Legally Blonde, the ultimate feel-good rom-com, follows Elle Woods on her transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love.
MKFM had a chat with stars of the show, Love Island and Strictly lady Amber Davies and TikTok leader Hannah Lowther.
When Amber Davies was at the Urdang Academy performing arts school in London, she was hooked on the Legally Blonde The Musical cast album. Born and raised in Denbigh, North Wales, Amber had moved to the capital at the age of 16 and would sing along to the songs any chance she got.
Now Amber is stepping into the fashionable shoes of Elle Woods in the new UK and Ireland tour of the Olivier Award winning musical and beams as she says: "I feel like the role has come into my life at a good time. You need stamina and life knowledge for a part like this, so now is the perfect time for me to play her. If it had come any earlier I would have been too young."
The former Love Island star turned actress and Strictly Come Dancing contestant is thrilled to be taking on what she calls "one of the biggest female roles in musical theatre". She's adding Elle to a roster that includes Judy Bernly in 9 to 5: The Musical, Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman: The Musical and Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby, and says of the character: "She's a force to be reckoned with. She's beautiful but she's also intelligent, and women can be both things at the same time. She's a firecracker."
The show features original music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. Like Amanda Brown's novel of the same name and the iconic 2001 film adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon, it follows Elle's transformation from 'It Girl' fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School.
Asked if it's daunting following in the footsteps of Reese in the movie and the likes of Sheridan Smith in the musical, Amber sees it as more of an honour and a challenge. "It's inspiring to follow in their footsteps, but while I have seen so many different versions of Elle and I've loved every single one I'm thinking, 'What can I do differently to put my own stamp on it?"
It's the ultimate feel-good show, but Davies feels there's a strong, powerful message amidst all the fun. "It's as simple as 'Don't judge a book by its cover'," she explains. "It's such a funny story but it's got heart too, and I really want audiences to feel for Elle when they come to see it."
In the story, Elle is president of the Delta Nu sorority at the University of California, and her sorority sister Margot has her back from the start.
Margot is played by musical theatre and TikTok star Hannah Lowther, who says: "I feel like she is the ultimate girl's girl. All of the Delta Nu girls are just there to support each other, which is important because we need to show women supporting women and not trying to tear each other down."
Hannah's previous credits range from The Sound of Music to Six via Oliver! and Heathers: The Musical. Legally Blonde has been on her wishlist since she trained at the esteemed Italia Conti academy and the London School of Musical Theatre. "So when I heard about the tour I was like, 'OK, this needs to happen!'" she smiles. "Luckily everything's aligned and now I'm not just singing the songs in my car anymore, I'm actually singing them on stage."
Lowther has more than a million TikTok followers and they're as excited about her new venture as she is. "They're on this career journey with me," she says, "and it's such an amazing feeling that people are cheering me on."
She uses her platform to big-up musical theatre. "As an audience member I love going to watch a show and just feeling completely transported into another world, and when I'm up on stage myself I get to see the joy on people's faces. It's so heartwarming."
She agrees with Amber that Legally Blonde The Musical has a strong message amidst all of the fun and frothiness, namely not to judge someone because of how they look.
"There's so much more to Elle than we first see," says Hannah, who will be playing the lead at certain performances. "That's another dream come true and the cast are so supportive, just as the Delta Nu girls are of Elle."
See Legally Blonde at Milton Keynes Theatre between March 10 & 14. Tickets can be booked at www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
