(Rory Morrison, Sarah Thompson and Nathan Kruger)An explosion of raw, exuberant talent. (Review by John Harley)
From the moment the stunning programme of Legally Blonde – The Musical was placed in my hand, I had a strong sense that I was in for a very professional evening’s entertainment – I was not disappointed!
Being rather new to the KZN theatre scene and school productions in particular (having spent 30 years of my drama and theatre life in Gauteng), I was filled with a great sense of expectation and excitement.
I was particularly impressed with the knowledge that the main aim of these school productions was an educational one – focusing on the overall development of young actors on all levels: ie physical, emotional, social, intellectual and creative – all concepts Professor Elizabeth Sneddon stood for and would have died for - she was passionate!
I don’t usually like giving a break-down of the storyline as it tends to spoil the surprise for the audience, but in this case a brief synopsis as outlined in the programme is called for: “Elle Woods can handle anything. So when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her, she decides to follow him to Harvard Law School and win him back. With some help from her new-found friends Paulette, Emmett and her Chihuahua, Bruiser, she learns that it’s so much better to be smart”. As is usually the case in musical productions, the story line of the script acts merely as a device to unite the singing and dancing.
The real power of this particular production essentially lies in the wonderful sense of attack displayed at all levels. The ensemble group never wavers for a second, fully committing themselves to anything and everything demanded of them. (I can’t help wondering why someone can’t create a fusion of all this wonderful South African talent and produce our very own South Africa “FAME”?)
Now to the nuts and bolts of the production itself, beginning with esteemed and experienced director, Themi Venturas, who has a reputation in theatre a mile long. Once again - not only technically in terms of staging and acting technique, but particularly in creating a strong sense of unity amongst the cast - he has produced a theatrical experience well worth the visit. It was obvious that the cast members were clearly happy in their work. His overall vision was also extremely sound, and he captured just the right mix of theatricality and musicality needed for a musical production of this kind. He is to be very highly commended, he clearly knows his stuff.
Each and every performer contributed commendably to a marvellous piece of entertainment. Special mention needs to be made of Sarah Thompson (Elle) who seemed to fit her part like a glove, with a fabulous voice, great sense of comic timing and wonderful stage presence. A further mention goes to Rory Morrison (Emmett) who was relaxed, comfortable and totally at ease in his role – fully grasping the technique of moment-to-moment response (ie interacting WITH, rather than speaking AT) which gave his character total believability! I thought he was outstanding; never over-projecting or over-acting.
I did notice a few problem areas but these might have resulted from opening night gremlins. Some of the set changes were rather messy and distracting at times and set pieces did not always seem firmly rooted to the stage floor, resulting in irritating wobbling actions.
I also had problems with the balance of the music and singing levels at times – the music sometimes being just too loud and drowning out the voices of the singers. In turn this caused the singers to really belt out some of the numbers rather than capturing their full sense and mood. Perhaps this issue could have been resolved by placing the band behind the singers rather than in front of them?
I believe greater attention needed to be paid to create contrast and surprise throughout the production. For instance, the gentle moments between Ella and Emmett came as a welcome relief to the strong sense of attack that was evident throughout the production, especially in the first half. When these tender moments were followed by a powerful hit number, a strong and exciting sense of contrast pervaded, reflecting the essential elements of theatre – contrast, surprise, shock, mood, atmosphere, variation, etc.
A last critical comment relates to the overall production concept – this needs very careful consideration as it unifies all the other elements of the production into a creative whole, ie, costumes, set, make-up, sound, staging, lighting, etc. Some of the set and costume pieces seemed incongruous and were distracting.
Despite the glitches, this is most definitely a must-see production. Well done to the director, the cast and crew - you have hit the jackpot! Legally Blonde – the Musical runs in the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre until July 15. – John Harley
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