Talking with me were:
Emma Dawson Duthie – Vice President (and lead on Publicity)
Dominic Lewis – Director
And
Laura Green – Elle Woods in the upcoming show.
I began by asking the talented trio how they became involved with Allegro, one of the leading amateur musical theatre groups in the city, since being established as the Barclay Bruntsfield Drama Group in 1977.
Emma: I’ve been with the company for 10 years now. I’d done a year of professional stage training, but realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do as a career; but I still had this love, this passion. So, weirdly, I was working in a bar, and the president back then phone the bar to book an area for a club pub quiz. I got chatting to her over the phone…so literally within a week of leaving theatre school I was part of Allegro!
Emma found herself coming back the following year, and was soon lending her ‘day job’ skills as a marketing professional much to the company’s benefit!
Dominic: I joined when the company was putting on Made in Dagenham, where I played Harold Wilson — (gesturing to his svelte self) they’re not very historically accurate! I did some of the lockdown concerts (Allegro kept very busy with not 1 but 3 online productions!), fell in love with Legally Blonde the Musical, applied for director, and here I am!
Laura: I’m brand new to the company! I knew some people already, like Dom who were involved or done shows before. I loved Legally Blonde, so that’s what drew me towards it. I’ve felt very welcomed from day one, just so included, so welcomed, even by people that I didn’t know already. I loved that!
I ask about how the company goes about choosing its shows, being famous for choosing less well known musicals to wow Edinburgh audiences with.
Emma: Well…pre-lockdown we’d announced Sister Act as our 2020 show, which obviously didn’t happen! When we got back to thinking of live theatre we didn’t think Sister Act was quite right, and the rights weren’t available anymore. It’s really tough, particularly right now, to find shows with rights available that suit our innovative angle as a company. Old school musicals are always available, but those aren’t really what we want to do.
We are lucky to have a really strong cast of dancer and singers. We want to find intellectual properties that use all of those talents. It’s a fun show, it’s a good seller, an easy watch and it’s got dogs in it!
So when company secretary, Stacy, noticed the rights for Legally Blonde the Musical had come available, there was little hesitation. Some of Allegro had done the show with another company in years past, and Emma was a huge fan.
Emma: We always begin by looking at the company we’ve already got. We ask ourselves, if no-one else came along, could we cast it from the membership as is? If the answer is yes, then anybody else joining is a bonus.
Allegro are taking nothing for granted, having been in rehearsals for weeks before we spoke. Each of them agrees that their preparations have been excellent, and that show is flowing well already. Turning to Laura I ask her experience of stepping into the leading role…
Laura: It is very daunting: I think it’s such a well known role that you almost have fear of people’s expectations. You just need to get out of your own brain, and say you’re doing it as you would do it. That said it’s very exciting…it’s a very fun role. It’s also funny, there’s not too many serious moments, so you can have fun and not worry too much. It’s a really intense experience, and such a wonderful cast of characters who are great to interact with. Plus everybody playing them is great as well – which helps!
And has Laura’s opinion of Elle or the show changed since seeing it ‘from the inside’?
Laura: It’s a lot bigger than I expected! When you watch it as an audience member you see there’s lots going on, but when you actually do it…wow! There’s so much: set changes, costume changes, but it’s not changed my view of the character. I still love her, and the show as much as I did as a fan. I just feel very privileged!
I ask Dominic’s experience as director, has it been fun, has it rubbed any of the shine of his own love for the show as a fan?
Dominic: Yeah, it’s been an absolute dream show of mine to direct. I was lucky enough to choreograph it before, but I really wanted to go into the directing gear. I’ve really held it dear to my heart.
I really like the themes and the messages of it as a show. It’s quite a collaborative in the sense of being ensemble driven with so many different, and featured roles It’s a really fun one to direct, even for Laura even though she never leaves the stage! (Laura nods her agreement enthusiastically)
It’s very much Elle’s story, but she’s always got a support network around her, and those parts are fabulous, no matter what part you have. Supporting cast gets to be on loads, which is lovely, which we know isn’t always the case with other productions.
And have there been any surprises, good or otherwise, in staging the show…
Dominic: Well the biggest challenge with Legally Blonde is the set, as in it’s set in about 400 different locations…so it’s a very set heavy show compared to others. We know it going in, but it does mean for example, our entire rehearsal today is about movement of the show from the prop angle. For so many others shows, you don’t need to this at all, but I want to make sure the cast feels prepared going into our technical rehearsal next week, and it flows.
