It’s hard not to be charmed when the director of a show greets you at the door wearing a cute pink dress that matches the color theme of their play. In this case, it was Sierra Dominguez, director of Legally Blonde the Musical, presented by the drama kids at St. Joseph Notre Dame High School. Equally affecting is the theatrical setting for the show—the wonderful large multi-purpose room of their elementary school on San Antonio Avenue. At one end is the massive arched proscenium with handsome blue curtains, and along the walls are shelves of books, as the space also acts as the school library. On the lower and upper floors, classroom doors open onto hallways filled on weekdays with eager learners. Even before the first words were spoken, it was perfect.
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[2]Legally Blonde the Musical is fairly well known from the 2001 movie that helped make Reese Witherspoon into the actor, producer, and reading champion that she’s become. The plot is simple: A doubted pretty fashion girl gets into Harvard Law School and ultimately proves that you can be smart, successful, and look fabulous all at once.
The opening number ramped up the cuteness with a giggly chorus of sorority sisters helping fancy pants Elle Woods pick the perfect pink outfit—OMG indeed! But then Amanda Wheeler, our yellow-haired heroine, begins to sing and, wow, game on. Turns out the girl wearing the cutesy pink wardrobe and flicking her locks has great pipes and personality. What also stood out right away was the terrific production value with fun choreography, youthfully authentic costumes, and an effective primary backdrop of pink walls and fancy double doors.
[3]As the scene shifts to Harvard, Elle follows her ex to Cambridge to win him back—our girl stands out not only for her bright togs and purse puppy, but for her academic tool choice. Her peers are taking notes on laptops but she uses a puffy-tail-topped pencil held by a hand flaunting fantastic nails. All the East Coast noses turn up simultaneously. Luckily, Elle’s former Delta Nu girls return, this time as a ghostly Greek chorus, helping her stay positive. As in the film, Elle makes friends with Paulette from the salon, played with sass by Sylvienne Karlstrand, and then with fellow classmate Emmett Forest, performed wonderfully by Alphonse Gary Ray Clark. He’s the good guy who, after a necessary makeover, gets the girl as God intended. The villains are Warner Huntington III (the dashing ex) and Professor Callahan (teacher turned lech) with Santana Giovanni Chavez playing the former and Bryan Guzman Estrada the latter. They’re strong actors who do a good job making us root against them both.
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[5]If I may make a color-influenced social commentary, the pink of Legally Blonde connects with a protest movement from the past, and a powerful act of community going on right now. In 2017 women and others wore pink knitted hats as part of the demonstration against the president elected the previous November. And just recently the Altadena Girls organization was created by 14-year-old Avery Colvert to help her fellow teens recover from the LA fires. Pink is their primary color scheme. In all three cases a shade formerly associated with docile femininity was rebranded as a symbol of ferociousness. Under the fun numbers, glitzy outfits, and hair flips of Legally Blonde the Musical, there is a message—don’t judge a book by its cover. The wearer of the posh outfit with matching fetching shoes can still have superpowers, strength, smarts, and guile.
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[7]The second act charts Elle Woods’ rise as she joins a legal team in a high-stakes case where she predictably and happily brings her previous skill set—hair and makeup acumen—to the courtroom to save the day, expose corruption and, being a musical, get the right guy. Legally Blonde was a crowd-pleaser film and the stage work by Ms. Dominguez and Ms. Wheeler, along with the enthusiastic cast and crew, makes this onstage musical version work too.
Spring is announced by the arrival of blossoms on the trees, warm bike-riding days, and the high school musical season. This show was a wonderful break from our winter of discontent and I’m so thankful for their beautiful efforts. There are two more chances to see the St. Joe’s pink-tacular show—this Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, at 7 p.m., at St. Joseph Elementary School Learning Center, 1910 San Antonio Avenue. General Admission tickets (seating is first come, first serve) are $18 and may be purchased online [8].
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players [9], a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected] [10]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane [11].