By MK Scott
Legally Blonde, The Musical's National Tour makes two stops in the Pacific NW, One week at Portland's Keller and nearly a month at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Like the film, the plot is as thin as a cheerleader's profile: The story follows a Malibu sorority princess and fashion-design student, Elle Woods (the charming Becky Gulsvig), who hits the books to get into Harvard Law School in pursuit of the wrong man (Jeff Mclean as the selfish Warner Huntington III.) Once there, she is befriended by Emmett (D.B. Bonds), an upperclassman who has worked his way up from the wrong side of the tracks. In an attempt to remake herself in the image of Huntington III's new brunette girlfriend, Vivienne (Megan Lewis), Elle decides to dye her own hair brown. However, her hairdresser (Natalie Joy Johnson) talks her out of changing her look — and then steals the scene with a song about her dreams of Ireland, setting up, on the way, a second-act Riverdance gag.
Elle eventually impresses the lawyer Professor Callahan (Michael Rupert), who hires her as an intern. Through her knowledge of perms, shopping and men's fashion (producing one of the show's funniest songs, "Is he Gay or European"), and her sorority connections — prime suspect Brooke (Coleen Sexton) used to be a Delta Nu — she solves a case and earns a big grandstand finale. Certainly one of the Gayest numbers I have ever seen!
It is OUT and PROUD director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, however, who never lets this fluff flag. He keeps it grounded and moving forward with well-staged dance numbers and well-timed moments, whether the entrance of a muscular UPS man (Ven Daniel), "What can Brown do for you? " or the two cute scene-stealing dogs. The audience on opening night, many of whom were wearing pink themselves in honor of the occasion, seemed to have a thoroughly good time and gave the cast a standing ovation.
Elle eventually impresses the lawyer Professor Callahan (Michael Rupert), who hires her as an intern. Through her knowledge of perms, shopping and men's fashion (producing one of the show's funniest songs, "Is he Gay or European"), and her sorority connections — prime suspect Brooke (Coleen Sexton) used to be a Delta Nu — she solves a case and earns a big grandstand finale. Certainly one of the Gayest numbers I have ever seen!
It is OUT and PROUD director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, however, who never lets this fluff flag. He keeps it grounded and moving forward with well-staged dance numbers and well-timed moments, whether the entrance of a muscular UPS man (Ven Daniel), "What can Brown do for you? " or the two cute scene-stealing dogs. The audience on opening night, many of whom were wearing pink themselves in honor of the occasion, seemed to have a thoroughly good time and gave the cast a standing ovation.
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