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Parents need no longer admonish their children to stay close to adults in public.

Elle Woods, the protagonist in the stage adaptation of Legally Blonde, depends enough upon her boyfriend to teach any viewer about the importance of handholding.

As the offspring of the 2001 box office sweetheart, Broadway’s Legally Blonde, The Musical has some big, pink, four-inch-heel shoes to fill.

Although the producer Dori Bernstein has expressed enthusiasm for the play’s message that “It’s cool to be smart,” the stage version’s manipulation of the film’s plot prevents the play from strutting its stuff.

Granted, there’s no shortage of strutting. A formidable ensemble of dancers, singers, and – you guessed it – blondes ensures that the energy on stage never drops below that of a frat party and that the musical has all the spunk of the movie and then some.

Realizing fans’ high regard for the film, the stage actors throw themselves completely into accurately portraying the play’s beloved, if somewhat stereotyped, characters.

“I love the movie, but it’s my take on the character,” said Asmeret Ghebremichael of her approach to the part of Pilar, Elle’s sassy sorority sister.

All of the actors prove quite capable of bringing the movie’s spirit to the stage. Some in the audience said the musical was more entertaining because the story happened right in front of them.  The action’s proximity, however, can also be overwhelming. When paired with the broad hand gestures and exaggerated expressions of Broadway, the effervescent tone of the movie seems too bubbly. The distracting hot pink sets deemphasize rather than revitalize jokes recycled from the movie.

Music further heightens the ridiculousness of what seemed a comical but plausible set of characters on screen.

The unceasing chirpiness of the show’s opening number  “Omigod You Guys” is annoying enough to dissuade the most militant of atheists from ever again taking the Lord’s name in vain and to convince most of the audience to swear off pink for life.

Lack of subtlety is easily enough forgiven in the world of Broadway adaptations, but Legally Blonde, The Musical alters the movie’s plotline and intended moral.

As in the movie, the musical’s Elle Woods chases her boneheaded boyfriend from L.A. to Harvard Law and learns what it means to rely upon her brains.

But unlike Hollywood Elle, Broadway Elle does not independently pursue her studies in Cambridge. Instead, she relies upon her new, rags-to-riches boyfriend, Emmet, to force her to study.

While Hollywood Elle independently aids her friend in reclaiming a pet bulldog, Broadway Elle turns a listening ear to Emmet, who stands behind her and whispers the appropriate legal jargon.

What replaces Elle’s scenes of independence in the Broadway production? River dancing, of course. Demanding though the Irish art form is, it hardly fills the feminist niche left empty by Elle’s missing professional savvy.

In its finale, the musical makes an attempt to manufacture a shred of feminine strength in Elle by allowing her character to propose to Emmet, another departure from the movie.

This last-ditch effort, however, comes across more as a business transaction than a challenge to social boundaries. Emmet made Elle smart, so why shouldn’t she buy him a new suit and marry him? It’s the least she can do.

When it comes to telling the story of a young attorney who discovers her independence, Broadway could do more.                                           

Natalie Jacewicz is editor in chief of the Tatler, the newspaper of St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis, Tenn.