Legally Blonde to stage musical masterpiece

If you seriously think tangerine is the new pink, you should probably stay away from Con Hall for the next few weeks – you might get locked up by the fashion police.

The volunteer cast and crew of the Garnet & Gold Musical Theatre Society (G&G) have been rehearsing for hours each week since late October in preparation for Legally Blonde, the musical.

Savannah Forsey/The Argosy

Despite the many hours claimed by rehearsal, the cast is still able to produce a lot of energy on stage, thanks in part to a well-written, upbeat script. Audiences will follow the journey of an incredibly determined character, Elle Woods, played by third-year Morgan Reid.

“A fun part for me is to incorporate all the dancing and acting and the singing I’ve put into Elle Woods, and she’s a very bubbly character who’s really energetic,” Reid said.

However, the outwardly peppy attitude of her character shrouds a profound story of perseverance. “It’s much less of a stereotype than people assume, there’s a deeper dimension behind the story when you really look at this girl,” Reid said.

“I feel like people assume that Legally Blonde is about this ditzy, dumb blonde character who gets into Harvard somehow, [but] I disagree,” Reid said. “For me, Elle Woods is this really bright, empowered girl who is bubbly and social and loves her friends, and at the same time she’s bright enough to study her way into Harvard. And all through [the musical] she’s around these diverse female characters who’re really empowered.”

“You can learn a lot from Elle,” Reid added.

For fourth-year student Stephen Buckley, who stars next to Reid as Emmett Forest, the demanding schedule is merely a labour of love.

“The most fun thing for me is just running the show. I get such a rush from performing, I think anyone would agree that you just get into it,” Buckley said. “It’s a lot of work, but the process has been very fun so far.”

Of course, no production of this scale could occur without similar levels of dedication from all participants. “Everyone’s been committed to it and it’s been coming along really smoothly, which is great because it’s such a fun musical too,” Buckley said.

Savannah Forsey/The Argosy

“G&G is for all students who want to come together and put on a show. Even the executives are student-led and volunteers, except our director Karen [Valanne], who is someone from the community [and] who keeps us on track,” Buckley said.

One such volunteer executive is fourth-year student Isaac Gazendam, who is in charge of marketing and is one of G&G’s two vice presidents.

“In short, I’m in charge of promoting the show. That really means getting word out that the show is happening. I [also] set up partnerships and sponsorships with local businesses, along with lots of smaller miscellaneous things as well, like designing posters, tickets, things like that.”

Legally Blonde will open Thursday, Jan. 26, and will run to a final performance on Saturday, Jan. 28.

3 Responses

  1. Our director is actually Karen Valanne, not Karen “Balanne” as incorrectly stated.
    – Garnet and Gold Member at Large/ Secretary-Treasurer

  2. It is also important to note that the final show is at 8pm on Saturday January 28th. There is a matinee performance that day as well at 2pm.
    – Garnet and Gold Member at Large/ Secretary-Treasurer

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