Bringing the Musical into Today
When Legally Blonde the Musical originally premiered, we were still in the world of flip phones, which certainly found its way into the culture of a musical about a college sorority president. During the song “So Much Better,” when Elle realizes her hard work has paid off and she sees her name on the list of four students to earn Professor Callahan’s (James Rank) internship, she takes a selfie to send to her parents. The original production featured the use of a pink razor phone, but today, Elle would more than likely have a smartphone, and the Paramount creative team takes that to the extreme with Kmiec’s use of a large iPhone that descends into the space from above. In this particular number, Elle facetimes her parents, and Tutaj projects the video onto the large iPhone screen. The effect is a blast, and cheers and laughter erupted throughout the Opening Night audience.
The design team makes consistent use of this creative feature throughout the production, most notably in “Chip on Your Shoulder,” when Emmett Forrest (Gerald Caesar) convinces Elle to step up and embrace power over her future in law school. Caesar performs the number with an excellent sense of stage presence and comedic timing, as well as a beautiful vocal quality, and the technical elements surrounding him help push the scene over the top. The song spans over months of time, and whenever a new holiday comes about, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, the phone descends and showcases an image of Bruiser in the appropriate holiday ensemble with the backdrop of the Starbucks App, featuring the drink of the season. Kmiec and Tutaj’s collaboration is extraordinary in these moments, heightening the comedy and overall aesthetic.
Lauren Katz is a freelance director and dramaturge, and new to the Chicago Theatre Scene. She recently moved from Washington DC, where she worked with Mosaic Theater Company of DC in Company Management, as well as directed around town with various theaters. 