Marin Summer Theater will present the Marin County premiere of Legally Blonde, The Musical on July 26, 27, and 28 at 8 pm and July 29 at 2 pm in the Emily Gates Student Center at San Marin High School in Novato. Directed by Pat Nims with musical direction by Emily Gates and choreography by Kate Kenyon, this family favorite is sure to be a hit for young and old alike.
The musical is an adaptation of the movie Legally Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon. Jessica LaFever, a student at San Francisco State University, plays Elle Woods, a Los Angeles sorority girl who is dumped by her boyfriend for a more serious girl. She then hits the books and gains admission to Harvard Law School to prove him wrong. “Being in Legally Blonde is so amazing because I connect to Elle Woods in many ways. She is just like me and it is amazing to play a role and pull real life experiences from it. Working with the other actors is also a great experience. They are all so talented they push me to do my best,” says LaFever.
Choreographer Kate Kenyon said “Legally Blonde shows that a woman can be successful and powerful and still be positive and caring. I think that is incredibly empowering. I also love listening to the music; it's upbeat and fun. The dancing requires a lot of variety, which keeps the show really exciting. How often do you get to see jump-roping prisoners, hip hopping Grecians and dancing UPS workers? Plus, Legally Blonde is a real ensemble show. It takes the enthusiasm and hard-work of every single actor to make the show shine”.
Joining the Blonde cast are first time MST company members Gracie Callas and Cedric Hahn, two Novato dogs who play Cedric and Rufus (Elle’s and Paulette’s dogs). “Gracie and Cedric have been great,” said director Pat Nims. “They know their lines, the rest of the cast love them, and as long as we keep enough treats around they are very happy.”
Earlier this month MST presented Spring Awakening under the musical direction of Broadway Lyricist, Drew Gasparini and The Importance of Being Earnest directed by Broadway star Jim Poulos. Many of the Spring Awakening and Earnest cast members are also in Legally Blonde.
Putting a big show like Legally Blonde together in four weeks is almost unheard of, especially when there are rehearsals for two other shows going on at the same time. “MST is about breaking barriers and going beyond what is normally thought to be possible,” said Nims. “The schedule is insane, but our company members really focus and are sometimes surprised by what they can accomplish in such a short period.“
“I choreographed and taught many pieces with at least a third of the actors missing because they were in rehearsals for one of the other two shows. But it is really worth it in the end. We all get a real sense of accomplishment by achieving so much in such a short amount of time,” added Kenyon.
Audience members are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance, either on-line at MarinSummerTheater.org or at the San Marin High School office. Most of the performances are expected to sell out.
The MST cast, crew and orchestra in Legally Blonde includes Alexandra Wuerfel, Bouket Fingerhut, Jessica Mason, and Michael Jolley of Belvedere and Tiburon; Meg Stoll of Kentfield; Ali Evans, Alicia Kraft, Caitlyn Keaney, Cameron McNally, Chloe Uicker, Christine Oczkus, Christopher Zander, Corrin Dove, Dakota Nims, Danny Zagunis, Elyse Wang, Gabby Cardarelli, Gretchen Tuscher, Jennifer Brodsky, Lauren Sutton-Beattie, Lily Hahn, Madison Milliner, Maggie Regis, Mark Wang, Massimo Cardarelli, Meghan Scott, Michael Beach, Michael Grech, Nicole Guempel, Nina Kao, Rebecca Black, Sam Levy, Samantha Block, Samantha Roberts, Sarah Marthinsen, Shannon Ainsworth, Shayla Dougherty, Sophie Block, Steven White of Novato; Dominic Williams of Petaluma; Noah Zepponi and Zachary Hasbany of Rohnert Park; Fernando Siu, Jackson Verolini, Jane Reagan, Peter Winkeller and Sam O’Byrne of San Rafael; Cierra Potter and Jacob Vorperian of San Anselmo.
Marin Summer Theater (MST) is an award winning non-profit theater company for students of performing arts between the ages of 13 and 23. The MST company prepares and presents three fully-staged productions in a six-week summer season. MST's mission is threefold: To present exciting, professional quality drama, musical theater and musical revue productions; to keep tuition as low as possible so that cost is not a barrier to participation; to create a diverse company of college and high school students.