Major new touring production of Legally Blonde to launch in early 2026

Producers ROYO and Curve will present a major new UK and Ireland touring production of Legally Blonde The Musical in 2026.

Opening at Leicester’s Curve Theatre on 7 February 2026, the production which will play venues across the UK and Ireland up to 7 January 2027, will be directed by Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster.

The co-production follows on from Curve and ROYO’s  successful current co-production of Kinky Boots which is also directed by Foster.

Announcing the production, Foster and Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford said: “Legally Blonde is firmly established in the musical theatre repertoire as a contemporary classic and it’s a pleasure to be reunited with ‘Little Miss Woods – comma – Elle’ in the 2020s. Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin and Heather Hach’s electrifying musical about empowerment, equality and the folly of judging a book by its cover remains pitch perfect and as relevant as ever.

“We have assembled a ‘mad props’ creative team and together we are looking forward to creating a fresh, fun and sunny SoCal production of this great musical. And following the incredible success of Kinky Boots, it’s a thrill to collaborate again with our friends at ROYO. We can’t wait to share the show with audiences across the UK and Europe after Elle takes over Curve in early 2026. Whoever said orange is the new pink was seriously disturbed.”

With casting and the full creative team to be announced at a later date, the initial tour dates announced include a Christmas season at Brighton Theatre Royal from 14 December 2026 to 2 January 2027.

Based on the much-loved Reese Witherspoon film which in turn was based on the novel by Amanda Brown, the musical version of Legally Blonde features music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. The show debuted on Broadway in 2007 and earned seven Tony and 10 Drama Desk Award nominations during its Broadway run. Arriving in the West End two years later, it was nominated for five Olivier Awards – winning three including Best New Musical.

Angela Thomas