‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ turns the stage pink

When Elle Woods chases her boyfriend to Harvard, she finds that she might not fit in with the rest of the students there — but being true to yourself is the new pink, right?

Company Carolina’s “Legally Blonde: The Musical” will open Friday at Historic Playmakers Theatre. This musical is one of Company Carolina’s largest productions ever, featuring 25 cast members, 13 production staff members, 30 set changes and more than a dozen musical numbers throughout two acts. There will be singing, dancing and there will definitely be a whole lot of pink.

“Legally Blonde” follows the story of Woods, Delta Nu sorority president and University of California-Los Angeles fashion merchandising major. She finds herself in the midst of a rough breakup and is determined not to give up on love. Woods is played by sophomore business administration major Jessica Hoffmann.

“I feel like Elle lived in a bubble for a long time, and because she was blessed with great genes and looking pretty, no one has ever really pushed her, and she has never really needed to be pushed,” Hoffmann said.

Hoffmann spent two years of high school living 20 minutes outside of Malibu, Calif. She said her experiences in Southern California helped her understand the culture that Woods comes from and how that would have shaped her character.

“Legally Blonde” includes singing, dancing and laughs, but the musical explores Woods’ journey as she chooses between staying true to herself and being taken seriously.

“Throughout the show, you’ll learn that Elle is herself, but once she gets to Harvard she thinks she has to change to fit in with all these serious lawyer people, but what I learned is that ‘being yourself never goes out of style,’” said junior biology major Taylor Ballard, who plays a sorority member.

Junior mathematics major Edgar Harrell has directed other Company Carolina shows for the past three years before taking on “Legally Blonde.” He said one of the challenges for the production has been recreating the set within Historic Playmakers.

“If you’ve seen the Broadway set (for ‘Legally Blonde’), it is magical: it flies, it rolls around on its own and there are remote-controlled staircases, and all of that is just not possible in a student production,” he said.

“But at the same time we can do something that is just as exciting without the magical pieces, and that way it lets you focus on what the production is doing rather than focusing on the spectacle.”

Senior music major Will Hawkins, the musical director for “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” usually performs in student theater, but he decided to take the opportunity to try out the production side instead.

“Performing is one thing, it’s cool and fun and dandy, but I love getting to know what the music means and what you are trying to bring out with the music besides just music,” Hawkins said.

The involvement of the entire cast in production decisions was important to Harrell in the directing process.

“It’s the idea that all of us are putting this together, we’re putting (the show) on together,” Harrell said.

“Legally Blonde” combines humor and musical numbers in a lively production, but the show has a message that the cast and production staff hope will inspire audiences.

“You don’t have to fit the mold, (Elle) doesn’t fit the mold — she’s a valley girl who is really, really smart and she’s going to be a lawyer — and that’s what I want audiences to leave with: feeling positive about who they are,” Hoffmann said.

arts@dailytarheel.com