The pink was hard to miss. From bubblegum heels to fuchsia dresses, the Citadel Theatre crowd came dressed to match Elle Woods’ Malibu aesthetic. Add two dogs posing for photos at intermission and a Valley Girl chorus that opens the show like a bolt of glitter, and you’ve got the kind of joyful, high-energy production that doesn’t need to be deep to feel totally irresistible.
Legally Blonde, running until August 3, is everything you expect from a summer season closer — fun, frothy, a little silly — and exactly the kind of show that brings people out in droves. Based on the 2001 film and Amanda Brown’s novel, the musical follows Elle Woods, a bubbly sorority queen who follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School to win him back, only to discover her own brilliance and worth along the way.
This new version of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical was produced by Theatre Calgary and remounted with a fresh Edmonton-based backstage crew, including wig and wardrobe teams. Director Stephanie Graham, who also choreographed, returned to help shepherd the transition, and what emerged is as polished and pink as a bottle of nail lacquer.
But it’s also an inspired vehicle for a breakout performance by Calgary-based actor Kelsey Verzotti, who absolutely shines as Elle. With sharp comedic timing, infectious charm and a talent for dance and physical comedy (in platform heels, no less), Verzotti doesn’t just play Elle — she becomes her.
And yet, Verzotti never even intended to audition for the part because of her Chinese heritage.
When we spoke last week, Verzotti admitted it was because of her own biases. “I genuinely thought a white person would play the part,” she says. That assumption stems from lived experience, including a teacher once telling her that she’d never play Anne of Green Gables. (She eventually did — and in PEI, to boot.)
But Graham saw something special in Verzotti, who had originally submitted for the role of Vivian (Elle’s rival). Graham called her directly to ask why she hadn’t auditioned for the lead, and when Verzotti explained, Graham urged her to forget about appearances. “She said she needed to cast for a specific personality trait — a bubbly personality.” Which Verzotti has in spades.
After landing the role, Verzotti put in the work: nine months of twice-weekly vocal coaching, mindset training, and deep preparation to tackle the physically demanding and emotionally layered role. That work paid off. Verzotti’s version of the sorority queen is whip-smart, quick witted and generous. “Elle empowers other women,” Verzotti says. “Legally Blonde is the O.G. Barbie movie — before there was a Barbie movie.”
It’s hard not to see the parallels after Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster captured both critical and audience acclaim. But beyond that, the story’s themes (unlike so many other cringe-y movies of the early 2000s) have aged well. “There are just some things that are still so relevant in terms of how women are treated in male-dominated industries [like law],” Verzotti says. “The essence of Elle is kind of timeless, like the idea of believing in yourself and taking care of the people around you.”
Opening week drew huge crowds, with some audience members lining up early just to snap selfies with Bruiser and Rufus, the show’s canine stars. It’s the kind of turnout rarely seen in Edmonton theatre, and a testament to both the show’s enduring appeal and Verzotti’s magnetic presence.
And no, it’s not the most high-minded production the Citadel has staged, but Legally Blonde is a perfectly cast, pitch-perfect reminder that local theatre can still have wide appeal — and, every so often, reveal the rise of a future star.
Legally Blonde runs at the Citadel Theatre until Aug. 3, with tickets starting at $40.
