“Legally Blonde: The Musical” delivers high-energy laughs

Before “Legally Blonde” became a blockbuster film starring Reese Witherspoon in 2001 and a Broadway musical in 2007, it began as Amanda Brown's account of life at Stanford Law School. Even before Brown's book reached publication, the film adaptation's larger-than-life characters and comic situations seemed destined for a long life in musical theatre.

If you found the film highly entertaining, then the current Singapore production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” offers more than a sugar rush of a night packed with laughs, catchy songs and plenty of pink.

Thanks to Heather Hach's Tony Award-nominated book, brimming with guts and heart, and Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin's high-octane pop score and smart, unpretentious lyrics, the musical more than meets the expectations of audiences who love the film.

The story of someone trying to fit into the mould without losing her true self remains relatable, especially at a time when we often celebrate inclusivity in theory more readily than in practice.

I recall visiting an architecture firm where nearly everyone was dressed in grey or black, creating an unspoken expectation of conformity even when they’re not mourning.

By contrast, a flight attendant who stood out from her Thai-Chinese colleagues once told me that regular South Asian passengers affectionately called her "Sister".

Both encounters are reminders that individuality need not be a barrier to belonging. After all, it is performance and character, not appearance, that ultimately matter.

Last Friday at the gala performance of “Legally Blonde: The Musical”, the audience, many of whom were decked out in pink, was in the mood from the start, and British director Kate Golledge kept the energy bubbling throughout.

The show is an all-you-can-eat buffet of musical comedy, and the audience devours it with gusto, happily indulging in every course as if their next cholesterol check were still months away.

The director is well assisted by her production team, especially Spanish scenographer Diego Pitarch, whose two-storey set with staircases on either side keeps the action flowing and scene changes swift, with LCD panels helping to establish locations and advance the story.

Updating the action to the present decade also allows social media livestreaming to become part of the theatrical vocabulary. Add in the exposed trusses and conspicuous lighting fixtures, and the production occasionally feels like a pop concert. But then again, why shouldn't it? As the musical itself reminds us, being true to yourself never goes out of style.

The true highlight is the all-Singaporean cast, many of whom juggle multiple supporting roles while also moving props and set pieces on and off stage. Yet they do so without compromising the high standard of acting, singing and dancing that a musical of this calibre demands.

Thanks in no small part to vocal coach Natalie Yeap, they all sound convincingly American and inhabit their characters with remarkable ease, never appearing to try too hard.

As the titular heroine who travels across the country from a UCLA sorority house to a New England courtroom and even helps win a legal case with the "Bend and Snap" trick, Nathania Ong's angelic voice and easy charisma carry the show. Yet her characterisation is particularly noteworthy.

Rather than playing Elle Woods as an underestimated ingénue, Ong presents a sharper and more self-assured young woman who appears more aware of her capabilities from the outset.

It is a fresh take on a role we thought we already knew, delivered by a performer whose West End experience as Éponine in “Les Misérables” is readily apparent.

As her ex and next, Warner Huntington III and Emmett Forrest, Nathan Hartono and Benjamin Chow bring smooth vocals and easy charm to their roles.

Performing the eccentric hairdresser Paulette Buonofuonte and her boy-toy delivery man Kyle, veteran actress Siti Khalijah Zainal and Pierre Png are delightful scene stealers, the former a touch subtler than the latter.

It is worth noting that many cast members are graduates of musical theatre training programmes, which may explain the polish and confidence on display throughout. These so-called “triple threats” are clearly having a ball on stage, and so do we.

Earlier that morning, I found myself among more than a hundred kindergarten children, accompanied by their teachers and parents, at the Drama Centre Theatre.

“Chicken Little,” another stage musical adaptation originally directed by Golledge, is anchored by a tightly knit five-member ensemble whose chemistry is every bit as lively as that of its young audience.

At a time when many children are increasingly attached to personal screens, the communal experience offered not only an opportunity to encounter live storytelling but also a reminder that the performing arts still matter enormously.

As for parents, who are sometimes less enthusiastic about accompanying their children to the theatre, I have my own boredom meter: the frequency with which a father's mobile phone lights up during the performance.

For this production, the reading was exceptionally low. I counted only three illuminations over the entire 70-minute running time.

It is worth remembering that both “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and “Chicken Little” are locally produced works by Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), not imported touring productions.

Together they stand as further proof that this 33-year-old company, despite operating in a nation barely twice its age, remains one of Asia's leading theatre institutions.

"Legally Blonde: The Musical" continues until August 16 at Esplanade Theatre. "Chicken Little" (in Mandarin) runs until August 9, after which the same cast will perform the show in English until August 29 at Drama Centre Theatre.

Upcoming SRT productions include the dinner theatre "Fried Rice Paradise" from August 18, Jonathan Spector's "Eureka Day" in November and "Shakespeare in the Park: Romeo and Juliet" next May. For more information, visit www.srt.com.sg.

 

Photo credit: Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)

Special thanks to SRT’s Charlotte Nors for all kind assistance.