Forget double threats — the performers of Stage West’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical are triple threats.
And if you want to add comedy to the list of skills these performers possess, they would be considered quadruple threats.
Led by Bracken Burns, who plays aspiring lawyer Elle Woods, the talented cast of Stage West’s latest production can do it all; act, sing, dance and make you laugh. All that while having fun doing it.
“It’s just one of those productions that you have to be a triple threat – a true triple threat,” Burns explains. “You have to be able to do all three – acting, singing and dancing — and well. For me, I’m very much a singer-actress and I love doing that, but I also had some dance training while I was taking my masters.”
And for the role made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the Hollywood film version, it was necessary.
“For the dancing scenes, I thought of myself as Elle Woods dancing, and not just me dancing. And that made it easier.”
While the Legally Blonde the movie is comedic in its own right, Burns and her co-stars turn the comedic levels up a notch in the stage version, which is immersed in sporadic song-and-dance scenes.
“I was a pretty big fan of the movie, but I actually love the musical version more. Elle is pretty much a normal version of a musical (character) anyways, and it’s just entertaining from the beginning to the end.”
While many musicals rely heavily on one character, Burns points to the entire cast for making the musical the best it can be. Patrick R. Brown plays the likeable villain Professor Callahan, Daphne Moens commands the stage as Paulette, while Daniel Greenberg plays the kind and honest Emmett Forrest.
“It might be all about Elle, but she comes across so many awesome people and it’s just really entertaining to hear all of their stories,” Burns adds.
As Stage West tells it, the international award-winning musical, Legally Blonde: The Musical follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams as a lawyer.
This action-packed musical explodes on the stage with memorable songs and dynamic dances and, there is one particular scene that the audience loves as much as the actors love performing it. It’s as funny as it sounds, Burns says.
“ ‘Gay or European’ is my favourite scene to do, it’s just brilliant and hilarious and the audiences love it. And of course, he’s gay … or European.”
Stage West’s Legally Blonde: The Musical plays until June 24. For more information or tickets, please visit stagewestcalgary.com.
Krista Sylvester is a freelance writer (and creator of that’s all she wrote) with a journalism background. She has worked for Metro, CityTV and the now defunct FFWD, and specializes in arts and culture, sports, film and entertainment, social issues and more. When she’s not writing, she can often be found at the poker table or ice rink playing hockey.
