Legally Blonde: Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle

NEWCASTLE-based West End Musical Theatre Company spruces up this amateur operatic version of Legally Blonde and gives Tyneside a night of glamour and glitz. The production is based on the book of the same name, and the film starring Reese Witherspoon, which made the story soar into popularity.

Sorority president, daddy’s girl and lover of all things pink Elle Woods (Cheryl Moody) takes on law studies at Harvard University so her ex-boyfriend Warner (Kevin Rhodes) can take her more seriously, however, things don’t seem to be as easy as Elle had anticipated.

I’ve got to be honest, the performance had a shaky start; the vocals were not on point and cast members seemed a little disorientated, which I will put down to nerves. Around scene five, the cast seemed more comfortable and the show took off, with the songs becoming catchier and the male cast members starting to impress.

With the original Legally Blonde musical, which opened in 2007, offering plenty of competition, I still found for the most part the stage and costume design was terrific. However, a few of the outfits that the sorority girls wore throughout were unflattering and did become distracting. Nevertheless, this lively performance has nothing to feel guilty about, and standout performances came from Cheryl Moody, Alex Easten (Emmett) and of course Chi Chi and Patsy, who played the dogs Bruiser and Rufus.

n Runs until Saturday. Box Office: 0844-2491-000 or tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk

Emily Craig