Notes from the Director:
OMG you guys! This production of Legally Blonde has been so much fun; from the bright and poppy music and dance to the modern, upbeat and hilarious characters, there isn’t a single moment that is not entertaining!
However, I’ll be honest. I struggled with some of the content in this script. There are sexual references and derogatory slang words that made me uncomfortable hearing anyone, let alone high school students say (or sing) out loud. Yes, the production is Pg-13, but it caused me to stop and think about the material and if it was worth it to keep the original text or try to tone it down to be more “PC”. The problem was, as soon as I cut out the edgy verbiage that made me “uncomfortable” I realized we would be cutting an important part of the story.
Legally Blonde isn’t just a fun, catchy musical, it has a message that I believe we need to tell at the high school level. The message is about facing the people in your life who don’t get you- who label you, who put you in a box, who judge you, who stereotype you, who call you names and don’t see past your appearance. Elle Woods proves that even in the face of those labels, judgements and name-calling, you can stay true to yourself while proving everyone wrong about their superficial judgements. Legally Blonde shares that message while poking fun at ALL stereotypes in the process. When we cut out the parts that make us uncomfortable because we want to hear a show that is “PC” we take away the point of the show and we water down it’s message.
In the end, the moral of the whole story is more important to me than the few words that might shock or offend some in the process. For instance, Grease is a show we all know and love, but ends with the girl changing herself (and wearing sexy, tight leather, smoking cigarettes and giving up her true character) to get the guy, whereas Legally Blonde ends with a UCLA cheerleader graduating from Harvard Law School against all odds and falling for the man who encouraged her intelligence and self worth, as opposed to the guy who only saw her for her looks. Which story do you want to tell your daughter? In the end, I’m proud to tell the story of Elle Woods. She is my hero.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
-Hamlet
Logan Carter
