Video by Hope Daluisio and Chris Fonte
This spring Cabrini University Theater is putting on Legally Blonde the musical. Legally Blonde (movie) hit theaters on July 13, 2001. The comedy/romance is centered around a blonde sorority girl, Elle Woods, at UCLA who is unexpectedly dumped by her boyfriend Warner because she was not “serious” enough for him as he entered law school. The comedy goes on as Elle Woods follows Warner to law school where she gains legal smarts and falls in love with an unexpected fella.
Six years later Legally Blonde hit Broadway premiering first to a VIP audience that MTV put on in September before actually hitting Broadway in October. The musical has two acts to it and 18 musical numbers.
This is the first time Cabrini theater will be charging for tickets to the show in recent memory. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Also, there will be assigned seats for the first time this year, so it will no longer be first-come first-served. Within a week of tickets hitting the box office, the musical sold out all eight performance nights, forcing them to have to open up their last dress rehearsal on Tuesday, April 18.
Junior early childhood special education major Jackie Witherow, who plays the lead role as Elle Woods, said, “When it comes to getting the chance to put on a fun and energetic show like Legally Blonde, I am most looking forward to sharing this story with the audience. This show is unlike most shows this theater has done in the past and I think the audience will be surprised with the level of talent and creativity that has been put in this program.”
Writing major and theater minor, Johnny Myers, plays the other lead role in the musical as Emmet Forest. Myers is looking forward to putting on such a powerful show to the audience and believes that after this performance it will remind us all that authenticity is a great thing. “Though the insanely comedic and over the top, Legally Blonde sends a fantastic message about empowerment and being true to yourself,” Myers said.
Lone senior Samantha Murray plays Paulette in the musical. Murray has been in all eight productions since she was a freshman here at Cabrini and is sad that her Cabrini theater career is coming to an end. As Murray reflects on her time here in Cabrini’s theater, she says the people is what she will miss the most. Murray said, “Shows come and go. Parts do not matter because at the end of the day it’s all about the people who make the production worth while.”
