Pleasanton Youth Theater Company’s newest production is a classic: Legally Blonde. Following Elle Woods as she navigates law school, the original 2001 movie is beloved by many. The musical version takes the film and turns it into a full scale spectacle with singing and dancing.
“Lilli [Juan] as Elle was so great. She can sing so well. Everybody hit their notes, it was perfect,” said Jana Hooshman (‘29).
Exploring deeper themes
They put on a production of the junior version, focusing on a short and sweet show that encompassed the main theme of Legally Blonde: staying true to yourself.
“My favorite part of playing Elle was getting to go through her whole journey of letting go and moving on. It’s really cool to get to see her maturing and growing, and I felt like I also went through that journey in some ways,” said Lilli Juan (‘30), who played Elle Woods.
A diverse cast
The cast consists of 10-to-18 year olds. Despite the wide age range, the cast members love performing and sharing the stage with one another.
“My favorite part of being a part of the production team has to be like interacting with all of the kids and working with the older age group. And all of those kinds of things. And getting to see all of these talented young actors,” shared Legally Blonde stage manager Sophia Garcia (‘25).
Behind the curtain
The students have been hard at work on this show since January. The long hours spent in rehearsal have made it even more rewarding to be able to perform for an audience.
“The thing I loved the most was definitely getting the best character out of all of them,” shared Roxanne Galeana, who played Kyle, the UPS Guy.
The show features catchy songs like “Omigod You Guys” and “Bend and Snap,” a replication of the iconic scenes. Each song was belted out with energy and a clear love of the show.
“I feel like I gained a lot of self confidence and self esteem from getting to perform the show. I think my favorite part was doing the show and seeing it all come together like we had worked so hard to do. We all did our best, and it was so rewarding to realize that our months of rehearsal had paid off,” said Juan.
The changes made to the script and score were minimal, but made the show more accessible for the younger cast and audience.
“All the kids have been wonderful to work with. I love getting to watch them learn and grow, they’ve all progressed so much over the past few months,” shared Garcia.
