“Legally Blonde”, the school’s largest theater production of the year, has finished casting and begun choreography and music rehearsals.

“Legally Blonde” is the story of a valley girl, Elle Woods, who applies to Harvard University to be with her college boyfriend who she thinks she loves, Warner, but eventually falls in love with her TA, named Emmet, and becomes a great lawyer along the way, despite her seemingly ditzy personality. “[She’s] this California valley girl, super optimistic, kind of untouched by the negativity of the world,” senior Julia Elman said about her character, Elle.

The casting process took place in mid-December. The auditions and callbacks consisted of dancing, singing and acting. Students were asked to bring in a poppy show tune that fit with the spirit of the show for the singing portion.

“People want to do showtunes because it most closely matches the style and the format of ‘Legally Blonde’. They want to say, ‘oh, we can do this, so therefore we’d be good in ‘Legally Blonde’’,” ensemble member and sophomore Leo Gibson said. “They want to impress them with their own showtunes.”

For Elman, the day she was cast was an extraordinary one. “[Getting cast] was pretty crazy, because it was the same day that I got into my dream school,” Elman said. “It was pretty unbelievable. This show has been my favorite show for five years.”

While Elman had seemed to have her heart set on Elle from the very beginning, other actors adapted to their role. “My role decision, what I wanted, was kind of a roller coaster,” senior Jack Hughes said. “I initially wanted Emmet, but I learned to grow into Warner, because I was realizing, ‘oh, I kind of fit more into this character’. If I hadn’t done [learned more about him] I probably would have been disappointed, but after gaining all that knowledge I’m very happy.”

Rehearsals have just begun, so choreography and song practices are starting, with choreography done by Randy Snight. “The choreography I got for the audition was really great,” ensemble member and sophomore Isabelle Cordero said. “A musical like ‘Legally Blonde’, it’s going to be very sexual, and this is high school, so it’s going to be awkward. But, Randy makes a point of saying, ‘Don’t feel uncomfortable, it’s for the musical’, and that made me a lot more comfortable with the way I was performing.”

The show will be the school’s Cappies show, which is a competition for high school theater departments. It will be viewed by high school aged judges, who will decide if it should be nominated for awards. If nominated, the show could receive an award at the Kennedy Center, where a gala was in June last year.

The cast is excited for this show but they are also eager to get more people involved for the next one. “Have fun with it, and don’t let your nerves [mess you up], because the people around you, they’re not going to be judgemental, they’re not going to be rude,” Hughes said. “It’s just a great time.”