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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Legally Blonde, the musical Review By Michelle Libby

Windham Center Stage Theater (WCST) has a hit on their hands with Legally Blonde, the musical, directed by Rob Juergens and staring many of Windham’s local talent.

“It’s not a princess show,” said Juergens, who hoped that parents realized that the show is rated PG for a little language and some themes that might be inappropriate for young children.


That being said, the audience of close to 100 on Sunday afternoon was impressed with the show, which had something for everyone. One woman from Livermore Falls brought her daughter and granddaughters from Tennessee to see the play.


Catchy tunes and witty dialogue rolled off the tongues of the actors. The story opens with sorority president Elle Woods, played by Janelle LoSciuto, expecting to get engaged to her boyfriend, Warner, played by Dillon Bates, who in turn dumps her because she’s not serious enough. He’s heading off to Harvard Law to make something of himself.


Elle follows him there, getting in with her creative application. She is befriended by Emmett, played by Tony Ennis, who helps her with her studies and stands by while Elle pines for Warner. Warner has a new girl friend, Vivienne, played by Shelbi Wassick, who is as vindictive as they come.


The cast was filled in with other stand out performances by Beth Gaudet, who was one of my favorite actors in the show, playing Paulette the hairdresser. Her singing was spot on and her acting and accent created many laughs over the course of the two hour, 40 minute show.


My favorite part, as well as for the woman sitting next to me, was the UPS man, played by Peter Perzel. Though he wasn’t on stage for much of the show, when he was there he had the crowd laughing and impressed with his comedic timing. One older woman called him “walking porn.” 


The live band did a great job with the tremendous amount of musical accompaniment. They were able to set the mood and help with the energy of the show. Although, the band was a bit loud at times, covering some of the singing and making it hard to understand some of the lyrics.


LoSciuto (Elle) and Ennis (Emmett) did most of the hard lifting of the show and did it with style and abilities that made the audience root for them to succeed.


Other actors switched between parts, but did so in a way that I wasn’t sure if they were the same person on not – A sign of good actors.


Another highlight was the court scene with Nikos, the pool boy, played by Andrew Shepard. Latin-accented, fashion forward, gay Nikos with his boyfriend played by Brad Meader, had everyone laughing out loud with their song, Gay or European.


It was an enjoyable show with good acting and lots of laughs. The catchy songs stay with you long after the musical is over. Kudos to the behind the scenes crew from props to lighting and costumes, it all helped to sell the show.


Tickets are still available for this weekend, August 2, 3 and 4, which is also the closing weekend for Legally Blonde.   Tickets are on sale at the door or online at www.windhamtheater.org. For more information, email wcsttickets@gmail.com. The show takes place at the Windham Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for seniors and students and $12 for adults.


Legally Blonde is what community theater is all about. Go see neighbors and friends perform in this fun show.

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