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Photo by Nela Suljic

Seniors Taylor Kordik and Ella Drake read through their lines with Hannah Lieberoff (10).

     This year’s spring musical, Legally Blonde Jr., will be presented by Mehlville High School Theatre Arts Department beginning on April 6 at 3 p.m. and April 7-9 at 7 p.m.

     This upbeat, entertaining musical follows the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl from Malibu whose world is turned upside down when her Harvard-bound boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, suddenly dumps her because she isn’t serious enough for him. Motivated by love, Elle decides to attend Harvard to try and prove to Warner that she is worthy of his affection. At Harvard, Elle is introduced to friendly new faces who help her find her passion for law and encourage her to realize that she is more than just a “pretty blonde.”

     Johanna Beck, the director of Legally Blonde Jr., shares how this musical differs from the play performed last fall. 

     “[The fall play] Radium Girls was a very dramatic and depressing kind of show and this is the polar opposite. Overall, I think that everyone is going to be very pumped and ready to work!” Beck said. 

     Senior Ella Drake, who will be playing the lead role of Elle Woods, shares how the show follows the theatre department’s main theme for the year.

     “The department picked shows that put women in power and I think that is really exciting because we have so many crazy talented girls in the department. Legally Blonde is a female dominated show, which perfectly fits the theme this year,” explains Drake. 

     To add even more excitement, the theatre arts department has also announced that they will be teaming up with Oakville High School.

     “Oakville hasn’t done a musical in 20 years, but they have a theatre department, so I chose a show that I knew that we didn’t have enough people for. In the end, we had about six or seven Oakville students try out, so we’re really excited for them to join our team,” Beck said. 

     With the addition of Oakville High School, the competition for getting a lead role in the musical grew.

     “I knew that a lot of girls wanted Elle, so I was really nervous. To prepare for my role, I just practiced a lot. I think I probably went over the song about 100 times,” said Drake. 

     Drake’s role in the show is one of the only two starring roles in the musical. The other character, Emmett Forrest, will be played by junior Khamani Collins. 

     “He was the only role that I really wanted,” said Collins. “So, to prepare for auditions, I watched a lot of clips of people portraying Emmett and practiced a lot.”

     Both actors have had previous experience from their lead roles in the musical The Addams Family. The spring production from last year’s 2020-21 theatre arts season. 

     Due to Covid restrictions last year, The Addams Family was shown via YouTube and filmed like a movie. Because of this, actors had the ability to stop and start scenes whenever they wanted to. 

     With the success of live theater from Radium Girls this fall, Legally Blonde will most likely be performed on stage, which brings a whole new challenge to the department. 

     “The hardest part about this production is that it’s big. Like very big,” said Beck. “And I mean that in the sense that there’s a lot of songs, dancing, and it takes place in a lot of different places, so our scenery and costume is going to be a lot. We have over 30 people in the show, so it’s going to be a lot of work.” 

     Despite the challenge, Drake remains both optimistic and excited for her role in Legally Blonde.

     “‘I am most excited for the opening number, “Omigod You Guys,” because Elle has a dress change on stage. I can’t wait to see how she does that!’” explains Drake. 

     Rehearsals for Legally Blonde Jr., will begin in early January. The show will be performed on April 6 at 3 p.m. and April 7-9 at 7 p.m. Tickets will go on sale starting in early March at https://mhstheatre.booktix.com/.