Perse actors state the case for Legally Blonde The Musical
Cast members have been holding court about their excitement at next week’s Perse Sixth Form production of Legally Blonde The Musical JR.
Based on the 2001 romantic comedy film, the show follows the fortunes of Elle Woods as she heads to Harvard to read law in an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner before overcoming stereotypes about her appearance to become a successful lawyer.
May Busher (Lower Sixth) and Izzy Bevens (Upper Sixth) will be sharing the role of Elle in the production, which runs in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre across four performances from Thursday 23 March to Saturday 25 March. Both actors are relishing the chance to play the character made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the movie.
May said: “First of all, I’m blonde so that does help a lot, and I just love the idea that Elle is such a feminist. She’s just amazing, she comes to Harvard and people think ‘what are you doing here?’ and she proves everyone wrong that she’s not just some dumb blonde.
“She ends up going up against everyone in a court case and wins it. I just love the idea of woman in power!”
For Izzy, Elle is a part she has dreamed of playing for a decade since seeing a YouTube video of Laura Bell Bundy performing the role on Broadway.
She said: “I’ll definitely be in tears after the Saturday night show because that will be my last school production.
“To have this opportunity to play Elle is amazing and there is a sense of fulfilment for me. I come out of rehearsals smiling, I go into rehearsals smiling, when I’m not in rehearsals I think ‘when are rehearsals?’ I love it so much!”
May and Izzy said they had formed a strong bond during rehearsals while working on the same character.
“We are in it together and I just love the experience of doing this with someone else,” said May.
Izzy added: “May is amazing. There are moments where she is doing a scene and I’m just in awe.
“I’ve been double cast before and this is a very different experience because as the lead there is a lot more weight on the shoulders.
“Sharing that load with May has been amazing and there is a lot of support there. Without that, I think it would have been a lot tougher mentally and physically.”
Meanwhile, Imogen Warren (Upper Sixth) has taken on the role of dance captain, leading the Delta Nu chorus through a series of numbers during the show.
She said: “There are 10 of us in the main chorus and we’ve had to learn a lot of choreography. My favourite number is the skipping one, where there are only six of us on stage, but we have to skip through the song while singing which is very physically demanding. We’ve had a lot of practice for it but it will look amazing.
“As dance captain, I got to choreograph some of the numbers, which has been really interesting seeing the show from the creative point of view, as well as just being in the cast. I love seeing on stage the vision I’ve had in my head.
“On closing night, we’ll be sobbing our hearts out, but being in this show has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
“It gives a really important message of empowerment, especially for young girls. If you put your mind to anything, you can do it.”
For Legally Blonde tickets, please visit our online box office.
Listen to more from May, Izzy and Imogen as they talk to Claire Ziwa and look ahead to the production in our latest Perse Podcast, available on all major platforms, or by clicking below.
Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Book by Heather Hach. Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture. The amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe). All authorised performance materials are supplied by MTI Europe. www.mtishows.co.uk
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