Thursday 25 August 2011

Love, I'm doing this for Love!

Tuesday marked the night Glasgow turned pink, with the opening of Legally Blonde the musical on tour. Having seen the show in London 3 times, I was delighted when I heard it was playing in my home town, making Tuesday the first of 3 planned visits. Walking into the Theatre Royal gave me the same feeling I have each time I walk into the Savoy Theatre (where the London production is currently). The orchestra was rehearsing the familiar songs and the whole place was buzzing with people who had seen the show before. I always forget that I live in Scotland and not in fact Antarctica, I get so surprised when I meet people here that have the same love for musical theatre.

There is no denying that this is a scaled down production - set wise - from the London show, however the best was made with the space and I think all the key elements of the west end set were there. The one thing I did miss was the Delta Nu house from the first scene.

The cast were out of this world. My favourite cast member - by a country mile - was Faye Brookes. Cue my new theatre star obsession! She was so talented, funny and seemed so comfortable in the role. I can't wait to see her play Elle again. She was the star of the evening and absolutely deserved the applause and standing ovations.

Liz McClarnon played Paulette and I absolutely loved the way she portrayed this character. She had the perfect balance of comedy and emotion and such a likability factor.

The swings -as always- did an amazing job and seeing anyone that wasn't Lee Mead play Emmett was really refreshing.

I think the tour was a genius idea, opening theatre doors for people all over the country and I would absolutely recommend going to see it.