Review: LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL at Tesseract Theatre Company is a Peppy High Energy Production

The musical adaptation of Legally Blonde opened on Broadway in 2007. It starred Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods, Christian Borle as Emmett, and Orfeh as Elle’s stylist and sidekick Paulette. The upbeat show was met with mostly mixed reviews, ran on Broadway for just 595 performances, and was considered a financial disappointment.

Legally Blonde was nominated for seven Tony Awards but shut out without a win. It was not nominated for Best Musical among a relatively weak crop of competitors that season on Broadway.

The show transferred to London in 2010 and enjoyed a bit more success. The West End production ran for nearly 1,000 performances and was honored with three Olivier awards including Best New Musical among arguably lackluster competition. The other Olivier nominated musicals that season included the critically panned Love Never Dies, Love Story, and Fela!

The staged version was adapted from the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Coolidge. The film was a huge box office hit grossing $142 million, far exceeding its $18 million production costs. The comedy was a critical success and made Witherspoon a household name.

The musical’s unoriginal book by Heather Hach is a nearly a direct lift from the film. Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin’s score is forgettable, lyrically unremarkable, and some numbers are borderline annoying.

Still, the property has a strong cult following that has made Legally Blonde a popular choice among regional and community theaters, high schools, and youth theater groups. It has an unexplainable allure to younger actors. When Artistic directors are mentioning the titles that draw many to auditions, Legally Blonde is consistently near the top of that list.

It is completely plausible that this stogy baby-boomer critic is entirely wrong in his assessment of the theatrical asset. There was an excited anticipation among audience members at last evening’s performance that is indicative of the show's cult following. The eager audience was filled-with middle aged Gen-Xers and peppered with a handful of Millennials.

Still, it is cringey when Legally Blonde shows up on yet another company's season schedule, and it happens far too often. But over the years, I’ve come to tolerate the better productions of the stage show that lean into the bubbly and infectious silliness of the enjoyable Reese Witherspoon film.

Tesseract Theatre’s spirited production of Legally Blonde, directed by Will Bonfiglio does capture that zeal. Bonfiglio stages a high energy production that, for those who are fans of the musical, is perky, peppy, fizzy, and cheerful.

Grace Seidel’s (Elle Woods) work on St. Louis stages has been admirable. She is an actor with natural effervescence. Seidel is likeable and shines in roles that demand exuberance. She laid down memorable turns as a bouncy Little Red in Into the Woods, and as a guardedly optimistic lovelorn Mary in Merrily We Roll Along. Her work here is no exception. She is as delightful as her dazzling bright smile. Her Elle is irrepressible, comedic, smart, and likeable. Seidel always makes a statement.

Marsiya Miller was a casting find as the downtrodden but generous Paulette. Miller’s vocals soar and her delivery of “Ireland” is the comedic musical high point of the show. It’s the one number in the Legally Blonde score with a semblance of smart lyrics, and Miller puts her shrewd comedic timing on full display. She’s doesn’t play Paulette with Jennifer Coolidge’s ditzy airheadedness from the film, but her unique spin on Paulette is just as likeable.

The Delta Nu sisters and Greek chorus capture a high-spirted, exaggerated, and irksome sorority glee. The Greek Chorus gag is one of the few original witty elements of the script. Evan Lee, Natalie Sannes, Lillie Self-Miller, and the rest of the female ensemble capture the loud chirpy, chattery, giddiness of a campus sorority bid day.

Kyle Rudolph is a standout as the Studly UPS guy and Brooke’s gay pool boy. His animated physicality shows what skilled actors can do with a few minutes on stage when they have fun and fearlessly throw themselves into a role.

Jo Palisoc’s lively choreography is much more than basic movement in a small space. It is an all-out kinetic assault on dance. Dawn Schmid and the four back up dancers impress with the aerobic “Whip into Shape” jump rope choreography. The entire company executes on Palisoc’s movement. No one is phoning it in.

Again, it’s Bonfiglio’s high-octane vision that is present in every element of the production.

Music director Larry D. Pry pulls through Bonfiglio’s vision as well. Vocally this company is well prepared. The cast gives full-throated vocal performances, singing out with vigor to sell O’Keefe and Benjamin’s less than stellar score. Pry has inspired much enthusiasm among the cast, and the troupe sings with gusto.

Carly Uding’s costume designs were hit and miss, but unfortunately the misses were messy and patently obvious. Most of Elle’s frocks did not scream expensive Malibu Barbie chic, and Warner’s ill-fitting sloppy shirt was anything but entitled rich boy preppy.

Bonfiglio, Pry, Palisoc, and the entire company deserve a lot of credit for their all in committed, peppy, and high-spirited production of a marginal show that is staged as a pet project far too often. There are thousands of musical theater assets that have arguably better books and scores that are rarely produced.

Legally Blonde the Musical is like a pink piece of bubblegum. At first it sounds appealing, but the flavor does not last long.

Tesseract’s production of Legally Blonde the Musical continues through December 21, 2025. For tickets visit Metrotix.com or click the link below. More information can be found at tesseracttheatreco.org.

St. Louis Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. THE SECOND HURRICANE (Stray Dog Theatre)

11.2% of votes

2. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL (Alton Little Theater)

7.2% of votes

3. THE PROM (Gateway Center for Performing Arts)

7.2% of votes

Vote Now!