Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Right from the start, “Legally Blonde” was very comfortable in its own skin and this very capable and likable touring cast ensures it remains so. Becky Gulsvig, the Broadway understudy now moved up to first-string Elle, doesn’t fully match the technical chops of original star Laura Bell Bundy, but this is a warmer and more empathetic performance. The male romantic lead is in the truly charming hands of D.B. Bonds. Natalie Joy Johnson is delightful as Paulette, hairstylist and character lead. Ken Land, as nasty Professor Callahan and Megan Lewis, as mean Vivienne, could both toughen their cases, but the rest of the supporting cast is really very good."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...With its bouncy score by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, its high-meets-low book by Heather Hach, and its aerobically-charged direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell, this is pure, old-fashioned musical comedy spiced by a little "is he gay or European?" camp. Mitchell's jump-rope number, "Whipped Into Shape" (dazzlingly performed by Coleen Sexton), is a knockout, a "Riverdance" sendup is deftly done, and a song titled "Omigod You Guys" clearly suggests the territory here."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...Much credit is due to playwright Heather Hatch and the husband-and-wife songwriting duo of Laurence O'Keefe ("Bat Boy: The Musical") and Nell Benjamin ("Sarah, Plain and Tall"). They all honor the original film's outline while transforming the show into its own stage creation complete with pop-power ballads and snappy word play. Choreographer/director Jerry Mitchell polishes the writers' work to perfection by making everything flow with a kinetic joy and lots of campy humor."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The first act is charming. Once you get used to the heroine, Elle Woods (a very Witherspoon-esque Becky Gulsvig), and her sorority sisters singing like Alvin and the Chipmunks, it's easy to enjoy director Jerry Mitchell's tongue-in-cheek choreography and the playfully smart lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin. But after intermission, things go perkily downhill. The show loses its irony and what started out as high-energy fun begins to feel relentless--as if somebody suddenly realized they've got to hit all the movie's big moments in 150 minutes and, ohmygod, it's almost that now!"
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...The choreography by Jerry Mitchell ( who doubles as director ) also provides constant motion and athletic musical staging but very little dance per se and nothing to make one say “Wow!” Music, scenery and dance all serve the story well enough, and certainly move it along swiftly in Act I, but they don't captivate, dazzle or charm. If the score and choreography don't have a distinctive stamp to them, why bother spending big bucks to create a musical? Answer: shameless commerce. Legally Blonde the Musical is an easy extension of a popular title with built-in audience recognition."
Chicago Free Press - Recommended
"...It’s easy to dismiss but hard to hate this sweetly forgettable piece of pseudo-feminist fluff. The songs may erase themselves as you hear them, the dance numbers come at you like a heat-seeking missile, but nowadays energy is everything on Broadway. I question whether attention-deficit, multitasking audiences demand a stimulus package every ten minutes but, if so, “Legally Blonde” is catnip for these crowds."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"...With great pleasure we now focus the discussion on the performance of Becky Gulsvig as Elle Woods, possibly the most physically demanding musical starring role of the decade. Gulsvig is on stage virtually the entire show, singing and dancing with inexhaustible enthusiasm. She also has to act a bit and look delectable in pink. Mission accomplished in all categories. Gulsvig receives a lot of help from a superb supporting cast but she carries the show, and with vitality undiminished from opening number to finale."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...The winner of three 2009 Touring Broadway Awards, this company is every bit as strong as the original New York cast. Vivacious Becky Gulsvig (Laura Bell Bundy's Broadway understudy) is a lovable, effervescent, singing/dancing Elle Woods, the Malibu Barbie sorority blonde-with-brains who is determined to win back her man by attending Harvard Law School with him. Natalie Joy Johnson is both engaging and hilarious as Paulette, Elle's buxom new beautician friend who, like Elle, is simply looking for love and a little respect. Elle and her sorority sisters teach Paulette how to be confident and use what God gave her in the show-stopping "Bend and Snap." Audiences will find inspiration watching the two friends helping each other and relying on the girl power that is the heart of this show."
HollywoodChicago.com - Recommended
"...You may not find the “Legally Blonde” Greek Chorus in any Euripides drama or its camouflaged feminist slant in the works of Susan B. Anthony, but this pink-clad production oozes fun and sagacity from its every turn. And that's, like, so worth checking out."
Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended
"...The chirpy Gulsvig has an appealing voice, even if she does seem to be intentionally imitating Kristin Chenoweth, and the creators get the occasional glimmer of a bright idea: the frat guys’ theme is white-boy reggae; Elle’s sorority sisters trail her as a “Greek” chorus. But for the most part, the music, jokes and, surprisingly, Mitchell’s choreography are just as loud, bland and tacky as the show’s product placements (Red Bull, anyone?). Even the girl-power potential is muted—moments where Elle makes choices to empower herself in the film here require prompting by a man. That’s just dumb, Blonde."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...I could find nothing artistic here only a collection of stereotypes and clichés. The choreography was bland, the dancing below pare and the story so weak that the writers had to resort to poor imitations of Irish music and a rip-off of Riverdance."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Not Recommended
"...Here's the deal friends: life is a fleeting proposition. Struggles and conflict are guaranteed to come along without your help but moments of joy must be actively sought out. One must wade through the mud to find these delights. That being said, "Legally Blonde the Musical" is a quagmire of infantile quicksand that threatens to suck you under. Time and money are precious resources that should not to be wasted on such brightly wrapped empty packages."
