Review: ‘Legally Blonde’ packs a peppy, pink punch

She’s pretty, and can be petty, in pink.

Elle Woods, the Gemini sorority president with two Capricorn moons, has returned to the stage to pointedly and entertainingly disprove those who doubt the brains behind her beauty.

The star of “Legally Blonde” the musical is still chasing her man to Harvard Law School in the stylish production that opened Tuesday at St. Paul’s Ordway Center. But she’s also winning us over with her panache as she discovers her own brilliance.

As played with nuance and depth by Kathryn Brunner, Elle is a crash test dummy for love. She freezes up and loses all good sense around onetime beau Warner Huntington III (Nicholas McDonough), an emotionally oblivious fellow who is trying to fit her into his pre-planned life.

But inspired by her diehard and ever energetic Delta Nu sorority sisters and by Harvard Law teaching assistant Emmett Forrest (Michael Thomas Grant as a font of integrity), Elle eventually finds her calling and her right man.

“Blonde” has been deftly reimagined by director Cynthia Ferrer, choreographer Dana Solimando and projection designer Jonathan Infante, who artfully evokes all the scenography. The musical is fleet on its feet with cheer-inspired “Bend and Snap” dance moves and perky, indefatigable attitude to match.

Under the spry baton of orchestra leader Ryan O’Connell, who tapped a number of Minnesota musicians for the pit, and with Anne E. McMills’ sharp lighting design and Adam Ramirez’s appropriately glitzy-to-subdued costumes, “Blonde” flows so smoothly from one realm to another that it’s easy to forget that it’s a big ol’ honking production.

Aside from creating a winning style and lyrical flow, the creative team also has muted the question of whether this 2007 Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin musical, which is based on the 2001 film, is dated.

The story has been updated for the social media age, with selfies and contemporary cultural references. The sorority sisters, who form a cheeky Greek chorus, look like Instagram fitness models.

And the production even addresses a tricky point in the pivotal courtroom scene where Elle’s insight could potentially be misconstrued to tip into homophobia. That bit has been turned into a leaping, bleeping celebration of fabulousness.

Brunner takes us into Elle’s full journey from comic desperation to genial dominion, imbuing her with mercurial brooding and grounded strength. And both her acting skills and singing are strong.

The show has a subplot around Elle’s salon attendant Paulette (Anthea Neri-Best), who fled an abusive relationship with common law husband Dewey but has a promising start with hunky UPS deliveryman Kyle.

Neri-Best kills it, making the number “Ireland” into a dreamy showstopper. Kudos also to Nathan Madden for his rangy turn as both worthless, beer-swigging Dewey and Chippendale-adjacent Kyle.

It’s easy to be seduced by “Blonde” because the striking performances come not only from actors such as Edward Staudenmayer as Professor Callahan leading “Blood in the Water” and Jane Papageorge as Brooke Wyndham getting everyone “Whipped Into Shape.” But there’s also Ricky, the purse pooch who has us going awww as he performs tricks as Bruiser.

By the time “Blonde” gets to its nods to “Riverdance” and the moonwalk, we see that the show is not just about Elle’s triumph, but also a celebration of the power of musical theater to rope in disparate elements into a whole.

And that’s apropos, for this production feels like a big, unreserved embrace.

When: 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun.

Where: Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $45-$164. 651-224-4222 or Ordway.org.