Legally Blonde: The Musical was hit with fresh woes on Saturday, as fans blasted the decision to scale back the show to a 'concert version' due to widespread illness among the cast.
The show has been plagued by drama in recent days after it was alleged that stars and Hannah Lowther have been embroiled in a 'brewing feud', which both have furiously denied.
Now, fans who purchased tickets to see the show in Milton Keynes have expressed their upset, after learning that the show would be turned into a 'concert' rendition after multiple cast members were unwell.
Footage shared on showed bosses telling the audience that as some stars had stepped in at the last minute, the show would consist of the cast sat together on stage delivering the lines and musical numbers via a script, with any scene and costume changes eliminated.
While some fans praised bosses for finding a way to avoid cancelling the show, others complained that it wasn't the performance they'd bought tickets to see.
One TikTok video showed an introduction delivered to the audience about the scaled-back show, where one of the bosses told the theatre: 'As you've probably heard by now we've had an extraordinary week of horrible illness through our brilliant company on and off stage.
Legally Blonde: The Musical was hit with fresh woes on Saturday, as fans blasted the decision to scale back the show to a 'concert version' due to widespread illness among the cast
'They've been working so so hard to keep the show on, and last night everyone worked through the night to make sure we have a fantastic version of the show for you today.'
Some fans commented: 'We attended tonight. The cast sang amazingly, Jodie was amazing as Paulette however it's not the West End production we paid for.
'No staging, no costume changes apart form the interval, no props, no dogs and hardly any dancing. Mostly everyone sat on chairs and some reading from scripts.
'Amazing if it was a rehearsal but we paid £70 each for a ticket so will be asking for a refund. Such a shame because the cast were doing their best;
'Should have cancelled and given refunds - nothing against the cast but that's so unprofessional;'
'Although you got 'a show' I'd 100% be asking for a refund… very bad if they do not give you anything!;
'I would be demanding a refund. Absolute cop out by the producers/directors just to keep their money;'
'All love and respect for the cast doing their very best, but this is poor from the company who definitely should've postponed instead of trying to hold on to the money & avoid cancelling, it's perfectly fair and valid for people to feel like they didn't get the show they paid for with no choreography no props no costumes no sets and script reading on stage, especially people who've travelled for hours & the tickets weren't cheap!;'
'It looks like a GCSE drama rehearsal! Don't get me wrong I'm gutted for the cast to be so terribly ill they can't perform and even more gutted for the audience, but this is bad bad management on the productions part to do this with virtually no notice to paying viewers;'
Defending the show, one theatregoer said: ''It felt less like a concert and more of a relaxed performance without props and all the set! We still saw the whole show but in a different way. I was still beyond blown away by the talent on that stage! This really shows what theatre is all about!! Absolutely smashed it!!;'
The show has been plagued by drama after it was alleged that stars Amber Davies (pictured) and Hannah Lowther have been embroiled in a 'brewing feud', which both have denied
Fans who bought tickets to Saturday's show in Milton Keynes learned the performance would be scaled-back to a 'concert version,' with some expressing their fury in the comments
Another video shed more light on the toned-down show, with the caption: 'There was no show, scripts were on stage, the majority of the cast were not there, outrageous that we were not pre-warned about this.
'The show should have been cancelled and people should have been offered a refund.'
One fan commented: 'At this point I think cancellation and refund would be better;'
'I'm going Wednesday and I'm honestly going to be fuming if this happens. Understand that illness happens but at least cancel and or offer a refund, this isn't what we have paid for. Scripts on stage is atrocious;'
'I agree with you. I'm not sure how people are defending this, tickets are up to almost £70. nothing against the actors because absolutely not their fault but this is not what you paid for!;
'Wait wait WAIT! An option was not given for refund?! Like you showed up and we're told 'It's the concert or nothing'?
'I have seen shows need to go concert before but they always give the option for people to either stay for the concert OR take a refund. Forcing people to pay a full price ticket for a concert is diabolical if that's the case;'
Last week, both Amber and Hannah hit back at allegations they were embroiled in a behind-the-scenes 'feud.'
Strictly star Amber was earlier this week.
Admitting she is suffering from burnout, the star departed the stage and role as leading lady Elle Woods which was taken over by understudy Hannah.
Italia Conti Academy-trained Hannah, who is a favourite with 1.3m followers, is said to have simmering tensions behind the scenes, with peers believing Hannah to be 'a million times better', as revealed by earlier this week.
Hannah then took to Instagram to squash any rumours of a feud, with Amber shortly afterwards showing her support in the comments.
Sharing a clip of herself pinning her hair ahead of a performance, Hannah captioned the video: 'One day I hope that we will be able to live in a world where women aren't pit against each other and compared ALL the time...
She continued: 'A world where we can all succeed, thrive or just simply exist without people trying to tear us down.'
Alongside the clip, she added: 'Exhausting actually…please be kind', alongside a love-heart emoji.
Following her post, Amber quickly showed her support for her understudy, commenting: 'We've got each other always', alongside a love heart emoji.
It comes after Amber gave fans a health update this week, in which she confessed that her appearance in The Great Gatsby, her last-minute call-up to Strictly and her immediate start in Legally Blonde had affected her health.
Alongside a selfie, she penned two lengthy captions explaining that she was fending off illness and taking antibiotics, thus being off-stage indefinitely. However, she did not address the mid-stage departure or Hannah.
Fans swarmed TikTok to comment on Amber's departure, while praising Hannah, who usually plays Margot, Elle's friend, in the musical based on the 2001 film.
Keen to explain her absence to fans, Amber's Instagram announcement read: 'Ok update: After talking to my doctor, being on antibiotics and trying to recover whilst doing shows is getting me and my health NOWHERE...
'Been working on this lingering illness for a month now so I'll be off again from my beautiful Elle Woods... This is the last thing I want but there's no other way...
'I fear if I keep 'pushing through'. I will be battling with this for longer than I need to be. I can't wait to be back on stage and feel like me again!!! Thank you - Amber x'.
She continued in another post: 'Also I keep having to remind myself I went from Gatsby, to a last min Strictly then to Elle so my body's evidently fighting for its life...
'I also keep reminding myself that it's ok to be poorly, we are human. Just a reminder there's absolutely never a right time to be poorly in a musical theatre schedule.'
Fans took to TikTok to laud Hannah for stepping in, with an audience member sharing a clip from the show and writing: 'Hannah Lowther went from Margot to Elle mid show in act 1 this afternoon! She's a superhero!!!'
The user also penned a caption reading: 'Unfortunately Amber Davies became unwell during the show today so Hannah Lowther had to switch from Margot to Elle! I love covers/swings/Alts'.
It comes after insiders exclusively revealed to Mail+ that the growing attention surrounding Hannah's performances has become difficult for the show's cast to ignore.
Last month, when Amber was ill and forced to miss several performances while on antibiotics, Hannah stepped in – and the reaction online was immediate and brutal.
'Hannah's energy is unmatched,' commented one user, while another said: 'Amber gives us nothing while Hannah gives us everything.'
Last month, Amber left audience members shocked when, during a public first preview performance, she was seen briefly losing track of the choreography and left looking across the stage at Hannah to copy her movements.
Within hours, the clip – filmed by an audience member – had circulated widely online, prompting Amber to address her fluffed routine in a TikTok video, describing the moment as 'embarrassing'.
She explained: 'I forgot there was a dance break coming. I feel like you can see me looking at Hannah and copy what she does with her hands. So yeah, that's embarrassing, that's going to be in the public domain for the rest of my working career.'
