The law student who was more than just a pretty face
Legally Blonde the Musical is proving to be a very popular choice across the region of late and is being performed by youth groups and adult companies alike.
This fluffy, frothy, funny show is the perfect vehicle for young performers. It is based on Amanda Brown’s original book and the 2001 American comedy movie of the same name, which starred Reece Witherspoon as the incomparable Elle Woods, a young lady on a mission to win back the love of her former boyfriend by enrolling on a legal course at Harvard University.
Now Elle is not your typical law student, with her pink outfits, blonde curls and perfect lipstick, but working hard along with her pet pooch Bruiser, she soon proves she is not just a pretty face. Next Tuesday sees the opening night of Bilston Operatic Company’s youth group production of Legally Blonde the Musical, which they will perform at the Mill Theatre, Dormston Centre in Sedgley from March 26-30. The score from the show is catchy and witty and includes Omigod You Guys, Ireland, Blood in the Water, Whipped into Shape, the title song of course and Bend and Snap – well, I will leave that one to your imagination!
In this production, Phoebe Bruerton plays Elle, with Joe Riley as love interest Emmett Forrest and Karina Foster as her pal Paulette.
The cast of this show also requires two very special actors – Bruiser Woods, Elle’s best friend who is a Chihuahua and a bulldog called Rufus, who Elle and Paulette rescue from a horrible ex-boyfriend. I am looking forward to seeing how the doggies do!
So, for a fun night out with some great performances by this up and coming young group, visit https://bilston-operatic.co.uk for tickets.
Another group who are also performing Legally Blonde, but this time from April 2-6 at The Core in Solihull, is Peterbrook Players, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary with the show.
For tickets, visit www.peterbrookplayers.co.uk or call 0121 704 6962.
One of my absolute favourites amongst the older shows is 42nd Street. I went to see it in the West End last year; in fact, I saw it three times in all!
It really is the epitome of everything a Broadway show should be. The storyline is the stuff dreams are made of as a chorus girl takes over the leading lady’s role with just hours to spare, the songs are romantic, nostalgic and memorable, the costumes and scenery are dazzling and the tap numbers will leave you agog.
It’s a tough one, but amateur performers do take it on from time, the latest being Stoke Youth, who will perform this classic musical from March 26-28 at Stoke Repertory Theatre, with performances at 7.30pm nightly. The score includes Lullaby of Broadway, You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me and of course the iconic title song.
l So, for a trip to New York without leaving the country, visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/stokeyouth or the group’s Facebook page.
Telford and District Light Operatic Players, or TADLOP as they are affectionately known, will present Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s epic musical, Sunset Boulevard from March 29-31 at Oakengates Theatre.
An aging star of the silent screen, Norma Desmond, refuses to accept that her stardom is over. She therefore hires a young, down on his luck screenwriter to help her make her comeback. The screenwriter uses his charm and good looks to manipulate her, while living a life of luxury under her roof, but before long he discovers his ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go of him leads to madness and tragedy. The storyline is in parts a little uncomfortable to watch, but the music more than makes up for it, with a wonderful score which includes As If We Never Said Goodbye, The Perfect Year, With One Look, New Ways to Dream and Sunset Boulevard, a very wordy, difficult solo sung by the leading character Joe Gillis, which will challenge any male singer.
l For tickets visit www.tadlop.com, www.theplacetelford.com or call 01952 382382.
From March 26-30, The Birmingham Savoyards will present the classic Gilbert and Sullivan composition, Iolanthe, at The Old Rep Theatre in the city.
One of the duo’s most popular and funniest operettas, Iolanthe is a political comedy which laughs out loud at the British House of Lords, and is probably as relevant today as when it was written in 1881.
The fairy Iolanthe commits the ultimate crime; she marries a mortal and is thus banished by her Queen. The Fairy Queen however loves Iolanthe so much that she cannot enforce the penalty and instead sentences Iolanthe to servitude for life on the condition that she never sees her husband again.
The storyline sounds sad, but believe me, as period pieces go, this operetta is full of satirical humour and a rousing score.
For tickets call 0121 359 9444 or book online at www.oldreptheatre.co.uk
Finally this week, the resident group at The Crescent Theatre in Birmingham will be performing Collaboration, a play by Ronald Harwood, from March 30-April 6.
This powerful piece explores the relationship between the composer Richard Strauss, a big, bold man, intensely creative and prone to speak before thinking and his new librettist, Stephan Zweig, a gentle, sensitive and highly diplomatic sole. Strauss had a desperate need to work on a new opera and Zweig was his choice of librettist. There would be national celebrations and Goebbels would be in the audience at its premiere. But Zweig was a Jew.
Collaboration speaks powerfully about friendship, loyalty, betrayal and sacrifice in the face of terrifying odds.
For tickets, visit www.crescent-theatre.co.uk or call 0121 643 5858.
That’s all for this week. Please send me all your news and good quality colour photos to a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk, call me on 01902 319662 or follow me on Twitter @AlisonNorton
