Hall for Cornwall, Truro – until 9th May 2026
Reviewed by Kerry Gilbert
5*****
‘A Fabulous Feel-Good Production’
It was a real tonic to review Legally Blonde for the opening night at the wonderful Hall for Cornwall. Being a well-remembered films from my youth, and 25 years since it was first released, it’s been brought to stage with lots of colour (pink) and energy.
Legally Blonde follows Elle Woods, as she works to get into Harvard Law School to follow the love of her life Warner. She surprises herself and those around her in becoming a great lawyer, with integrity. She then realises that Warner may not be all that she really wants.
The musical is fast paced, and high energy and has a fair few laughs throughout. The music and lyrics from Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin are catchy and full of energy. I particularly enjoyed ‘Omigod You Guys’, ‘Blood in the Water’, and ‘Bend and Snap’ which are all fun ensemble pieces, and ‘Gay or European?’ was performed as over the top as possible. The production is directed by Nikolai Foster and has done a fantastic job in bringing this version of Legally Blonde to stage, which is also faithful to the original film. The choreography by Leah Hill is energetic and the ensembles are incredible using every inch of the stage. Colin Richmond’s set design was beautiful, cleverly using small scale models as locations and using additions in real scale that put us in particular buildings, including, the lecture room, store, hair salon and shower. The band, led by musical director Olivia Zacharia were outstanding. The dogs Bruiser and Rufus, got the biggest Aww from the audience, and having them on stage was very impressive and they were handled and behaved impeccably!
Headlining the impressive cast, following her stint in Strictly Come Dancing is, Amber Davies as Elle Woods, and she delivers outstanding vocals throughout. George Crawford gives some powerhouse vocals as Emmett. The whole cast were superb with strong voices and tight choreography. A shout out goes to Jocasta Almgill, playing Brooke Wyndham, who impressively manages to sing whilst performing a high energy skipping rope routine!
If you’re a fan of Legally Blonde, and even if you’re not, then this fabulous feel-good production is well worth seeing.