Small Town Stars Theatre Company’s “Legally Blonde: The Musical” with Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin with Book by Heather Hach, based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture, cleverly directed by Miranda Secula, is playing at the Scott Center at Carroll Community College in Westminster, Maryland. The musical was on Broadway in 2007. It was nominated for several Tony Awards.
Although, the plot appears to be nothing but fluff, there is a moral to this tale. Elle Woods (Abigail Boroughs) is a very pretty blonde, and although she does well in college, her major is Fashion Merchandising. When her boyfriend, Warner (Curtis Lee), ends their relationship to go to Harvard, Elle decides to follow. She manages to get accepted with great grades and a high LSAT score. There she learns her potential, and by staying true to herself, she excels in her new profession. She also finds true love along the way. There is beneath all the farce a powerful lesson for young woman that they should not judge themselves by the success of their men. It also shows that when women band together, they can all be successful.
It should be a crime to miss this sensational production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” Come and judge for yourself. Your verdict will be guilty of a fine night of theatre.
Boroughs is brilliant as Elle. She captures Elle’s personality through her “air-head” stage and allows the audience to see her develop into a bright and successful student and lawyer. Boroughs can belt out a song, for example, “Legally Blonde,” dance up a storm, and, of course, act.
Skye Lindberg is her new best friend, Paulette, a local Boston hairdresser just over a long relationship herself. Lindberg is uproarious as she sings “Ireland.” In this witty song Paulette tells of her penchant for Irish men and about her long unhappy romance. Both Boroughs and Lindberg bring a vast amount of energy to the stage, and the rest of the cast picks up on this.
Kyle Secula plays Emmett Forrest who predictably falls for Elle. Even their names tell us they will wind up with each other (Woods and Forrest). Secula personifies the humble teacher’s assistant whose poor background makes him try harder to succeed than his wealthier counterparts. He willingly allows Elle to change his outward appearance by teaching him how to dress for success in the smartly staged, “Take it Like a Man.”
Curtis Lee allows us to dislike Warner Huntington III as he is the shallowest character in the story from the start. Erik Secula also makes us hostile to his villainous Professor Callahan who goes from snobbish educator to sexually inappropriate boor. Both reflect the superficial and self-absorbed men in Elle’s life.
Allison Fitzgerald makes a daunting Brooke, the fitness guru accused of murdering her much older husband, and her jump rope dance with the women’s Ensemble is dazzling.
Another standout is Abbie Weinel as Vivienne Kensington, the snobby new girlfriend of Warner. Bonnie Samantha Fox as Serena, Charlotte Cooper as Pilar and Brooke Nixon as Margot also have great range as the friends who “follow” Elle to Harvard. Adding to the humor in fine performances are Alex Ruth as Kyle and other roles, and Gabe Sandoval as Nikos and other roles. The latter is a hoot in “Gay or European?”
However, all the performances are top-notch and include Deidre Hall, Samantha Drum, Jenna Hallock, Quest Sawyer, Anna White, Rainelle Jochum, Rodney Mitchell, Erin Kopit, Joel Roberson, Jennifer Secula, Brooks Gray and the night I saw the show, Ryanne King.
Miranda Secula’s direction is flawless. She even manages to have not one but two live dogs on stage without any mishaps. She also did the choreography and should take a special bow for the jump rope sequence. It is a visual knockout. Roberson is Ms. Secula’s Assistant Director in addition to playing several roles.
Jeb Cliber conducts the live orchestra which includes Peter Stigdon, Stacy Smith, Max Stratyner, Amy Reid, Kelsey Poole, Rick Smith and Brian Weyant. They always sound in tune and never miss a beat.
The set designed by Dakota Rosell and Jennifer Secula is fairly simple but clever. What starts out as a sorority house (with a platform to allow the performers a higher level), becomes Harvard, a beauty shop, and a courtroom by using panels to cover the flats. It is effective without being distracting.
The Light Design by Jacob Bartholow is seamless, and that is a compliment in a show where there no special lighting effects.
The costumes are designed by Jennifer Secula. She also should be highly commended for not only how bright and colorful many of them are, but how easy they are to remove, sometimes on stage in front of the audience. She creates true theatre magic.
It should be a crime to miss this sensational production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” Come and judge for yourself. Your verdict will be guilty of a fine night of theatre.
“Legally Blonde: The Musical” presented by Small Town Stars Theatre Company will be playing only one more weekend, August 2-3 at 7 PM at Carroll Community College, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster MD 21157. For tickets go online.
