‘Legally Blonde’ at Berkeley Playhouse is energetic, funny, and as sugary as cotton candy

 

By WOODY WEINGARTEN

Choreography by Cat Delos Santos Reyes, often sidesplittingly funny, usually with the highest energy possible, became the primo star of the Berkeley Playhouse’s presentation of Legally Blonde The Musical.

A dance between two gay men, in fact, was once of three showstoppers at a recent Sunday matinee that drew full-throated laughs, roaring cheers, and heavy applause.

In-sync jump-rope dancing to “Whipped into Shape” was a definite eye popper that didn’t stop, and three damsels in white togas representing a Greek chorus emerged as the epitome of silliness.

Elizabeth Curtis, in the role of Paulette, hair stylist with a hard edge, a soft heart, and a longing for Ireland,  ran a musical gamut from hilarious to poignant. “She’s funnier than Jennifer Coolidge was in the  movie,” an older woman in the audience called to after one bit.

Curtis showed off her comic chops in both solo bits and in conjunction with Adam Mendez Jr. as Kyle, a burly UPS deliveryman who stalked her lovingly i the second act. Rollickingly amusing!

Vivienne, portrayed perfectly by the mellifluous singer Grace Margaret Craig, was the character who changed the most — from snarky, stuck-up boyfriend poacher to warm activist supporter of females.

Major diversity in actors’ size and skin color was a definite plus.

The central character, Elle Woods, pink-garbed UCLA sorority sister cum Harvard Law student who finds ways to do things her individualistic way and still succeed, normally steals the show. Here, however, Ayani Dorsey’s high-pitched voice didn’t fit her mic well so her words — sung and spoken — were often difficult to make out.

Although the dark-skinned Dorsey wore a curl-heavy blonde wig and a perma-smile through most of the campy two-act, two-hour show, she didn’t quite inject the quirkiness remembered from the fire-cracking Reese Witherspoon role in the original 2007 film comedy.

And while male characters’ tones were clear because of their lower registers, difficulty discerning lyrics also happened in several chorus numbers (though amazing dance moves tended to overshadow that flaw).

 

 

 

Humor, from Heather Hach’s book, was frequent. And — yippie! — none of the jokes depended on f-bombs.

Welcome too, drawing smiles each time they were on stage, were too pooches: Latke, a Pomeranian normally carried in Elle’s purse and dubbed Bruiser in the show, and Stella, a French bulldog mix who, as Rufus, was trotted around by Kyle. Neither yipped nor barked, neither wet or soiled the stage. Good doggies! Instagram — quick!

Hey, don’t make the mistake thinking Legally Blonde is only fluff ‘n’ stuff and as sugary as cotton candy.  Underlying the unsubtle modern fairytale are questions of feminism and sexism, identity, self-worth, authenticity, and how to navigate a relationship — all tucked neatly into a musical extravaganza spotlighting glitzy costumes by Ashlee Renee and fast-moving backdrops by scenic designer Sarah Phykitt (including an imaginative center-stage door to nowhere).

No’eau Kahalekulu, in her main stage directorial debut, makes sure everything moves at a lightning pace, with exceptions like “Blood in the Water,” a brooding satire that illustrates how lawyers become sharks.

The musical, which opened on Broadway in 2007, contains 20 numbers including three reprises), staring with the incredibly bouncy “Oh My God.” They’re mainly jukebox pop tunes with touches of hip-hop — music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin — virtually guaranteed to make theatergoers feel good.

Proof? Well, a raft of pre-pubescent girls who filled about ut a third of the seats happily chatted up a storm while shaking their bottoms and hips in the aisles as they left.

Legally Blonde The Musical will run at the Berkeley Playhouse, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley, through Oct. 18 (it’s been extended). Tickets: $19 to $56 (plus a $3.95 ticketing fee). Info: 510-845-8542 or www.berkeleyplayouse.org.