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Credit: Thea Pipe

Junior Ellen Terzino plays the lead role of Elle Woods. She celebrates her near future, not knowing she will be heartbroken soon.

“It was an absolute triumph,” said principal Christopher Auguinaga, “that provided our community [with] a great message on women’s empowerment and also support for the LGBTQ+ community.”

On Friday Dec. 2nd, Loy Norrix Performing Arts opened “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” a ravishing show that took the audience through a two-and-a-half hour whirlwind of emotions. 

The show starts off in Los Angeles, California with a young, pretty, blonde girl named Elle Woods. Her sorority sisters have convinced her that her boyfriend, Warner, is going to propose to her, when instead he reveals that he is breaking up with her because she is not “serious” enough for him. If he wants to be successful in politics, he can’t be with her anymore. 

Elle takes this as a challenge, and decides that she will go to Harvard Law, to prove that she can in fact be “serious.” She makes it into Harvard, where she runs into her now ex-boyfriend Warner, and his girlfriend Vivienne. Elle’s first day of classes don’t go so well, as she is wholly unprepared. However, she eventually finds a friend, Emmett, who is kind and helps her along the way. 

The costume and set-building crew perfectly embodied the necessary elements to create this work of art. Elle’s all pink “majorette” costume in particular was stunning. It was inspiring how quickly the stage crew was able to change the set from the “Delta Nu” sorority house to the College of Harvard Law. 

The quality of the songs in this performance was exquisite. It’s hard to pick a favorite, however the song “Omigod You Guys” seemed to be very popular with the audience. 

The LN theater department has been preparing for this show since mid-September. The cast and crew have spent countless hours at the school, working things through and perfecting their roles. The cast has been staying after school until about 5:45 almost every day for over 2 months. 

“It’s a lot of dedication. We have to spend a lot of time working things over and over again,” said junior Braeden Davis who played the male lead Emmett Forrest. 

The students must prepare themselves emotionally, physically and vocally. They need to be ready for acts requiring them to run around and dance all while singing and remembering their lines. 

“I had to really build up stamina for this one, it’s a workout every night I do it,” said junior Ellen Terzino, the female lead Elle Woods. 

Terzino and Davis have a background in theater together, playing Belle and the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical” at Center Stage Theatre. This was one of Terzino’s bigger roles, giving her a lot more stage time than previous years, which is something she had to adjust to.

Not only did Terzino have to adjust, but the entire cast had to completely alter their schedules in the week prior to opening night. During tech week, they spent more time than ever to make sure that the show was perfect.

 “…It’s really tiring. We’ve been here everyday this week… until like 10:30-11:00 [P.M],” said junior Hana Westrick, who played Paulette Buonofonte. 

Overall, the cast agreed that it takes an immense amount of work to prepare for a show like this, both on and off the stage. They have to sacrifice their free time and their vulnerability, all to create a masterpiece. 

Principal Auginaga stated that he has “never seen a better musical.”

“It’s just a lot of work, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else,” said senior Georgia Hutton, as Vivienne Kensington. 

The theater department has a lot of work to do off stage as well. The department hires people to help them with all of the costumes and numerous different sets that are included in the show. They do “set-building” over the weekends to get everything up and running in time. 

“There’s a lot of roles and there’s a lot of different locations for different scenes to take place,” said drama department head and director of the musical, Dan Lafferty. “That was probably the biggest hurdle, just like dealing with all the complexities and the size of the show.” 

After months of hard work and preparation, everything finally came together and the cast was able to showcase their talents with an inspirational production. The performance left many of the actors feeling a rush of emotions, which they were able to share with everyone afterwards. 

“My favorite part of the shows are the audience reactions to the stuff that comes out of nowhere,” said Davis. 

There were several parts of the show in which the audience erupted in a roar of laughter after something unexpected happened. For example, when a real dog came on stage and walked through the crowd, or when dramatic information is revealed to the audience during the court case. 

The responsive audience helps the actors gain momentum during the show. 

“It was really fun. I like when the audience is responsive,” said Sam Davis, who played Warner Huntington III. 

With these positive responses from the audience, the cast can reflect on all the hard work and dedication that they’ve put into the last few months after every show. They all praise each other for coming together to make it everything they wanted it to be and more. 

“It took so much work to get here, and I’m just thoroughly impressed by everyone,” said Terzino.

Several of the actors stated that it was all completely worth it in the end, once they were able to get up on stage and do what they love most.