Elle Woods was in Happy Valley this past weekend.
The State College Community Theatre performed “Legally Blonde, the Musical” to a sold-out State Theatre Saturday night. Extra rows of chairs had to be added to accommodate the outpouring of community members who wanted to see the final performance of the musical.
Based on the 2001 film , the musical adaptation was very similar in plot. Many characters from the movie were also in the production.
Legally Blonde is a story about a blonde sorority girl (Woods) who follows a man to Harvard Law School.
The performance began with Rick Gilmore, president of the State College Community Theatre, speaking to the audience.
“[Community Theatre is] by neighbors and friends, for neighbors and friends,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore continued to discuss the State College Community Theatre’s recent move to The State Theatre venue and their upcoming show.
With a final statement of “snaps ya’ll, it’s ‘Legally Blonde, the Musical,’” the show began.
For some of the performance, scenery was shown on a projection screen. For most of the show, scenery included wooden panels, benches and minor props.
Just like the original movie production, the show featured two live dogs. Both a Chihuahua and a bulldog were involved in the musical.
The second act opened with “Whipped into Shape,” a number involving singing while jumping rope.
This scene, among many others, caused laughter to fill the theater.
On multiple other occasions, the audience was laughing at the sometimes subtle, sometimes forward comedic aspects.
Being a local production, many people came out to the performance to support friends and family in the cast.
Freshman Taylor Kantner said she had a friend in the performance and wanted to come out and support her. She also said she was excited about the show.
“I love Legally Blonde,” Kantner (freshman-criminal justice) said.
The show lasted for a total of two and a half hours with one intermission, ending with a final musical number involving most of the cast. A final shout of “oh my god” came from the performers before curtain call began.
Freshman Katie Bensink said she thought the actors had fit their characters well.
“Serena [is my] favorite character,” Bensink (freshman-actuarial science) said. “She’s been cast well.”
