Art Starter: David Harris

Have you ever seen Legally Blonde: The Musical?
Yes, I recently toured with the musical Wicked as the prince Fiyero, so on a small break between seasons I tripped off to London to see Legally Blonde. I knew that I had been cast in the Australian production when watching the show, so it was even more exciting being in the audience watching it.

What excites you about bringing it to Australia for the first time?
Premiering a brand new show is always exciting. Legally Blonde is a high energy, fun and very entertaining musical, so I know Aussie audiences are going to love it. The preview audiences we have performed to so far have been going off and I think Aussies can relate to the message, the tongue-in-cheek humour and its very funny and witty script. I get excited hearing the audiences laugh so much during the show as we know then that we have delivered the show exactly as intended. In saying that, even though it is very funny, it has great heart also.

What is challenging about playing Emmett?
The challenge playing Emmett is the need for constant monitoring at where I pitch him. Emmett needs to be the anchor of the show amidst a lot of energy, colour and movement. He has to be played subtly with great likability and charm yet with a no-bullshit attitude, so it's a fine line not to be too much of a wet blanket, but also not rise to the hype and energy of the rest of the cast.

What song from LBTM gets stuck in your head?
It's actually one of the songs I sing called Chip On My Shoulder. The line from it I am forever humming is “I don't go to parties a lot/Not good use of the time that I've got/Can't spend hours doing my hair or staying in shape” – kinda sums up Emmett to a tee, actually.

WHAT: Legally Blonde: The Musical

WHEN & WHERE: Sydney Lyric, The Star until Saturday 19 January