REVIEW: Legally Blonde at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Legally Blonde

Newcastle Theatre Royal 

Until Sunday 17 May 2026 and touring

Nikolai Foster’s Curve Leicester production is loud, brash and breezy from the first moment. A polished cast delivers the numbers with great vigour and there is much to enjoy, even if the warmth and charm that characterised the movie are not so pronounced here. Nevertheless, this is a slick, entertaining and ultimately crowd-pleasing show and the Newcastle audience seemed to have a great time.

After its US premiere in 2007, Legally Blonde opened in the West End in 2010, with Sheridan Smith in the titular role. Elle Woods is the Malibu good-time girl who sets out to regain her eminently eligible boyfriend, Warner, by battling her way into Harvard Law School and, in doing so, triumphantly proves that she is so much more than she seems. There have been a few revivals since 2010 but this tour originates in The Curve Leicester where Nikolai Foster has successfully reinvented so many musicals in the past eleven years.

The show opens with a full-on musical number, somewhat over-amplified at this performance, as was much of the first act. A crew of sorority girls are celebrating the imminent engagement of their president, the ultimate party girl, Elle. They meet her at the mall to choose her engagement dress, where she quickly highlights her fashion expertise and the perfect dress, pink of course, is chosen.

Unfortunately, all does not go to plan and Warner dumps her in favour of someone more serious to bolster his well-laid out career plan, taking him from Harvard law to the senate.

Elle, it seems, is a ‘Marilyn’ and he needs a ‘Jackie.’ Bolstered by her Greek chorus of sorority sisters, she sets out to show him that he has underestimated her, just as many underestimated the actual Marilyn.

This leads her through the perils of Harvard Law School, where everyone but her is dressed, somewhat obviously, in monochrome. The fierce and unforgiving Professor Callahan, in a well-defined performance by Adam Cooper, almost defeats her resolve but kindly senior, Emmett, helps her to battle through. Along the way, she allies with the warm but underconfident beautician, Paulette, and finds her own, very individual, way to win a high-profile case for exercise guru, Brooke.

The cast is solid throughout, with Amber Davies’ Elle not putting a foot wrong, although her voice may not be to every taste and her character is not as engagingly vulnerable as some previous purveyors of the role. Jamie Chatterton’s arrogant Warner is well-voiced and convincing, as is Annabelle Terry’s portrayal of Vivienne, Warner’s driven, preppie new girlfriend. George Crawford hits the right note as the down-to-earth Emmett and Karen Mavundukure shows off most impressive vocals as Paulette, although some scenes, including her yearning pursuit of hunky mailman, Kyle, are so broadly characterised as to lessen the impact of the comedy.

Jocasta Almgill is warm and convincing as Brooke and the supporting characters are all effectively played, albeit in broad strokes. The small ensemble also deserve credit for their energy, commitment and skill, keeping up an exhausting pace throughout.

This is not a show that sets out to provoke much thought, rather to entertain in a not too demanding way. There is nothing wrong with that and, from last night’s audience reaction, it clearly achieves it. For this reviewer, however, a little more reflection and focus on the dialogue scenes would have helped temper what, at times, felt like a constant parade of loud and not specially memorable musical numbers.

Review: Jonathan Cash

Photos: Matt Crockett

Tickets: 

https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/legally-blonde/