They’re back in the game! Back on the case! If you out— that’d be a waste! They’ve lit a fuse and they’ll show you who’s— Legally Blonde! After what feels like an eternity, The Suburban Players of St. Demetrios has finally opened their production of the smash-hit musical Legally Blonde. And the best part is that they’re on stage, live, with an in-person audience! Directed by Lauren Spencer-Harris, with Musical Direction by Steven Soltow, and Choreography by Amie Bell, this feel-good, high-energy musical is the perfect way to get back into the living thrill of live theatre, in person!
Producers Smaro Cook and Thomas Cook Jr., along with the entirety of the production and supportive staff at both St. Demetrios and The Suburban Players, have created a welcoming atmosphere and made a haven in which live theatre with in-person audiences can safely return. It almost feels like we didn’t all just wait 15 months to set foot back inside the wonders and marvels and thrills and excitements of live theatrical entertainment and everyone on the team deserves thunderous rounds of applause for achieving that feat.
With a two-tier set— complete with spinning panel ‘windows’ for expedient scenic changes— the stage comes to life with the skilled vision of Technical Director and Set Designer Pete Beleos at the helm. Assisting Beleos with atmospheric magic for this production are Lighting Designers Angelos Kokkinakos and Director Lauren Spencer-Harris. There are party lights, swinging and swiveling with full ranges of motion during the exciting dance numbers, and a deeply mood stage wash of orange during “Whipped Into Shape”, which really helps to set the ominous but humorous tone of the number. Beleos, Kokkinakos, and Spencer-Harris even use Hollywood bulb-style lettering to spell out the word ‘Elle’ during “What You Want” and of course their nod to Ireland is flushed through with green gels every time Paulette starts singing about it.
Costuming the cast in outfits that reflect a semi-modern West-Coast to East-Coast collegiate contrast is a well-executed task in the hands of Costumers Tom Cook and Kim Cincotta. The audience is treated to ever flavor and shade of pink imaginable, and not just in the clothes featured on Elle Woods either. Cook and Cincotta do an exceptional job of finding costumes that work well for all of their players, rather than picking one singular and sticking with it. There’s also a broad array of “clothes that make the character” featured in Cook and Cincotta’s sartorial selections. Just take a look at the contrasting appearances between Vivienne and Elle, or Warner and Emmet. Even Pilar, Serena, and Margot— often styled in almost indistinguishably unified fashions— are given their own unique flare for their varying costumes.
A great deal of praise is to be lauded on Musical Director Steven Soltow, not only for the strong blended sound of the ensemble and clean articulation of the principles when it comes to their singing performances, but because the live pit orchestra is so well-balanced and inobtrusive that you don’t even notice it’s sitting there right in front of the stage. Not to say that Soltow and his pit musicians (Zach Wilson- drums, Emily Wose- trumpet, Chris Hettenbach- trombone, Johanna McGuire- Reed1, Nathan Shumaker- Reed2, Simon Enagonio- piano2, Alex Thanicatt- bass) haven’t done a brilliant job of sounding like a well-coordinated live orchestra deserving of praise— because they have, and the do. But having a live orchestra flow so seamlessly along with the production is rare in community theatre but Soltow and crew have knocked a great success clean out of the park with their efforts.
Choreographer Amie Bell has brought all the energy that a show like Legally Blonde demands without overcomplicating a great many of the routines. Bell has tempered a balance between the feel of high-octane dance routines without over-choreographing the show, while still creating the atmospheric verve which charges so many of the musical numbers in Legally Blonde. A great many of her routines, particularly those featuring the girls of Delta Nu, are infused with ‘essence of cheerleader’ and showcase several cheer-adjacent steps and arm-motions. Bell keeps the energy thriving all throughout her choreography, whether its in simplistic and clean routines during “Omigod You Guys” and “Positive” or the more complex and physically athletic jump-rope-dances featured during “Whipped Into Shape.”
The ensemble is chock full of strong performers who are all taking on multiple roles, all bringing strong voices, great stage presences, and impressive characterizations to this production. Performers of note hiding away in the ensemble include Jackson Guyton, who received credit as Elle’s Father but should be noted for his outrageous portrayal of both Dewey and the courtroom news reporter (and his fabulous, flapping mustache!) Isabel Bray is another ensemble member worth calling attention to for her impressive pipes. Playing several roles throughout the performance, Bray’s most memorable scene is during the song “The Harvard Variations” where she is cast as Sundeep Padamadan and belts out her verse of that number with crystal clear tonality. Kalea Bray (again with multiple characterizations throughout) also demonstrates an extraordinary capability to belt her face off in the opening number as the sales manager. And it goes without saying— though it’s going to be said anyhow— that the fabulous flamboyance of Nikos & Carlos (played by Michael Holmes and Kyle LaPosta) brings an elevated level of exuberance to the tail-end of “There! Right There!”
While the ensemble and all the players are truly giving this production their all, it’s Michael Floyd who boxes up his scene and saunters out the door with it in his cameo performance as Kyle the UPS guy. Floyd has the whole audience all but rolling on the floor with laughter from the moment he swaggers through the door of Paulette’s salon, and he just runs away with all three scenes in which he appears as a featured character with dialogue. And one of those scenes features the adorable, albeit bewildered, Rufus (played by Milo the dog) Milo, as Paulette’s estranged-but-reunited pup isn’t the only canine to grace the production’s stage. Lucy, playing the infamous Bruiser Woods, has caught a case of the puppy wiggles, which makes her the perfect pup for this exuberant and adorable role.
