Just another day in the office of admissions at Harvard Law School
The short shorts-wearing UPS man wasn’t the only one delivering a special package in Legally Blonde The Musical – the entire show was a delight.
My friend Meg and I attended opening night at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and immediately found ourselves in a giggling gaggle of pink-and–fancy-dressed girls. We could have been at sorority rush all over again, but without the nervous tension, prominently displayed designer handbags, and crying in the bathroom afterwards. Even the curtain had be cutesified, with a huge photo of a charm bracelet and an outline in pink neon.
This high-energy show stays fairly true to the movie, and yes, major plot points still revolve around liposuction and perm management. Elle Woods is played by the talented Becky Gulsvig, who pretty much electrifies every scene.
One of my favorites was her salon friend Paulette. Played by Natalie Joy Johnson, she gets her UPS man after advice from Elle in the magical powers of the “Bend and Snap” move.
A la “Stomp,” it’s always a kick to see other objects introduced into a dance routine, which was the case with the jump rope routine of the women inmates in the prison scene. Somehow it was hard for me to get beyond the fact that inmates can’t even have shoelaces much less jumpropes. I acknowledge that noting this as unrealistic, yet accepting that she got into Harvard Law School with a degree in fashion merchandising and an admission essay that involved cheerleaders and a marching band is rather inconsistent.
The packed house cheered Elle on her journey to self-discovery, when her dreams led her beyond what she thought she wanted to something better for her in the end, acknowledged with the song “So Much Better,” just in case we missed the point that losing your shallow boyfriend whose inconsiderate ways you can’t change and gaining a loving, sincere one who merely needed clothing rehab is a good thing.
As we exited the theater, we saw several young girls waiting at the side door – no doubt hoping for a star sighting. And they were soon rewarded – two dogs who play Rufus came trotting out, perhaps heading for a late-night dinner.
Legally Blonde The Musical plays in Atlanta through July 19, then moves to Dallas and around the U.S. through May.
