At the heart of Legally Blonde the Musical is a character who can seemingly be pigeon-holed easily. But Derek Walker, who is directing Free Rain Theatre Company's Canberra premiere production of the show, said that although Elle Woods is written off as a ditzy blonde, there was a lot more to the character than that.
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Elle (played by Mikayla Williams), a sorority girl at UCLA, is dumped by her boyfriend Warner (Damon Grebert-Wade) when he is accepted into Harvard Law School. He thinks she is not serious enough to help him further his political ambitions. Stung, she works hard, also gets into Harvard Law, intending to win him back. But fate might have other ideas in store as she makes new friends and discovers a lot about herself.
Walker – a former Canberran who studied directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art – said Legally Blonde the Musical ''is huge, a big exciting fiesta of song and dance''.
The leads in the show – with book by Heather Hach and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, adapted from the movie and the novel by Amanda Brown – are both professional actors who have recently graduated from the Australian Institute of Music.
''Elle is not your stereotypical blonde,'' Williams said. ''She's judged by her blonde hair and pink is her favourite colour and she knows about fashion.''
But she is also a fun, bubbly person who didn't judge people, Williams said, and a lot of fun to play, though challenging at times.
''I'm not really a girly-girl so the hair and make-up took some getting used to, and the high heels.''
This was her first time in Canberra, she said. Although she found the weather cold compared to Sydney, she enjoyed seeing the sights of the nation's capital and found the predominantly Canberra cast and crew welcoming and full of energy and enthusiasm. She also loved the score and the way it was being performed. ''The band is phenomenal.''
Grebert-Wade said he had been told by many people he would make a good Warner, which he wasn't sure how to take. ''You often see him played as really rude and arrogant.''
But he said it was good to play a character out of his comfort zone, someone overconfident and used to being the centre of attention.
This was his first professional acting job after graduation. He said there were some Canberrans at AIM who ''sent me here with really good vibes''.
And it seemed to have worked out. The word ''family'' was used by more than one person regarding the company. ''We've been rehearsing up to 25 hours a week and they really respond to the challenge,'' Walker said.
Legally Blonde the Musical is at the ANU Arts Centre from July 4 to 27. Tickets $59.50/$50.50. Bookings: 6275 2700 or canberraticketing.com.au and meal and show packages available from Teatro Vivaldi on 6257 2718
