After a shaky start, Legally Blonde finished triumphantly following its opening night at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday.

The show was a sell-out, attracting people of all ages, but it took a good half an hour to get going.

Faye Brooks, who plays the title role of Elle Woods, got stronger as the performance progressed.

The cast contains TV personality Les Dennis as Harvard lawyer Professor Callahan and singer and former Brookside actor Ray Quinn as Warner Huntington the Third.

Their performances are good but it is some of the other characters who really steal the show.

Niki Evans shines as both the confidante of Elle and hairdresser Paulette Buonufonte, while Lewis Griffiths, who plays three characters, had the audience on Tuesday in stitches as Kyle the delivery man.

The use of the set is also clever, particularly when the court dock doubles up as a bathroom.

The second half of this musical is a lot stronger than the first. It starts with an energetic number involving fitness instructor Brooke Wyndham, the company and skipping ropes. Not an easy scene to pull off but the actors do it with the greatest of ease.

The songs are also performed with more feeling, the dancing makes you want to get up and join in and there is a comical element to the musical, as well as a strong moral grounding, where good prevails over bad.

There is no way anyone could leave the theatre without a smile on their face.