Spunky Southern California sorority girl Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner leaves her to attend Harvard Law School. Determined to get him back, Elle charms her way into the prestigious institution.
While there, she struggles with peers, professors and her former beau. With the support of some new friends, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.
“I think it’s really cool to see her journey throughout the show. Elle comes to respect herself and she learns that she can do anything she wants if she puts her mind to it,” Alicia Cosenza said.
The Cherry Hill High School East senior takes on the road of Elle in the drama club’s spring production, “Legally Blonde The Musical.”
“She goes from this dumb, ditzy blonde to, in the end (realizing) ‘I don’t need anybody. I can do this myself, I can work and I can be something important and make a difference in people’s lives,'” Cosenza elaborated. “And I think that’s really cool to see the change.”
Based on the 2001 motion picture starring Luke Wilson, Cherry Hill native Ali Larter and Reese Witherspoon, “Legally Blonde The Musical” follows Woods’ progression into a strong, independent character while pursuing her dreams. The 2007 musical production will hit the Cherry Hill High School West stage starting Friday, March 6.
When the Sun visited on Feb. 21, the cast wedged themselves into the library annex to practice three numbers: “Whipped into Shape,” “Take It Like a Man,” and “Bend and Snap.” Under the direction of Pete Gambino, Sandi Makofsky and Heather Lockart, rehearsals were tight — they had to be given the space — with Makofsky cracking the whip on the complex steps required in each.
Senior Jackson Feudtner, Cosenza’s counterpart, said he’s relishing the chance to play against his personality, stretching out to take on the role of the male antagonist.
“What I love most about Warner is, he’s the villain of the show. He’s the driving force behind Elle having this awakening and wanting to better herself and going to Harvard, and kind of make a change in the world, be a feminist icon. I think it’s a dream for any actor to play something completely different than in real life.”
Though the show’s main focus, Elle isn’t the only female who finds herself going through positive changes. Senior Cate Harding will sink her teeth into the character of Vivian.
“She’s the only character in the show which has a true redemption arc; she’s so incredibly wicked in the beginning, but by the end you just root for her so hard. She becomes a real woman’s woman,” Harding noted on what drew her to the part.
The grind of carrying a show can be a daunting task, even for a theater veteran like Cosenza, but she’s working through things one responsibility at a time.
“It’s a little scary sometimes. It’s one of the biggest roles I’ve done and it has been a little difficult because I’m looking to pursue musical theater in college so I’ve been in-and-out a lot in rehearsals to go to auditions for schools and stuff like that,” she revealed.
“I’ve had to do a lot of work on my own making sure I have my lines down and if I missed a day, making sure I get the blocking or the choreography down. Still, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Cosenza and her fellow castmates all acknowledge, with the triple threat of remembering lines, perfecting dance moves and belting out tunes with the right gusto, it takes resolve to keep a cool head.
“Just a lot of time management. You just have to make time (to prioritize) and say ‘this is when I’m going over my lines’ and ‘this is when I’m going to go over my choreography’ and when I’m here, it’s like laser-focus, I’m present, I’m doing the work and that’s all I can worry about,” she added.
Through a series of intense rehearsals, Harding admitted her favorite part of preparing for the show has been the sense of community that’s been built within the cast.
“We’ve gotten very close in a very short period of time.”
For more information on the production, visit www.chetheatre.com/, and to purchase tickets, visit www.showtix4u.com/.
