Review: Musical theatre treat in Rugby will leave you tickled pink

We were probably not the only family that saw a daughter choose a career in law at an early age thanks to the original Legally Blonde film.

While the Elle Woods effect didn’t last in our case, the film deservedly sits alongside several others that retain an affectionate place in our memories of family viewing nights.

With its roots in real experience, the stunning performance by Reese Witherspoon as the fashion-obsessed Woods, makes it one of those films that gets the popular vote, if not universal critical approval.

It’s a script with some memorable moments – greatly increasing our knowledge of perm maintenance, for instance - and also offers a string of fine supporting characters.

The tale of a woman overcoming the odds at a stuffy law school and showing she was more than pretty in pink was an obvious candidate for a musical makeover and it came along rather rapidly in 2007 – just six years after the film.

And pink was everywhere on stage and throughout the audience for the opening night of Five Star’s latest musical treat for Rugby audiences.

If the film will forever be linked to Reese Witherspoon then the musical has attracted some big-name actors to take on the challenge of the role in the musical context.

The plot remains essentially the same, with Elle almost ever-present and fully involved in many of the musical numbers.

So there are no apologies for starting with a celebration of Heather Bunnewell who played Elle with that infectious – and tireless - enthusiasm that ensure things buzz along with the energy and charm you’d hope for.

The programme says this Five Star debut is her first performance for several years but what a comeback – she references the personality first defined by Witherspoon but adds her own style too.

With such quality at the heart of the show, others flourish in what is a large and consistently good cast.

Fellow Five Star debutant James Maclean is a young Emmett Forrest but his exceptional singing voice hinted at great things to come in his career, while Emily Gardner as Paulette is another who gets the essence of the screen character in manners and phrasing. Also of note is her ‘bend and snap’ inspired double act with her love interest - the UPS man whose short shorts and cheeky manner won Ciaran Dempsey an instant fanbase in the audience.

If the songs written for the adaptation wouldn’t make it onto many lists of all-time great musical numbers, the interpretation here and the choreography by Kerstin Awang is first class.

The ensemble singing and the insistent energy of the dancers were memorable and added to the feelgood mood of the performance. Elle’s three friends who served as the voices in her head as she struggled with law school life were inspirational – notably Georgie Awang as Serena – and while we had a long while to wait for the defendant in the key trial, Abigail Sams as Brooke Wyndham grabbed the attention at the start of the second half leading a remarkable, prison-based song and dance routine. Many others shone, there were some delightful comic moments - and two dogs who just about stuck to the script.

To state the obvious, if you adore the film, Five Star has created a fine version of the musical which is proud of that heritage and suitably deferential – it’s a short run but there’s no lack of effort gone into its execution, a treat for fans old and new.