That’s been a challenge, but it’s certainly one we’ve been able to overcome. We have a great tech team to work with, and then there’s the dogs…
Dear Reader I doubt I have to introduce any of you to the old saying regarding working on stage with children and animals, but…
Dominic: They’re the cutest thing! You do have to do a lot of extra planning though, around welfare, and a challenge I haven’t had to work with before. We’ve had kids, but not dogs.
The dogs, Bruiser from the Chihuahua Café in Edinburgh, and Archie, star pet of the show’s choreographer have proved highly reliable cast members.
Turning to the show again, I ask Laura how it’s been to actually play the central role…
Laura: I came into the show knowing the soundtrack off by heart — I think a lot of the company did! It’s so exciting to grow up loving the songs, then getting to sing them on stage. I love those songs, I just love them. I’ve also never been on stage at the Church Hill, so I’m really looking forward to that!
Emma: They’re so catchy. I keep catching my husband whistling so much of it, and he’s like, ‘those bl**dy songs!’ I know the audience is going to come out singing the songs too!
Laura: The ensemble is in the majority, so you’ve always got them backing, and it just gives everything such a good feel.
This will be Allegro’s first live staging since pre-2020, how are they all feeling?
Emma: We’re so excited. We’ve been doing it for over 40 years at the Churchill, so it’s just nice to be home.
The online concerts were great, but they’re just not the same. We’ve got a very supportive audience where the same people will come back to watch what we do. I’m sure they were watching online concerts, but just to have those faces watching you again…I cannot wait! Nothing beats it.
Especially after the first song in this show, which really hits the ground running…it’s going to me emotional. It just feels like life is getting back to normal, which is lovely for everyone involved, and the church which hosts us.
I point out that since the theatres re-opened post lockdowns, that choosing a crowd pleaser seems extremely good sense to me.
Emma: Absolutely. This isn’t the time to take risks. It’s a great thing to do to to, to push the boat out…we had that conversation two weeks ago for next year’s show. There are a couple of shows available which would be great like we’ve done in past, but they’re not going to put bums on seats.
As much as I would love to be in those shows, the person in the street could be like ‘”I don’t even know what that is!’ Right now we can’t afford that risk.
Emma: I mean, we’re a little fish in a very big pond, but everyone’s just trying to keep their heads above water. For now, with future shows, we can’t waste a cent, can’t take risks. It’s a shame because Allegro was always the risk taking company. I’m thinking of when I first started, some of the shows we did, like Loserville, nobody had heard of it, but it was one of the best shows I’ve ever done!
It’s sad we can’t do that now, but give us a couple of years!
Are there any enduring effects of lockdown?
Emma: I do all the marketing, so I wouldn’t say it’s been a challenge, but we have had to think about how to market more efficiently. Normally we would do a couple of trailers and such, but we just can’t…because we haven’t done a proper show to get money behind it. Fingers crossed after the success of Legally Blonde, it’ll be nice to have more of a budget to work with.
The cost of everything is up, even the set…it’s double the amount from three years ago. That’s been the biggest challenge from a company point of view post lockdown.
Dominic: For me it’s about making sure that everyone feels comfortable being back together. Everyone is so excited, but obviously people have different feelings, and it could be overwhelming for some, getting back to performing in front of each other. It’s great, but it’s been so important to make sure we’re creating a safe, inclusive environment.
Emma: That’s one thing that we, from a committee point of view, well even at the start of this year it wasn’t clear exactly what was going on. We could have got to May, or June and things could have totally changed. In the end we had to place our hearts on our sleeves, and say ‘this is where we belong: we have to get back on stage!’
And how was Laura’s audition experience?
Terrifying. They always are! But not cause of anybody. I just don’t enjoy auditions, does anyone? The best feeling is when you walk out (of the room we conducted the interview in!)
The panel are nothing to be terrified of, it was a very chilled environment, even if that’s not how you felt inside. Everyone was supporting each other, but there’s no getting away from the nerves! You think about it after, and you don’t know why you get yourself so worked out, but that’s how things are.
And it was love at first casting director’s sight?
Dominic: There was a lot of talent, a heap of competition; it’s the most amount of talent I’ve ever seen in 2 days of auditions.
Laura: We did call backs. We were all in the room together. You were watching everybody else go up. I remember sitting there thinking I had no idea what way it was going to go! Even with the chorus, you saw multiple different combinations which worked well together.
Dominic: So many people could have played so many of the roles. I could have cast this show about three times over!
Emma: Even the interest we had. In a normal production, we would have a maximum of 40-45 playing. Now you’ll get drop-offs, but we have 96 people audition. So 30-odd people weren’t even getting a walk on role in the show! It was amazing to have so much interest, but it made casting quite difficult…I hope they come back next year!
