100% Legally Blonde

Gone are the days when a musical society member could spend his or her time in the back row of a chorus with the minimum of involvement in a production.

Nowadays, societies are close, well-knit units where everyone pitches in, and that’s exactly the case with Dundee Operatic and their current production of Legally Blonde.

This is a tight, well-drilled, smoothly-operating unit that smacks of tireless rehearsal and fine tuning.

But even an excellent cast has one or two stand-out performances.

In this category comes Rebecca Waghorn, in the leading role of Elle Woods.

I’ve seen many excellent performances in the Whitehall Theatre and this was one of the best.

It was the complete performance from highoctane numbers to the more meditative title song.

There was sparkle, there was wit, there was 100% excellence.

Thomas Richmond was the ideal Emmett Forrest and Jen Newton also produced a clever and engaging performance as Paulette.

There were too many other quality performances to mention but hats off to Andrew Waghorn (Warner), Jem Clark (Brooke) and Vicki Lorimer (Vivienne).

The Delta Nu girls, too, showed small ensemble performance at its best.

The work director and choreographer Ross Lesslie put into the production was reflected in seamless scene changes, nifty staging and polished choral routines.

In the last category was the opening second act skipping routine, performed with pin-point accuracy. Just one highlight of an excellent production.

Musically, the show was tight as musical director Richard Waghorn tuition engineered confident performances from chorus and principals alike. There’s still a chance to see it, this afternoon and tonight in the Whitehall, with tickets available from the City Box Office.