Legally Blonde The Musical

There hasn’t been an active community theatre company in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs for a decade and based on the number of talented female dancers on stage, it’s been long overdue.

Only founded this year, the company chose an apt musical for a theatre inside a private girl’s school - the very well-equipped Ascham Packer Theatre.

Filling a 700-seat theatre with a wide proscenium is a challenge.  A large cast helped by spreading across stage with the joyous dancing that was well crafted by choreographer Lauren Hollingworth.

Director Kathy Petrakis made a wise choice to create classy and colourful scenic projections with just a double door between two large screens.

In place of an orchestra, the company used backing tracks which sounded crisp and allowed for perfect balance between voice and music managed by Loud and Clear Audio.

The back-up singers behind the stage were so good that I thought (mistakenly) that they might have been part of the backing track.

Principals in the musical were a mixture of performers with professional experience, tertiary training, community theatre regulars and first-time amateur leads.

Shona Delany was a stylish Elle Woods, powering around the stage in high heels and capturing the essence of her quirky character – the bright blonde law student who is treated based on her looks not her nous.

The musical took off during the second act when Kyle (Mike Kulikov), the  UPS man, swaggered onto the stage  and his interaction Claire Perry  as Paulette was hilarious.

It was also helped by the welcome addition of some set pieces.

The cast fully embraced the spirit of the musical during the court scene with the song “Gay or European” proving very popular.

MustSeeShows produced an impressive inaugural season.

David Spicer

Photographer: Grant Leslie Photography

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