A Letter from the Director
Welcome to Harvard! I am proud to present the Hommocks Middle School production of Legally Blonde, Jr. Our students have put in many hours of hard work, from auditioning and interviewing during their second week of school, to rehearsing their songs, choreography, lines, and crew roles, to having important conversations about their characters, the themes of the show, and the logistics of bringing this show to life on stage.
Legally Blonde follows Elle Woods, a Southern California sorority president and fashion aficionado, as she chases her ex-college sweetheart Warner to Harvard Law School, only to find out that he’s back together with his boarding school girlfriend, Vivienne. Elle struggles with the workload from Professor Callahan’s class and not fitting in at law school, but with the support of her new friends, Paulette and Emmett, Elle realizes that she can be her authentic self and also shatter everyone’s expectations of her as the “dumb blonde.” Her unique skills, knowledge, and connections prove to be instrumental to her success as she defends a fellow Delta Nu Sister, Brooke Wyndham, in her first trial.
When I started directing this production, my goal was to capture the cultural significance of the 2001 film, the upbeat energy of the Broadway and West End productions of the musical, and the core story from the Amanda Brown novel. During rehearsals, students connected the aspects of the show to their own lives through a social/emotional learning lens. Legally Blonde touches on themes of developing a growth mindset, being true to yourself, and standing up for what’s right. Our production of this show brings the story into 2022, with some fun moments to film a Tiktok video and have a dance party, but also moments to take a closer look at how stereotypes and biases play roles in our world today.
We sincerely hope you enjoy the show and thank you for supporting our young artists and technicians!
-Sean Gillen, Director/Technical Director
