hambleton as the blue-blood Vivienne, was a tower of snoot, Shane Webb’s Professor Callahan nailed “Blood in the Water”, Louise Drysdale as Brooke did a punchy aerobic-skip in “Whipped into Shape”, while Reindert Toia had the requisite porn-star body for the delivery-man part.

The mainly young (and female) chorus who played sorority-sisters, Harvard law grads, and hair-salon customers, were totally at home with Jo Badenhorst’s callisthenic-type dance moves pumping the energy level off the scale, helped by musical director Mark Beilby’s snappy 14-piece orchestra.

Peter Pinne

Photographer: Christopher Thomas