Lone Peak High School brings creative twist to classic blockbuster
By Mira Brody EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – If you didn’t expected to laugh during a scene where a woman is being dumped by her boyfriend, you’re probably not at Lone Peak High School’s rendition of “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” The production, which spanned four shows on May 25 and 26, perfectly balanced humor—even during life’s unpleasant moments—song and dance, all in a classic storyline of finding your worth.
Elle Woods, played by Emily Graham (Grace Redmon on Tuesday) is a University of California, Los Angeles sorority queen who is motivated to apply for Harvard Law School after being dumped by her boyfriend, Warner (Michael Romney). Tired of her value resting only on her looks, Woods finds herself at Harvard and a new boyfriend, Emmett (John Chadwell).
LPHS’s performance integrated lively musical numbers, various costume and set changes, and humor sprinkled throughout. Wood’s obsession with her signature blonde locks, her Chihuahua Bruiser and the color pink is reflected in Graham’s bubbly performance and throughout the musical, she is flanked by a Greek Chorus (Ruth Blodgett, Kassidy Boersma, Samantha Suazo, Jessica Bough and Sara Wilson).
PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER
Although the plotline of the musical is based on the 2001 movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Luke Wilson, LPHS offered their own flair—such as an entourage of frat boys singing a Jamaican-themed number while Woods’ desperately tries to meet Harvard’s requirements. Or the classic “bend and snap” scene in which Woods teaches her hairdresser Paulette (Abby Meredith, Lyli McCarthy on Tuesday) how to snag an attractive UPS delivery man with the drop of a pen.
The entire LPHS cast shone, but some notables were Graham and Chadwell, particularly during their duets, Meredith, and Ace Beattie, who played Woods’ pedantic professor, Callahan. Set changes and costume design were creative and seamless and the entirety of the show had audience members in stitches. Barbara Rowley produced and John Zirkle directed.
In the end, Woods wins her first case with the help of her peers and her fashion sense, gains a new love and overcomes the predefined definition of herself she had lived with so long, all without losing her pink-hued luster.
“You must always have faith in people,” says Woods. “And, most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.”
