Legally Blonde The Musical

The success of Legally Blonde, a bright, fluffy musical based on the hit 2001 movie about Malibu princess-turned-Harvard Law student Elle Woods, hangs on the ability of its leading lady and in Lucy Durack, this production has a shining, smiling star.

Durack, floating on a cloud of pink, was a thoroughly likable Woods and led a strong supporting cast, including Rob Mills as heartbreaker Warner, David Harris as the scruffy Emmett and Helen Dallimore as Elle's hilarious beauty parlour confidante Paulette. Dallimore got some of the musical's best moments, especially her interaction with UPS guy Kyle. And both Dallimore and Durack felt the benefit of performing alongside the show's cutest cast members, chihuahua Bruiser and bulldog Rufus.

Moments of the show descended into cliché and there were some clunky stereotypes in the minor characters, but the feel-good nature of the story kept the laughs coming, especially in the courtroom scenes. And though the original nature of the songs means audiences won't be walking out of the theatre singing a memorable hit, the songs pushed the story along and kept things fairly true to the movie's plot.

Unfortunately the Greek chorus idea of having Elle's sorority sisters pop back up at various points to explain parts of the story sometimes made it hard to focus on the lyrics but fans of the film are sure to enjoy this rainbow-bright production.

Running at Lyric Theatre until Saturday 16 December