Creating an environment that encourages self-growth, students of Indian Crest Middle School performed the musical adaptation of the popular 2000s movie “Legally Blonde” from April 5-7.
The musical follows the story of Elle Woods, a bubbly Malibu girl who, according to director Laura Shapella, “decides that she is going to follow [her ex-boyfriend] to Harvard law school and become the girl that he wants her to be.”
While at Harvard, Shapella said that Elle discovers that she “actually is where she belongs” and that it is not about becoming who her peers want her to be, but who she was meant to be.
According to Shapella, this message about being true to yourself is important, especially for middle school students who “might feel concerned about what others think of them.”
Eighth grader Ariana Im, who played Kiki, stresses the importance of being true to yourself using her example of being able to style her own character for the shows.
“I am allowed to style myself for Kiki because she’s supposed to be very fashionable. I believe I am a stylish person, so I think this was a great role for me,” Im said. “Overall, the show was casted pretty perfectly.”
To eighth grader Millie Moffatt, who plays one of the two Elle Woods’ friends, communication is key when working with such a large group of people in order to put on an “amazing production.”
“It just makes everything easier if you’re closer to everyone. Just being able to communicate better and get along,” Moffatt said.
Seventh grader Micah Kapusta, who played Aaron Schmidt, agrees.
“[I’ve become closer] with most of the Harvard students who Aaron hangs out with in scenes,” Kapusta said. “We support each other and help each other out.”
When the cast becomes closer, new people meet each other and friendships develop, with cast members finding that this production is something they all enjoy.
“I think there are people who maybe didn’t know each other and who are coming together and finding that this is something that they have in common,” Shapella said. “I think friendships that already were established are getting even closer too.”
According to Shapella, she just wants to create a “safe place” for the students in order to “help grow confidence and passion for the arts,” and having close friendships is a helpful way to do so.
In this production, the role of Elle Woods was double-casted for the sake of how strenuous and difficult the role can be.
Shapella also saw two different strengths and energies with both young actresses when making the casting decision.
Eighth grader Jane Rush, who played Elle alongside Moffatt, understands the need for the double-casting.
“Elle is in every single scene, there’s pretty much a costume change in every single scene as well. It’s a lot of singing and I’ve got a bunch of lines,” Rush said. “It would just be a little difficult to perform every single time, but that’s not saying I don’t enjoy performing when I do.”
Rush said that cast and crew members put a lot of “hard work and effort” into the production, providing a “good take on the movie” and a strong message.