University students and Elle Woods fans alike will be bending and snapping their way to the LSU Student Union Theater this weekend.
The LSU Musical Theatre Club presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical” on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. Admission is free to all shows.
Along with the MTC cast, “Legally Blonde” will also feature two live dogs to play the roles of Woods’ and Paulette Bonafonté’s dogs, Bruiser and Rufus. There will be an 11-piece live orchestra under the musical direction of Brian Breen.
The movie musical is based on the story of Elle Woods, a sorority member who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend by applying to Harvard Law School. After being admitted, Woods is ridiculed by fellow students for her femininity. With determination and hard work, she becomes successful and is regarded as a considerable threat by her peers.
The narrative addresses cultural stereotypes and feminism within the workplace.
Director and theatre junior John Michael Moore said “Legally Blonde” was chosen by the MTC for its’ relevance in campus life, including heavy sorority references early in the play and for its popularity and likeability.
“This musical will have a positive influence and effect on every single person in that audience, and I feel like people will leave this show happier than they’ve ever left any other show at LSU,” he said.
Moore considers this musical the best on-campus musical production in the past eight years and one of the grandest shows to be produced.
Marketing freshman Camille Nolan plays Elle Woods. Although unusual for a first-year student to land a lead role, Nolan said her similarity to Woods made her an easy casting decision.
“It’s really easy to connect with her because I go through the same things she goes through, and people think that’s not a thing,” she said. “I think that’s another message of this musical: people don’t realize that there are so many different stereotypes that are going on now, and people don’t think it happens, but it does.”
Woods’ best friend, Paulette Bonafonté is played by university Law Student Alaina Richard.
Richard said the message “Legally Blonde” wants to reinforce to audiences is accepting others for who they are.
“You’re more than you look like on the outside,” she said.
Moore stressed the positive attitude of the show.
“The thing I feel almost every time after rehearsal, especially a full run, is that I’m uplifted,” he said. “There’s something about the message of this show that lifts people out of their seats. I think it’s really going to inspire people to open their eyes. Not everyone is as open minded as they could be. This show
really harps down on the important parts of that.”
Woods’ colleague and love interest, Emmett Forrest, is played by theatre junior Trey Tycer.
“It’s such a real show, and everything is so genuine,” Tycer said. “It allows you to be in the moment and give your fullest performance even though you are singing.”
With the film “Legally Blonde” still as quotable in pop culture today as it was during its 2001 release, audiences are arriving with preconceived notions of what each character is supposed to be like.
“People are going to expect a certain essence about each role,” Moore said. “There’s a matter of bringing them justice and bringing what the audience wants to see from each character, then allowing and trusting my actors to bring their own spin to it and make it real for themselves.”
While the School of Theatre produces musicals approximately once every other year, the MTC spends its other time performing cabarets, staged readings and its annual revue, “Singo de Mayo.” MTC has been officially established at the University for the last three years.
MTC membership is open to all years and majors.
Moore said the end objective for “Legally Blonde” was for the show’s success to gain traction and attention in order to make musical theatre an actual concentration within the School of Theatre.
MTC Board Chair Curran Latas secured the $10,000 grant from LSU Student Government, in exchange for making admission to the production for free.
“There really is this gap between the theatre program and the music program, and neither really does the musical theatre realm justice,” Richard said.
Moore said his hopes for the production’s success is to expose musical theatre as a serious contender for a concentration of study in the School of Theatre.

Gallery • 20 Photos

Anjana Nair

Political communications sophomore Samantha Kennedy plays Serena, music education sophomore Bryonna Crockett plays Pilar, and theatre performance freshman Kate Zenor plays Kate in LSU's Musical Theatre Club's production of Legally Blonde, which will be showcasing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the Union Theatre.