When director Dave Calvert was looking for a high-energy show audiences would recognize – and love – he decided to think pink. Waubonsie Valley High School students bring the action-packed musical “Legally Blonde” to the school’s stage this Thursday through Saturday.
“Expect to have a lot of fun,” said Calvert, who has been at the helm of school productions for the past 26 years. “(We have) an incredibly talented cast that sounds and looks amazing while moving with show-stopping choreography.”
Based on the novel by Heather Hach and the hit movie of the same name, “Legally Blonde” follows sorority girl Elle Woods, played by junior Liza Mahacek, to Harvard Law School, where she and her Chihuahua take the Ivy League campus by storm.
“I love playing Elle because she has so many layers,” said Mahacek, 17. “Her character develops from a seemingly ditsy blonde to a sophisticated, accomplished woman, yet throughout her transformation she remains sweet and likable.”
Mahacek said it’s a show that highlights common stereotypes and proves them wrong in a comical way.
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“The show is great for high school level humor and incorporates its clever writing in the script as well as the lyrics,” Mahacek said. “It’s entertaining, endearing and engaging, and people of all ages love it.”
Calvert said a cast of 55 students, a 27-member pit orchestra and a crew of 20 students bring the musical to life. The large ensemble cast and big song-and-dance numbers are engaging, and there’s even a couple of four-legged actors making their stage debut.
Senior Colin Louis Rhoades, 18, plays Emmett Forrest, a Harvard alumni and teaching assistant who befriends Elle and later becomes her love interest. Rhoades said the “Legally Blonde” cast bonded quickly, which comes across when they are on stage.
“Everyone loves the singing, dancing and acting in the show, so it really brings us together,” Rhoades said. “I truly think this is a remarkable show.”
“Legally Blonde” is being presented at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Waubonsie Valley High School, 2590 Ogden Ave., Aurora. Tickets are $8 to $11. Information: www.wvhs.ipsd.org.