Spearheading the vocals every time the Delta Nu girls (or later, Elle’s ‘Greek Chorus’) take up a musical number on the stage, the trio of super-sisters— Pilar, Margot, and Serena (played respectively by DeaJah Dodd, Megan Smith, and Cat Kohlbus)— are the epitome of cheer-girls! They have sass, spirit, dance moves for miles, and all three of them are gifted with great voices that carry a wide range, everything from harmonic blends to solo belts that keep the bubbly nature of their characters rolling from start to finish in this production.
Playing the fitness tycoon Brooke Wyndham, Krysta Stefanosky has all the ensemble members— in her solo feature “Whipped Into Shape”— living up to the number’s namesake. Leading the group through that routine with sturdy vocals and a punchy attitude, Stefanosky showcases her ability to make fitness look fierce. She’s not the only fierce character to cross Elle Woods’ path in this production; Vivienne Kensington (Katie Pendergast) is a villainous foil to both Woods and her plot to win-back Warner. Pendergast is very sassy and puts an aggressive spin on the frigid character of Vivienne, but don’t be fooled, when it boils down to it, Pendergast has a tremendous belt that rocks the latter half of the “Legally Blonde Remix” in a way you won’t soon forget.
There’s blood in the water and in this production it’s the carnage of the vicious Professor Callahan (Greg Guyton.) Ruthless and rigid, Guyton lends his seasoned stage talents to creating a ferocious presence in the unctuous character, fully embodying that notion that ‘a lawyer is a shark.’ Sleek with his physicality, unnerving with his tightly controlled temper, and articulately poised when he sings his way through “Blood in the Water” and his bit of “Whipped Into Shape”, Guyton impresses the audience with that greasy panache most becoming of that sort of billion-dollar law-firm running fella.
When it comes to Elle Woods’ reasons for “Why I went to Harvard”, its easy to understand why any girl would follow Eric Bray, playing Warner Huntington III. Bray brings a level of knee-quaking sensuality to the character’s opening musical number, “Serious”, that has the audience’s heart palpitating and their whole-body swooning. Between his gorgeous, soulful vocal performance in this number and his ability to stylistically riff through a few of the varied options on some of the song’s notes, it’s a wonder everyone in the audience didn’t go home and start practicing their LSATs. Bray toes a fine line throughout the production of presenting a caricature of this hot-model-type with money and presenting us an actual character in Warner; it’s a brilliant balance.
If one is going to outdo the scene stealing swagger of Kyle the UPS guy, as mentioned some while back, one is going to have to bring a lot of chutzpah to the stage. Holly Ruhling does exactly that with her performance of Paulette. Giving the second best vocal performance in the production, Ruhling has a snappy charisma that carries the humor of her character, and she possesses a keen understanding of both comic timing and delivery. Her overall approach to the character has the audience adoring Paulette. And when she belts her face off both in “Ireland” its reprise, and her feature at the end of “Bend and Snap” its easy to see that Ruhling was the perfect pick for the part.
With a conviviality and earnest heart that shines through both spoken word and songs sung, Liam Jones gives Emmett Forrest hope even before the audience is aware that he might be the perfect love interest for little Miss Woods-comma-Ella, in case that whole Warner Huntington III doesn’t work out. Jones is bright-eyed, strong of voice, and brings a simple but sturdy and grounding presence to his role, which really lends his performance credibility during “Chip On Your Shoulder.” With a smooth vocal sound and great tonal quality and clarity, the handful of moments that sings in solo or duet outside of said number are a valuable addition to the overall performance.
Omigod- Omigod, you guys! Valory Myers has truly won the prize— she sings, she acts, she dances, making her so perfectly qualified— Omigod you guys! Valory Myers’ portrayal of Elle Woods is textbook Legally Blonde. All the components fall into place easily when she steps on the stage in her first (of many) pink outfits of the evening. There is genuine talent behind her singing approach (not to mention glorious and extraordinary sound and range.) When she dances, she’s channeling her infectious, giddy-hopeful energy all throughout her body and spreading it to everyone on stage nearby. And her emotions penetrate every fiber of the Elle Woods’ being. Myers knocks songs like “What You Want” right off its axis and has the whole audience applauding her the entire way. Versatile and vivacious, Myers delivers a myriad of emotions, each appropriately tuned to the moment, making Elle Woods a dynamic and vibrant character. Whether she’s “shaking junk” or delivering the show’s title number (and its endless reprises and remixes), Valory Myers is living her best life as Elle Woods and is totally being “Legally Blonde.”
So what are you waiting for? Get you tickets to a sensational production with wonderfully energetic and engaging performances all throughout. There’s hardly a better way to reintroduce yourself to the world of live, in-person theatre, than with The Suburban Players’ production of Legally Blonde.
Running Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission
Legally Blonde plays through June 13, 2021 with the Suburban Players housed at the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in the Hermes Rafailides Center— 2504 Cub Hill Road in Carney, MD. For tickets please call (443) 390-2981 or email Suburbanplayers2504@gmail.com
