A SHOW SO FUN, IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAYL
Welcome to Legally Blonde, wrapped in a rainbow flag. Yep, LeGAYlly Blonde: The Dragsical is the story of Elle Woods with a gay twist, and at last night’s opening, fun simply festooned the Moonshine Room at Club Café. This is not a preachy appropriation; it’s simply a hysterical satire by writer, producer and director Nerkolaus Lurenzone (Nick Lorenzen) of Lurenzone Theatrics, with ensemble member Audi van Dyke acting as co-producer, proving that you are in the company of folks who can absolutely multi-task. And while we get re-written dialogue and some singing from the cast in this lampoon, both dialogue and singing are lip-synced from Legally Blonde the Musical. This means that actors overly enunciate their dialogue with facial expressions that are priceless. And did I mention dancing? Choreographer Regina Jackson and Dance Captain Chantal thee Angel offer magnificent movement that makes you merry.
Wilhelmina LaDessé, looking like a young Britney Spears, plays Elle, your stereotypical dumb blonde. Or is she? Yes, she is. That may explain why all hands are on her deck: “Elle Woods Dresser” Just JP and “Elle Woods Hair” Nicole Welch & Erika Jarvis keep LaDessé looking foine with out-and-out flawless hair! In fact, that hair proves to be handy later in this cabaret gender-bending transtastic frolic: Brooke Wyndham (joel), a famous fitness instructor, appears to have murdered someone and since she happens to be a sorority sister of Elle’s, the Blonde becomes her lawyer, winning the case thorough knowledge of the science of hair care.
Elle’s heartthrob is Warner Huntington III (the Third for those who can’t read Roman numerals), played by Jimmy Taint with devilish glee. Elle follows her heart to Harvard University, only later to be dumped by the owner of said heart. Regina Jackson plays Vivian Kensington, Warner’s fiancée. Or is she? Vivian seems to have a strong attraction to Elle. And who wouldn’t want Vivian with that marvelous make-up?! So it’s only right that Elle should have a conscience made up of three besties who at times moonlight as invisible guardian angels — Chanel thee Angel, Izzy Ready and Hazel Afrodite make up a trio of tantalizing terpsichoreans who, like, totally thrillingly trill.
The Bottoms’ podcast host Mike Montiel plays Elle’s confidant Paulette Bonafonte with a charming sweetness only barely hiding the character’s wink/wink, nudge/nudge about the whole Queer thang. Her “bend and snap” romance with a package delivery person is first class all the way, and all the way is exactly what happens. If there’s a true villain here, it’s Professor Callahan, played by Kai (Killah Croc) Storm. This law school professor behaves very UN-teacher-like. He makes a suggestive pass to Elle, which only further enforced my suspicions about how she got into Harvard in the first place. But she quits, and leaves his office in an outrage. Alex Wedgefry plays Emmet Forrest who works as Professor Callahan’s assistant, and later becomes Elle’s assistant, um, companion, um, friend. He provides help and encouragement to Elle, as she struggles through both law school and life.
The ensemble includes Ashley Madison, Stabitha Christie, and Andi van Dyke, all of whom boldly go where characters are needed; they play it all, they do it all, and they do it all brilliantly. And what can I say about Bruiser Woods? In Legally Blonde II (two), we discover that Elle’s chihuahua is gay. Here, wearing a puppy mask with a kinky full-body leather outfit, Lemon crawls around the floor in a very doglike manner, providing laughs and possibly a few fleas.
Pitting Elle against Vivian, Professor Callahan against Elle, even Emmet against Professor Callahan, we really want Jimmy to take a hike, until surprisingly (or not) he ends up not with Vivian or Elle, but with Emmet. OK, OK, Elle and Vivian end up a couple as well. (I wouldn’t have given away the ending, but LeGAYlly Blonde only had two performances May 10 & 11, 2024. If it comes back, forget you heard anything from me.)
Lastly, a big Harvard Rah! Rah! Rah! for stage manager Mx Matched Socks, who provided the grounding for a show that is all levity with great-sounding actors moving about the audience. And there’s also yummy food being served at Club Café. Drag me to heaven.
LeGAYlly Blonde: The Dragsical
Lurenzone Theatrics
reviewed May 10, 2024
ends on May 11, 2024
Moonshine Room at Club Café, 209 Columbus Avenue in Boston
for tix about other events, call 617-536-0966 or visit Club Cafe
