Review: LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL at Alhambra Theatre and Dining

“Omigod You Guys” Legally Blonde: The Musical opened at The Alhambra Theatre and Dining on September 28th! Legally Blonde: The Musical is based on the 2001 movie Legally Blonde. The story follows Elle Woods (Victoria Vagasy), a Delta Nu sorority girl at UCLA, chases ex-boyfriend (Corey McKinney) to Harvard University to prove she is a “Jackie O” rather than a “Marilyn.” The audience observed the growth of Elle as she embraces law school and learns she is a serious woman.

Victoria “Tory” Vagasy returned to the role of Elle Woods after making finals of America’s Got Talent Season 16. Vagasy did a great job exemplifying the growth that Elle Woods goes through as she transitions from UCLA sorority days to Harvard Law School grind. I also loved that Vagasy never lets Elle lose her sparkle. This was seen in Scene 8 at the Harvard Party when she walks in dressed in her bunny Halloween costume while everyone else is in business casual. She stood confident knowing she had been made the fool, but embraced who she is and knew she would continue to make herself known as a serious law student.

Elle’s student mentor, Emmett Forrest (Adam Fields), sees the potential in Elle from the moment she is kicked out of Professor Callahan’s (Jonathan Van Dyke) class on the first day of school. While Emmett sees the potential in Elle, the audience can conclude that he has been through his own battles leading him to Harvard Law School. This is evident in his outstanding performance in “Chip on My Shoulder.”

Elle’s new confidant while she is at Harvard, Paulette Buonufonte (Katie Nettle), was hysterical in every scene she was in. The infamous “Bend and Snap” from the movie scene was written as a whole song performed by Elle (Vagasy), Paulette (Nettle), Serena (Arrione Magee), Margot (Erin Leigh Knowles), and Pilar (Kate Jarecki). Paulette learns how to physically grab the attention of the UPS employee, Kyle (Anthony Mincey II) by bending over to pick something up and standing back up quickly. Speaking of Kyle, audiences went absolutely crazy for Mincey II! Anytime he walked on stage, audiences cheered and hollered for the UPS employee.

The musical also exemplifies the power of feminism. Warner’s new girlfriend, Vivienne Kensington (Ellie Roddy), is at first perceived as the jealous new girlfriend who wants to get rid of Elle by any means. However, when Professor Callahan (Van Dyke) makes an unwanted advance at Elle, Vivienne stands up for Elle knowing she has been working hard and not attempting to get ahead by inappropriate relationships with the professor. Roddy’s performance in “Legally Blonde Remix” proved she believed in Elle and wanted to see her succeed.

Audiences also loved the furry friends that were in the musical. Luna, who played Elle’s dog, reprised her role as Bruiser and was such a good girl and followed all her cues on stage! She deserved every treat she got. Paulette’s pup, Rufus (Buckshot) made his debut performance at the Alhambra and did an excellent job as his parents Paulette (Nettle) and Dewey (Alec Hadden) fought over who gets custody of him. The last pup was Ezra (Ezra) who played Elle’s mother’s dog and was also such a good boy.

The entire cast was supremely talented and did a wonderful job bringing a classic movie turned stage musical to Jacksonville audiences. Legally Blonde: The Musical will be running now through November 5th!

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