Director: Eckard Becker
Musical Director: Jonty Climo
Choreographers: Destiny Maxwell & Sekonaia Faletau
Producer: Morrinsville Theatre
The who’s who of the Morrinsville community and Hamilton theatre world collided at a premiere performance of Morrinsville Theatre’s Legally Blonde, culminating in resounding applause for an enthusiastic and fit (more later) cast, band and backstage crew.
Ideally, a producer aims for fifty percent of tickets being sold prior to opening night. Thanks to a savvy show choice, an affable social media campaign and large cast with devoted followers, Morrinsville Theatre had achieved the 75% mark before opening night.
Lili Taylor played the iconic role of Elle Woods. Taylor’s polished performance was engaging and her embodiment of Elle was spot on. Taylor’s voice, accent, stage presence, and dance technique made her a fantastic choice for the role.
Patrick Ward was ideal as Elle’s OG boyfriend Warner Huntington III. His WINTEC training has produced a performer who is able to adapt quickly to any mishaps. Furthermore, Ward’s voice has a beautiful tone and he is always a pleasure to watch on stage.
Felix Rowe was Emmett Forrest, the intelligent, compassionate, and eventual love interest of Elle. Rowe again proved himself to be a charismatic, solid, and talented performer who has an innate understanding of character motivations and story arcs.
Georgia Willats (Vivienne Kensington) and Kathryn Harris (Paulette Buonofuonte) looked and were quite simply, the part(s)! The entire cast was energetic, and there were plenty of supporting roles to be shared around providing the opportunity to play all sorts of characters throughout the show.
Given the size of the cast, there was a huge number of costumes to collate, especially for the all-in company numbers. The costumes were well fitted, and Elle’s outfits were superb. A couple of notable mentions for Elle’s Bunny costume, Paulette’s clothes, Kyle’s uniform, the Department store tunics, the Reggae gear, and the pool boy’s outfit. The quick-change magic was working overtime and was very impressive.
Hollie Henderson only became involved in theatrical hair and makeup a couple of years ago, and since then has been involved in back-to-back productions. Hollie has a great eye for design, understanding what works well under lighting and ensuring there was not a hair out of place during the high energy numbers.
The bright and fun show programme deserves an acknowledgement as does the stunning images from Alice Parminter Photography. Furthermore, there are several fluffy four-legged additions to the cast that also deserve a high-paw. Well done, Charlie (Bruiser), Tico (Rufus), and Frankie.
In a first for the theatre, there was a live band lead by theatrical all-rounder Jonty Climo. Although the band was geographically divided, they were a well-rehearsed and tight unit. Much of the incidental music relates to the dialogue, and no cues were missed under Climo’s watchful eye and baton.
Destiny Maxwell and Sekonaia Faletau put together extraordinary routines that left the audience breathless. In particular, Rachael Bloemendal as Brooke Wyndham gave one of the most sensational musical theatre dance routines ever experienced. Bloemendal’s aerobic fitness was tested alongside her acting chops, vocal talent and skipping skills in ‘Whipped Into Shape.’ Bloemendal and the ensemble completely smashed the exhausting looking routine out of the ballpark. In fact, all the dance numbers were impressive. Even when the cast was seated during ‘Scene Of The Crime,’ the subtle canons with various movements were slick. Maxwell and Faletau are a joint choreography force to be reckoned with. I expect their visions to be seen globally soon.
My heartfelt biggest congratulations to Eckard Becker for taking on Legally Blonde as his musical theatre directorial debut. Directing comes with the added responsibility of managing many cogs in an ever turning and growing wheel, and the wonderful premiere performance seemed to indicate that he took it all in his stride. Becker’s own on-stage experience, tertiary studies and vision produced a show that has set a new benchmark for Morrinsville Theatre.
In closing, the Legally Blonde verdict is to run (or skip quickly) to secure some of the few remaining tickets. Congratulations, Morrinsville Theatre. Bend and snap!
Photo credit: Alice Parminter Photography
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