Review: 'Legally Blonde' the Musical Drag Edition

Caitlin Arcand

No better way to spend the night that gay marriage was legalized than at a drag rendition of Legally Blonde the Musical! Last night, I had the pleasure of watching some of Rhode Island’s finest drag queens lip synch their hearts out to songs from the Broadway hit musical Legally Blonde. The show was put on by dynamic duo Kandi Dishe and Yolandii Fizzure, otherwise known as “Team Terrible,” and Backdoor Broadway at The Dark Lady in Providence, RI. Having known these queens for awhile now, I knew this show was gonna be nothing short of fabulous! And it was truly one of the most entertaining shows I have ever seen. 

Seeing the musical be done with a cast of energetic drag queens brings a whole new life to the show, and the crowd was loving it! Kandi Dishe starred as Elle Woods, and rocked multiple costume changes. From her preppy attire, to blonde wig, to her awesome portrayal of the role, Kandi gave Laura Bell Bundy a run for her money. The crowd loved her performances of “So Much Better” and “What You Want.” Yolandii Fizzure played the hilarious hairdresser Paulette.Her renditions of “Ireland” and “Bend and Snap” were on point and the audience was loving it. Yolandii’s incredible wig took over the stage, literally it took up the entire stage. So perfect.

The Delta Nu sorority girls, also played by drag queens, were so entertaining and adorable in all of their scenes. They nailed their choreography, especially in songs like “Whipped Into Shape” and “Oh My God.” Twidgi Fizzure as Vivian, and Viza Decline as Brooke were awesome in their roles too, bringing more energy than a lot of actual females I’ve seen play the same parts. The cast also featured some non drag queens, such as John McElroy as Callahan, Laura Minadeo as Enid, Josh Kilby as Emmet, and Aaron Panneton as Warner. They were all equally as fabulous and entertaining!  

From the choreography, to the costumes, to the overall staging of the show, it was so creatively done. It was so cool to see one of my favorite shows, that I have seen multiple times, done as I have never seen it before. Sometimes its nice to see something completely out of the ordinary done in the theater world! 

With the popularity of shows like Kinky Boots and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, drag is becoming a huge form of entertainment in the world and I’m so excited about that. It’s such a cool artform and there are so many talented queens in the industry. I hope to see more shows like this in the future, and I know I will certainly be seeing some from Team Terrible and Backdoor Broadway! 

For those of you that live in New England, you definitely need to check these super talented queens out! Turn off your RuPaul Drag Race clips and go see the real thing at Dark Lady!