Waldorf Theatre department presents Legally Blonde: The Musical

The cast of “Really Really” from left Abbie Wells, Jon Quigley, Jessica Dolan, Luke Zacharias, Nick Sanderson and Lizz Teater. Photo by Maggie Kretzmann

By: Jaci Olson

On April 5-8 the Waldorf Theatre Department presented their annual musical at Smith Theatre. This year’s production was: Legally Blonde: The Musical directed by Marla Britton-Johnson. 

A fun international award-winning musical based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde: The Musical, follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she takes on stereotypes, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. This action-packed musical explodes on the stage with memorable, catchy songs and dances. Equal parts hilarious and heart-warming, this musical is very fun and will leave audience members wanting more.

Senior Abbie Wells played the lead of Elle Woods.

On some of the challenges of this show, Wells said, “First of all getting into the mindset of Elle Woods since we are not necessarily that similar in nature. Also preparing all of the content in the show-the lines, music, and dancing all combined was quite a bit to learn.”

Wells adds what she loved most about this show, “I love the message of this show. It’s all about girl power, being yourself, and conquering the odds stacked against you. Then it brings that message to the audience in a fun and upbeat way. It is probably my favorite show I’ve done in all of my time here.”

Being a senior, Wells elaborates on what she will miss the most about Theatre.
“The atmosphere. I love Smith Theatre and I love the people that make up this department. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s truly a family. This place is special and it’s hard to accept that it’s almost over,” Wells said.
“Thanks to everyone for making the show what it was and experiencing this moment with me,” Wells adds.

Senior Luke Zacharias adds,

“Personally, my only challenge was having an evening class required by my major that conflicted with rehearsals. It was rough having to constantly play catchup with rehearsal material. Class would get out the same time as rehearsal, so it was nearly impossible to catch any rehearsal time on Mondays. Thankfully, Marla Britton-Johnson, director, and Travis, music director, were extremely understanding and cooperative in working around the class.”

On his favorite part, Zacharias adds, “My favorite part about this production was seeing how everyone bonded together to put on a great show. When RENT was no longer a possibility, I didn’t know how people would take to Legally Blonde. I was pleasantly surprised by the entire cast’s positivity and work ethic since the first rehearsal.”

The parts Zacharias enjoyed the most were: “I like the parts of the show that display pure human emotion. As an actor, you are always searching for meaning and truth in every line/scene. I like the sequence that takes place right before the transition to “Take it Like a Man”. Another scene that I enjoy, mainly because I’m a sucker for sad show tunes is the song “Legally Blonde”.” Zacharias adds, “Aside from these scenes, my other favorite musical numbers are ‘Gay or European” and “Bend and Snap'”

Zacharias says the least favorite part of the show for him was performing only four shows. Being a senior, he will miss the most taking the chance at theatre in his earlier college years.

Zacharias adds,” Being an outsider to theatre, I would like to thank Bob and Marla for giving me the opportunity to perform at Smith Theatre. Thank you to the theatre department as a whole for accepting me for who I am, and allowing me to be a part of your family.”