In terms of the audience, is there anything Allegro are hoping to do to surprise their audience? Do they feel restricted by the huge love audience’s already have for the show?
Laura: We’ve focussed on getting the important messages through, and how we’re going to show it so that the audience comes away thinking about it, rather than being throwaway lines. We’re thinking about why we’re saying what we are, and the messages behind those words.
Emma: I’ve done the show before, and there’s bits in this show which didn’t register before. Even in terms of character development, obviously they’re the same, but some have slightly different routes like Enid.
Dominic: For me it’s been really important to acknowledge that though it’s definitely still set in the same time, the 2000’s, but it’s almost like seeing it through the lens of 2022. There are some references we’ve altered, or presented differently. I’m really proud with some of the things we’ve done with some of the characters, such as mixing gender identities in our Greek Chorus. It’s been important to bring it to what audiences would want to see from it nowadays.
I wouldn’t say it will necessarily surprise people, but it will give them a different version of Legally Blonde which isn’t just a cookie-cutter of the pro-show.
Does Laura manage to feel part of the ensemble, or is there an isolation as the heart of the show?
I think, what’s lucky, is that whilst I’m on a lot, it also means I’m working with everyone! The ensemble is split in two: Team Harvard & Team Malibu (Elle’s two worlds as it were), and I’m in scenes with all of them at some point! Maybe I’ve not had as much time to speak with everyone as I would like, I can still chat to anyone, and I’ve never felt out of it. I feel the company has worked really hard to make sure of it: lots of time together, games, chances to get to know one another. Even if you spend weeks not speaking with someone, you don’t feel like strangers.
And has Director Dominic had his cast prepare in any particular ways to get them into the ‘Legally Blonde’ frame of mind?
Dominic: We’ve done a lot of character workshops, and different kinds of exercises around relationships between characters. It was really important for me to get everyone into the spirit of the show at different points, so that the ensemble weren’t just ‘themselves’ in the background. Everyone, particularly ensemble play many characters, going from Malibu sorority girls, to shoppers in a department store. I made sure everyone created unique characters with very different physicalities.
Emma: It’s been so nice to see the development of characters. You’re never just standing in the background.
Laura: Every single person has been directed.
Are any of those characters leaking back into people’s real lives?
Emma: Yes, I’m definitely a sparkling woman…maybe more my Greek Chorus, who’s a bubble sorority girl, and I’m definitely bubbly!
Laura: Some of Elle’s wardrobes is making its way back into mine! Some of the clothes I’m wearing on stage are my own as well! I’m definitely chatty like Elle, but I’m lacking a millionaire dad!
What do Allegro hope the audience is thinking when they’re leaving the theatre?
Laura: I hope they’re thinking how fun it was! That they had a really good time.
Emma: I always want — because this is me when I’m watching a show — I want them to want to want to be up there, even the 90-year old nans! We hope folk walk out thinking, ‘I want to do that too!’.
Laura: We want them to laugh…to relax and enjoy it.
Emma: There’s always bits we find hilarious, but then the audience will give us tumbleweed…but they’ll laugh at something else, so we’ll flip it come the next performance.
And has anything, or anyone surprised the team, in the lead up to opening night?
Dominic: I think one thing that has been really nice to see is watching people grow. The show’s giving people an opportunity they maybe haven’t: could be a role they haven’t played before, or maybe it’s the first time they’ve been brave since the pandemic. There’s a few people in the ensemble, that until these sets of auditions I’d never seen put themselves up. Seeing them grow every week, and smash it, has been a really proud moment. That’s been surprising in a really great way… it’s like, ‘I didn’t know you were hiding all this talent all this time!’
Emma: I know! I’ve known some of these people for years! It’s lovely to see them blossom.
Normally, Allegro would announce their next show to the cast at the tech rehearsals, but this year that announcement will be made when the show opens! Emma promises it’s surprising, but with them same ensemble vibe to Legally Blonde. More cannot be said without incurring the wrath of the committee!
With that, it was time for my final question, would Laura do it again?
Laura: Oh yes, absolutely! I’m just waiting to find out what we’re doing next! This year’s been busy, with the 2020 online shows; this is show 4 of the year! I think Christmas is going to be a nice little break, but then it’s full steam ahead!
A final note from The QR to note that all of these wonderful creative souls manage to put on remarkable productions such as these whilst juggling full time occupations, and other similarly weighty life responsibilities. However I challenge anyone to sit in a room with such an energetic, vital group and come away thinking of their approach and attitude as anything other than professional. One of the great things about going to an Allegro production is that if you enjoy it (and you probably will!), you can get in touch with them, and (talents depending) maybe you’ll be on stage next year!
(All Image Credit: Allegro Edinburgh)
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