Production:

-West End Theaters’ very own Executive Director, Kelsea Johnson played Elle Woods, bringing her incredible vocal strength and captivating presence. You are immediately brought into Elle Wood’s world of sisterhood and love for the color pink. Her journey to self-discovery and empowerment while staying true to herself in male dominated field elevates and empowers all women and you could feel that vibe from the audience as they cheered and praised Elle along her journey. For Kelsea this role allowed her to really open up and show off her vocal abilities. She was able take us on a journey from bubbly poppy fun to serious and literally in tears.

-Emmett Forrest played by Chase Ramirez as the quirky supportive law student that helps Elle realize her obsession with Warner and party girl life is holding her back from her true potential which goes beyond being Waner’s wife. Chase leans into this role and is able to play it well. His mannerisms attention to facial expressions were fitting and on point.

-Paulette Buonofuonte, played by Courtney McShan was a standout character for me. Courtney was so expressive and big with Paulette, I instantly fell in love. Paulette plays the role of Elles first friend since coming to Harvard. Paulette is the owner of a local beauty salon and helps Elle find her confidence while navigating her own relationship struggles with an ex-boyfriend that ran off with her dog after 10 years of being together. Elle is able to use her new skills to reunite Rufus with Paulette and later teaches Paulette some tried and true skills like the bend and snap.

-The bend and snap number was easily one of my favorites and built another round of mid performance cheers from the audience. Perfectly synced and expertly executed.

-Warner Huntington III is Elle’s ex-boyfriend and antagonist played by Mason Thorman, a well-known face in this theater. In his first opening number, Serious, you immediately grow a dislike for Warner as he takes you from a romantic dinner scene to dumping Elle out of the blue, justifying it by calling her a Marylin instead of a Jackie. He reinforces blondes are not smart stereotypes and accuses Elle of not being serious or good enough for him. Mason played the role well and was able to exude vanity and shallowness with his facial expressions and tones of voice. Mason did appear to be a bit overshadowed by stronger performers and it was especially noticeable next to Elle, but he held a strong performance and has plenty of mentors to learn and grow from.

-Vivienne Kensignton, Warner’s stuck up new love interest was played by Ashley Snow. Ashley played the role perfectly, everything about Vivienne was uptight and serious. She started out with a strong dislike for Elle and loudly supported her demise and dismissal from the program. Ashley was able to develop Vivienne’s character as her fondness for Elle grew. There was a noticeable character change in her facial expressions and how she carried herself when she changed from opposing Elle to being her friend.

-David Riely is a well-known face to this theater, as a many time returning performer since his youth. He is very well seasoned, and it shows. David as Professor Callahan commanded attention and filled the room. He had me immediately convinced he was a sleaze ball professor. The crowd erupted into cheers when he received his justly disserved slap to the face and it did not seem like she held back. It is an achievement and a compliment to his work to have the audience buy into his villain as they did while cheering at his demise. David’s strength as an actor is his expressive face  and body gestures but tonight his singing abilities shined. His voice was able to match the strength and power of Kelsea (Elle). This performance allowed Kelsea to explore more depth and David complimented it well.

-Enid Hoops, played by Alicia Hinojosa immediately gained my and the audience’s affection. She played her character with the perfect amount of sass. I enjoyed the character development from her initial rebuke of Elle’s sisterhood to being an enthusiastic supporter.

-Brooke Wyndham, played by Amanda Harmon did an excellent job of portraying her character. The musical number taking us into the correctional center fitness class was comical and executed perfectly. Brooke is on trial for the murder of her late husband and has a solid alibi but can’t share it or it will ruin her public and professional image as a fitness influencer. Seeing sisterhood and being able to trust in Elle, she is able to prove her innocence without exposing her secret.

-Serena, Margot and Pilar the supportive sorority sisters, jailed exercise enthusiasts and my personal favorite the Greek Fates, played by Victoria Tiger, Nell Romero and Darcy Page. These girls brought high energy and perfection each time they came on stage.

-Kyle played by Max Egloff was an instant crowd favorite and noticeably did not participate in a singing number. His swagger and physical comedy landed perfectly with the crowd and supported the production well. Paulette deserved to find a good guy and Kyle fit her Irish dreams perfectly.

-Chutney Wyndham was played by Isis McGill as the daughter of the deceased Mr. Wyndham. Chutney is testifying against her stepmother Brooke. We soon find out that Chutney is framing Brooke for the murder of her father which was actually committed by her on accident when trying to wait for Brooke, who she mistaken her dad for. Elle, using her knowledge and expertise in the health and beauty world is able to coax a confession from Chutney after catching her in a lie regarding proper perm care. This was my first time seeing such a strong performance from Isis who has been seen in mostly ensemble and background roles up until this point. She was clear and convincing in her delivery.

-Nikos and Carlos played by Paddie Patterson and Bob McGill were fabulous in their roles. The courthouse scene where Carlos bursts in and creates chaos in the case by outing Nikos was hilarious and sure to be one of the most talked about scenes that patrons walk away with. Carlos was flamboyantly loud and bigger than life. It took me out when Nikos effortlessly jumped into the arms of Carlos to be whisked away. Flawlessly executed.

-The Judge over this case played by Whitney Martinez was really fun and played along with the cast really well, allowing Nickos to charm her in the Gay or European number.

-This review would be remised if it did not highlight the incredible supporting animal actors. Bently Graham who played Elles adorable accessory Bruiser and Murray Johnson who was happily reunited with Paulette. They were incredibly well trained and hit their marks expertly even in the chaos of dancing and movement. They did not appear stressed or concerned beyond receiving proper belly rubs when they were in order.

Final Review: Overall, this production was high energy and a lot of fun to watch. The performers were on their top game, especially for what was supposed to be a soft launch night.

Nothing was noticeably out of order or appeared to be out of step. Singing and dancing performers were in sync with each other with only minor sound equipment issues which the performers handled flawlessly. The stage was relatively small, but they made great use of it and I never once felt that I was missing out on something due to overcrowding or blocking, which has been a concern for me with ground level seating before. Sometimes it felt that I was a little too close and possibly going to be ran into by one of the dancers, but Victoria was wonderful and held her space and boundaries perfectly. 

During the opening remarks the lead Director Mark spent some time highlighting the quality and caliber of the performers in the production and after watching their soft opening and trying to imagine what areas they could possibly improve, I couldn’t agree more with him. These performers were all very polished and the production came together to produce an experience that was bigger than life and a gem for community theater. It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch, and the crowd had a great time.