Theater presents ‘Legally Blonde’ for spring musical

Throughout my time at Riverside City College, I’ve seen the theater department stage a variety of musicals, each imitating different types of films. 

So, when I saw that Legally Blonde was next in line on their schedule, I knew this was something I wanted to review. I’ve been a fan of the original movie since I first viewed it and have turned to rewatching it whenever I needed motivation.

The movie motivated me because of the plotline. The original movie followed Elle Woods, a fashion merchandising student at a fictional Los Angeles university. Following her breakup with character Warner Washington III, she transfers to Harvard to pursue a law degree. As her classmates mock her, she quickly flips into an incredible lawyer. 

In Act 1, I was immediately impressed by the large sorority house positioned at the center of the stage. I loved how the sorority girls from the fictional Greek organization Delta Nu opened the musical in the song, “Omigod You Guys.”

This opening made a significant mark for friendship throughout the musical as Elle, played by Bree Nielson, is always accompanied by her friends.

Nielson did a beautiful and impressive job embodying the character. The mannerisms and voice were spot-on, even to the pink outfits. 

As well as El Friedhof , who played Warner, one of Elle’s love interests. Friedhof captured Warner’s conceited attitude in the song, “Serious.” 

In the musical number “Serious,” Warner breaks up with Elle because he’s going to Harvard, and this is where the memorable line lives: “If I’m going to be a senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn.” 

Following the breakup scene, Nielson’s performance was identical to Elle’s in the movie, showing the anger and sadness of the separation. 

Elle decides to apply to Harvard to follow her old boyfriend. Upon her arrival, she meets Warner, who introduces her to his new girlfriend, Vivian Kensington, played by Bella Ramirez who later becomes his fiancé. 

Ramirez’s performance also portrayed Vivian perfectly with her cold mannerisms in contrast to Elle’s bubbly approach. I loved Vivian’s snarky attitude every time she showed off her diamond engagement ring to Elle. The rivalry between Elle and Vivian begins in the song “Blood in the Water,” where Vivian agrees with the law instructor to throw Elle out of class for being underprepared. 

Later on, Elle meets Emmet Forres, played by Carter Friedhof, who eventually becomes her mentor. Their connection grows fonder in songs like “Chip on My Shoulder” and “Take It Like a Man.” Their chemistry was perfect and almost identical to the movie. What I liked more from the musical than the movie, is that the audience saw Emmet helping Elle studying and guiding her through the right path. This really showed that he cared about her and her education in comparison to Warner who was mainly attracted to Elle’s appearance. 

One of my favorite musical numbers was “Bend and Snap,” which began as a duet with Elle and iconic character, Paulette Bonafonté, played by Marina Garrison. The piece became a group number as all the salon workers and clients joined in learning the “Bend and Snap,” a mechanism to attract a man. This scene was overly dramatic and sassy as it needed to be. 

Later in Act II, Elle becomes one of the interns for Professor Calahan, played by Kevin Beaty, who defends Brooke Windham, played by Madison Guerena in a court case. Elle astonishingly takes over the case and wins it. 

Her winning the case in the movie has always been symbolic to me, and the theater department did a beautiful job of capturing that in the musical.

My ultimate favorite musical numbers that I enjoyed were “There! Right There” and “Whipped into Shape.”