Presented by the Westwood Theater, the musical adaptation of Amanda Browns’ Legally Blonde creates an impressive mesh between high school naivety and the hardship stemming from true love and heartbreak. Directed by Ms. Hannah Milam, the musical was shown on Thursday, Jan. 31, Friday, Feb. 1, and Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center. Elizabeth Wolf ‘20 and Rebekah Farris ‘19 shared the stage as the lead role, Elle Woods, with Wolf performing in the Friday and 2:00 p.m. Saturday showing, and Farris performing in the Thursday and 7:00 p.m. Saturday showing.

“This musical was the most biggest and challenging musical I have ever done,” Minsoo Han ‘19 said. “Even though it was a amazing show, the amount of work we had put in it was also tremendous. Also I [had] never been a male lead before which was also really exciting.”

The musical followed the story of Elle Woods’ transition to graduate school at Harvard University in hopes of following her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III, depicted by Ian Webster ‘20, to marriage. After she enrolls and is accepted into Harvard, Woods soon realizes the flaws to her absurd scheme. Along with the help of the sweet, modest lawyer, Emmett Richmond, played by Minsoo Han ‘19 , Woods slowly, but surely, begins to succeed in “C-minus” Callahan’s (portrayed by Ethan Harris ‘20) difficult Criminology 101 class. Eventually, the musical ends with Woods winning a trial for her fellow Delta Nu sister, Brooke Windham, played by Paige Castillo ‘20, and a heartwarming embrace between Woods and Richmond.

“My favorite song is the Legally Blonde remix,” Katya Lopez ‘20 said. “Technically, it is my character’s big song but it also helps people learn a lesson about how some people just need to see the good in themselves and they will help others. It’s also an amazing dance number.”

Along with the cast members, the stage was furnished with dozens of backdrops and subtle props, crafted by Ms. Milam’s technical theater students. The props included a replica of Woods’ Harvard dormitory, with details including her Delta Nu paddle and several empty cans of Red Bull, which combined to create a believable scene for the audience members to enjoy. A Greek chorus also popped in between scenes and through entertaining songs such as Positive, and effectively lightened up the dire situations that Woods seemed to find herself in. Additionally, the costumes created by Ms. Lydia Coat’s costume students let the characters’ personalities shine through even more.

“I think the most difficult part about producing the show was [that] the set was so large and intricate, we never really got to do full run throughs in to until we got to the PAC,” Wolf said. “And since the PAC is weirdly shaped, we like couldn’t practice as well as we could’ve if we did have our own PAC, and we even had to scrape some set pieces because we didn’t have time to finish them due to scheduling issues.”

Seamless scene transitions by the running crew, along with the crowd’s roaring cheers, created a mood of wonder and hope as the final scene occurred. In addition, Harris’s performance of Blood in the Water, and the somber performance by Liesel McMahan ‘21 describing her deadbeat ex-husband and her Irish roots, effectively impressed the audience with their passion and fervor.

“My favorite part about [Legally Blonde] was the growth I had in myself, thanks to others,” Han said. “I am not really confident in my singing abilities but the amount of love and support the cast and the audience gave me just blew me away. They gave me so much confidence in my voice and I really want to sincerely thank them for everything they have done for me.”