Sarasota’s Players Centre opens ‘Legally Blonde the Musical’

“Legally Blonde the Musical” wasn’t a huge hit on Broadway, compared to the extravagant musicals that run for years and years. But it ran for 16 months and, despite its pop-movie roots, garnered a lot of praise from the hard-edged critics in New York City. Two U.S. tours have been popular with audiences. The Broadway cast album was a big hit, too.

A new production from the Players Centre for Performing Arts in Sarasota opens Wednesday.

The story is about Elle Woods, a stereotypical California girl. Her boyfriend Warner dumps her, and Elle decides to follow him to graduate school. She ends up being accepted to Harvard, and realizes she is way out of her league. Instead of giving up, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, overcoming snobbery and scandals.

It’s mildly inspirational, but most critics have noted that it’s insubstantial, and that it succeeds because of its energy and charm.

The music and lyrics are by Lawence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and the book comes from Heather Hach. “Legally Blonde The Musical” is by far the most well-known show any of them have had a hand in writing.

For the Players Centre production, Miranda Wolf leads the cast as Elle. Dennis Clark is the director and choreographer.

Details: Dec. 7-23, The Players Centre for Performing Arts, 838 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. 941-365-2494, theplayers.org.

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Sarasota’s Players Centre opens ‘Legally Blonde the Musical’."