OmiGod you guys! Tonight saw the first preview of a new production of Legally Blonde at Regents Park Open Air Theatre. This new production was directed by Lucy Moss and is pretty different to the previous productions of the show. I was there to take it all in and share with you what you need to know.
As with my other first night posts this will be a picture heavy look at the theatre, the stage and the curtain call with little bits of information about the show. If you're waiting for my actual review, that will be posted after my next visit in just under 2 weeks
Located in the heart of Regent's Park, there are no big signs for the show outside - though the bar has been decked out with pink themes inside. There are speciality cocktails in honour of Legally Blonde. The brilliantly named "OMG & T" and "Bend and Schnapps"
This is the "OMG & T". It is the gayest drink I have ever seen. Either that or it's European.
There is no merchandise, just the programme pictured above which is yours for £5.
If you did want a drink or food from some of the various places inside the theatre, get there early as the queues were craaaaaazy!
When you walk in to the main theatre, you are greeted by the sight of this stage:
If you couldn't tell, that is meant to resemble Elle's blonde hair, though some of the comments this picture got on Twitter suggested it looks more like straw, a cornfield or woods in itself. Yeah...
Initially, it was an impressive sight but as I walked closer to the stage, it was really shown up - I think the set would look a bit better if it was just a sea of pink and it was lost altogether, but what do I know?
The show does take place outside so obviously you are vulnerable from the weather. My advice is to come prepared and bring layers - even though today was very warm, it got increasingly colder!
Here are some pictures of the cast from the curtain call:
It was a relatively quick curtain call and the lighting meant any attempts to zoom out for pictures of the whole cast resulted in a blurry pink mess, so I couldnt capture everyone unfortunately.
As for the show itself, you'll have to wait until my review on May 26th for that one, but I will say this is a fantastic cast - Courtney Bowman in particular is a phenomenal Elle. There are some bold changes to this production, with updates to the script with modern technology, current references and the graduation taking place in 2021 - some work incredibly well, some may need improvement but I'm sure it's going to be so much better when I return later this month!
Tickets for Legally Blonde are available here