Rising musical theater star Callandra Olivia is a pretty-in-pink Harvard Law School stunner as Elle Woods in Candlelight Pavilion’s irresistible big-stage production of the 2007 Hollywood-to-Broadway hit Legally Blonde.

 Tony-nominated book writer Heather Hach is smart enough not to fool with success, sticking closely to Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith’s 2001 film adaptation of Amanda Brown’s novel, which has jilted UCLA Fashion Merchandising grad Elle acing her LSATs, winning over the Harvard University Admissions board, and entering Harvard Law School in a bid to win back the heart of ex-boyfriend and future political hopeful Warner Huntington III (Matthew Malecki), who’s dumped her in favor of Vivienne Kensington (Tara Shoemaker), someone “less of a Marilyn and more of a Jackie.”

 Naturally, Elle finds herself in for a lot more than she bargained for both in and around hallowed Ivy League halls peopled by (among others) her upper-class law student mentor Emmett Forrest (Jordan Killion), her Machiavellian Professor Callahan (Ron Hastings), her hairstylist/new best buddy Paulette (Molly Stilliens), and fitness guru Brook Wyndham (Katie McGhie), on trial for murdering her much older multimillionaire spouse.

Also along for the ride are Elle’s three best sorority sisters Serena (Emily Chelsea), Margot (Taleen Shrikian), and Pilar (Christianne Santiago), left behind in SoCal but still very much present as Elle’s “Greek Chorus.”

Suffice it to say that the road to a Harvard Law Degree and (hopefully) Warner’s hand in marriage is a rocky one, filled with unexpected twists and turns, and this time round with song and dance as well.

 Legally Blonde The Musical adds to the movie’s proven crowd-pleasing plot one of the brightest and best Broadway scores in recent years (Tony-nominated music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin), one rousing dance number after another, and performances that honor the movie originals without carbon-copying them.

 All of this is to say that Legally Blonde is easily one of the past dozen years’ most crowd-pleasing musical treats, and director Chuck Ketter and his uniformly terrific young cast get everything right at Candlelight beginning with their incandescent leading lady, who combines Minnesota blonde beauty, effervescent charm, stealth-weapon intelligence, and Broadway-caliber vocals to rival the best Elles before her.

 Surrounding Olivia is an all-around crackerjack supporting cast, from Killion’s nerdy/sexy Emmett to Malecki’s GQ-handsome Warner to Stilliens earthy Paulette to Hasting’s über-smarmy Professor Callahan to Shoemaker’s snooty, snippy Vivienne to McGhie’s indefatigable Brooke, all six of whom sing sensationally with McGhie scoring bonus points for doing so while aerobicizing like nobody’s business.

 Chelsea, Shrikian, and Santiago make for the most vivacious Greek Chorus ever, Scout Lepore’s Enid is as cute as she is butch, Nic Olsen may well be the hunkiest UPS Guy ever in addition to vanishing under extra hair and padding as Paulette’s burly ex Dewey, and Emily Relph gives overly-permed Chutney shades of dumb that make her a scene-stealing hoot.

Rodrigo Verandas’s Nikos and Michael Gonzalez’s Carlos gay up the stage with inextinguishable flame, and Robert Ramirez raps with the best of them as Grandmaster Chad.

The equally splendid Judy Fernandez, DarRand Hall, John McGavin, Haley Izurieta, and Tina Nguyen execute multiple cameos, from law students to parents to profs to boutique and department store staffers and more, and this is one Legally Blonde where both Bruiser and Rufus get played by authentic canine stars.

 Choreographer Alison Keslake scores high marks for one energetic, original dance number after another, including Elle’s “personal essay” to the Harvard Board Of Admissions (featuring the entire UCLA Marching Band or a close facsimile thereof); Whipped Into Shape,” a taeboe/jump rope aerobics class with some of the most physically exhausting choreography in memory; an R&B celebration of a 99% effective man-catching move known as the “Bend And Snap”; and the thrilling (and hilarious) Riverdance moves of “Legally Blonde Remix.”

Musical director Rod Bagheri elicits topnotch vocals performed to prerecorded tracks that sound almost live.

Ketter has designed an ingenious, multi-locale, multiple-shades-of-pink set, Steve Giltner’s surround lighting design proves one of Candelight’s best, and the Theatre Company’s costumes coordinated by Merrill Grady and wigs by Michon Gruber-Gonzales complete an all-around nifty look.

Kayla Rowland is assistant to the choreographer and Fernandez is dance captain. Caleb Shiba is stage manager.

From Ragtime to Annie Get Your Gun to Singin’ In The Rain, Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre’s 2018 season has had winner after winner after winner. Legally Blonde makes it four WOW!s in a row.

Candlelight Pavilion, 455 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont.
www.candlelightpavilion.com

–Steven Stanley
June 16, 2018
Photos: Demetrios Katsantonis

Tags: Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Heather Hach, Laurence O'Keefe, Los Angeles Theater Review, Nell Benjamin