Legally Blonde 🎓

#PRInvite #Gifted | It was the first day of class for the cast of 'Legally Blonde at Aberdeen Performing Arts last night. What's the verdict? Read the full review below.

Star rating: ★★★★★

Almost every theatregoer has a connection to the musical stage adaptation of ‘Legally Blonde’. From its iconic MTV Broadway recording and the reality TV search for Elle, the show soon crossed the Atlantic to the West End with Sheridan Smith in the starring role. With an overabundance of amateur productions across the years, the show has always been highly praised as one of the best translations of screen to stage. Earning London’s Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards, ‘Legally Blonde’ has left a permanent dye on the musical theatre scene, and is now enjoying a new UK tour revival packed with fresh life, energy and investment. It brings the Golden Shores of Malibu to the Granite City, and it is a sheer delight to see it back on our local stage.

For the uninitiated: Elle Woods believes in sisterhood. She’s a blonde bombshell who is blindsided when her long-term boyfriend’s quest for something serious results in a breakup, rather than a proposal. Elle schemes her way into Harvard Law School, where he is due to relocate, so he can live up to parental expectations. The problem? Elle has a 4.0 in fashion merchandising and absolutely no legal experience. Doing it for love, Elle brushes up her knowledge, and her pink presence at Harvard inevitably puts the other law students on their high horse. Ultimately, it’s Elle’s high heels that lead the defence for fitness influencer Brooke Wyndham, raising the bar by using her cosmetic expertise to her advantage, whipping the rest of the class into shape.

‘Legally Blonde’ is back with a vengeance. Though with the production’s popularity, I wouldn’t blame anyone for feeling tired of the title setting up on local stages, a full audience marched into His Majesty’s Theatre and were completely swept away during the show’s opening night. This production is a cut-above any other versions of the show I’ve seen, taking the narrative forward into 2026. It’s a ‘flashy presentation’ of powerhouse singing, sharp dancing and Gen-Z enthusiasm. Honestly, it’s ‘snaps’ all round for the creative team behind this highly caffeinated reimagining.

Keeping the production perfectly combed is Nikolai Foster who directs. Parting ways with expectations of the show, Foster gives ‘Legally Blonde’ a complete makeover, and the level of innovation is obvious. Previously praised for his work on the recent tours of ‘Grease’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’, Foster proves once again that he is the one to watch when it comes to restyling big titles in the most refreshing ways.

In line with Foster’s previous work, this production contains some eclectic moments, reworked staging (containing a few subtle nods to the original work), and logo-branded set pieces. Purists of the show, and the film, will need to accept that some of the legendary moments have been updated, but these changes are necessary to keep a firm hold of the new fast-paced energy on stage.

Colin Richmond’s high-gloss set is ingenious, using clever dollhouse-like models of the sorority and Harvard Law to mini-mise the amount of set on stage. This is rounded out by seamless moving pieces and flying components, and a curved pink wall with sliding doors gives this new aesthetic a perfect, sleek sheen. 

It’s no surprise to me that Foster partnered with Ben Cracknell as lighting designer - they are the perfect comb-ination. The lighting is vibrant, scissor sharp, and the highlight of the production. Leah Hill’s choreography sparkles and shines throughout, completely complemented by this.

The score by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin is what is deep rooted in the show’s success. Packed with earworms like ‘What You Want,’ ‘Positive,’ and ‘So Much Better’, the first half of Act 1 in particular is phenomenal. With Foster’s brisk pacing, the creative team not only show how they make a stage musical of the ‘Legally Blonde’ film well - but arguably make it better. This is what Elle Woods inspires!

You’ve never heard ‘Legally Blonde’ sound this good before. As Musical Supervisor and Additional Arranger, Matt Spencer-Smith makes ‘Legally Blonde’ sound better than ever. All performances were well conditioned with silky smooth vocals, injecting a concert-like power and belt into the numbers. Some of the choices had me whispering ‘Omigod’ in my seat.

She’s what you want: Amber Davies is astounding as Elle Woods. A trained musical theatre performer and reality star, audiences will recognise Davies from her time on Love Island, Dancing on Ice, and most recently, Strictly Come Dancing. Though pink has always been Elle’s signature colour, the character has been ‘Galindafied’ with delightful silliness and over-the-top line deliveries. Davies leads the cast comfortably - and effortlessly - with sensational singing and dynamic choreography, all whilst sporting high heels. She isn’t a traditional Elle Woods, but she is made for this role, and a new rinse on the character gives the show an undeniable bounce.

Stealing the show is Karen Mavundukure as Paulette. Mavundukure matched Davies’ eccentric personality with excellent comic timing. Her performance of ‘Ireland’ was hair-raisingly good.

TikTok star and trained musical theatre performer, Hannah Lowther is fantastic as Margot. She is joined by Rosanna Harris as Serena and Remi Ferdinand as Pilar who round out the Delta Nu’s and Greek Chorus - because every tragedy requires a Greek Chorus!

Justice never looked so good. Following some early press scrutiny and online trolling when the tour first opened, Davies and Lowther prove definitively that they are more than deserving of these roles. When you wash away their fame and social media followings, their talent and commitment to the roles is what you will find at the root - and they shine through.

The stellar principal cast is completed by George Crawford as an endearing Emmett and Jamie Chatterton as Warner. I enjoyed a subtle departure from tradition again with Chatterton’s performance - Warner was less pompous and pulled together in this version, which is exactly what you’d expect from a man in his situation at this age. Annabelle Terry as Vivian, serving vocal tenacity, and Lauren Hampton, who covered for Brooke Wyndham.

The cast are joined by two dogs on stage. 

‘Legally Blonde’ returns to Aberdeen after almost a decade, and it is a breath of fresh hair. I’d go as far to say that this is the show of the year at Aberdeen Performing Arts. It would be criminal to miss it! Skip on over to His Majesty's Theatre this week.

Credits

Instagram links: @theatregramuk, @aberdeenperformingarts, @legallyblondeshow

Review by Joel Simpson cc: theatregram@gmail.com

Production photos supplied by Aberdeen Performing Arts