Legally Blonde! The Musical was produced by the Music Department and performed by students from March 15-23.
The rights to perform Legally Blonde as a musical only became available this year, making Campolindo one of the first high schools to perform the show, based on the 2001 Reece Witherspoon film comedy.
It is a modern change for the annual production, which has done more traditional works in previous years, such as Fiddler on the Roof in 2011 and Guys and Dolls in 2012.
Choral teacher Mark Roberts said, “Several factors went in to choosing Legally Blonde for our musical this year. Part of it was that it was a more contemporary musical. Another factor was that this year we have a lot of upperclassmen girls, which made it an ideal choice. We also just wanted to do something different.” Senior Molly Pines, who plays Harvard student Vivian Kensington, believed that the audience really enjoyed it. “It’s a modern show so people can really relate to it,” she said.
Senior Samantha Clark plays the role of Elle Woods, the sorority girl who follows the man she loves to Harvard Law School. Clark is proud of the cast’s performances. “The whole cast is really talented, so it’s been great. It’s a really fun musical,” she said.
However, performing twice a weekend was tiring for the cast and crew. Pines said, “We were really tired by the end, but everyone kept the energy up.” Junior Will Martin, who played lawyer Emmett Forrest, said, “People have been putting in a lot of energy, and it really shows.”
Roberts thought the musical had an excellent opening weekend. “We had a great crowd response. I was very happy,” he said. He was impressed with the cast’s performance. “I thought they did a good job waiting for the audience’s response and allowing the audience to be a part of the musical. They also did a good job making the musical seem new and fresh even though they had been rehearsing for months,” he said.
The musical also featured live music from the pit. According to Roberts, the band has been rehearsing since the end of January. Trumpeter Newton Kwan enjoyed working on the musical. “It’s awesome. It’s so funky. It’s cool doing a modern musical because teens and young adults can relate to it more,” he said.
The cast has been working on the musical since it was cast in December. “It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s a lot of fun,” said Clark. To help the vocalists prepare, they worked with Roberts and additional vocal director Grace Chaffey.
Legally Blonde contains several dance numbers, and even features a human pyramid on stage. According to Roberts, the department put a significantly larger effort into the dancing and acting portions of this year’s musical, scheduling extra dance rehearsals.
The musical also featured elaborate sets and costumes. According to Roberts, parent and student volunteers worked on the sets every weekend since December under the direction of head builder Chet Strathy. The costumes were also based on volunteer work, while several pieces were donated by families. In addition, live dogs were used for the roles of Bruiser and Rufus in the performance.
