Director Ella Wyatt Swears This Adaptation Will Raise the Bar On Stage
By Eric Marchese
You’ve got “Legally Blonde,” the original movie from 2001, starring Reese Witherspoon, and then you've got the 2007 stage version that turned the hit movie into a musical.
One guess as to which is coming to Orange County this summer.
That would be No Square Theatre’s upcoming production at its cozy Laguna Beach venue.
Ella Wyatt, the company’s artistic director and this staging’s director, describes the show as “the story of Elle Woods, a UCLA sorority girl. After her boyfriend, Warner, breaks up with her, she follows him to Harvard Law School in an attempt to win him back, realizing her worth and finding herself in the process.”
Wyatt said she has “always loved ‘Legally Blonde,’ in both the movie and musical formats.”
More crucially, though, is Wyatt’s firm belief that “the musical is the superior version” and that the theatre version is “one of the best stage adaptations of a film that there is, and it really has to do with how the show is written.”
How play and movie differ.
Just for the record, Heather Hach’s book is based on both the movie and on the 2001 novel by Amanda Brown.
Wyatt said the show, whose music and lyrics are by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, “is just different enough from the movie to give the audience something fresh, while still giving the audience some of those memorable lines and moments that we know and love.”
“Some of the changes from the film, which I won’t give away, actually make it even better in my opinion.”
What’s at the heart of ‘Blonde’?
Wyatt said that at its core, “this is really a show about strong women, and while it does include a romantic love story, the true love story for me is Elle falling in love with herself and all that she is capable of, in addition to allowing those around her to find their true value as well.”
She elaborates that the show “really has to do with not judging a book by its cover and knowing that sometimes we can be our own biggest critics. When Elle goes to Harvard, her intention is never actually to pursue a law career.”
“It was never an option, not even really because she didn't think she could do it, but because no one ever believed in her in a way that it seemed a possibility. All anyone had ever really expected of her was to be beautiful and fashionable, but when she meets Emmett, he shows her that she really can do anything she puts her mind to. And Elle brings that out of the other people in her life too. Paulette finds her voice, and Emmett learns how to have fun.”
“Pretty much all of the leads take a nice journey in this show, and I love that.”
Casting the roles and working with the actors.
“For me as a director, these themes absolutely resonate, particularly in the form of casting a show. I really try to cast who is best, despite what a role may traditionally look like. I love that the theatre world seems to be transitioning into this all around, and not just in community theatre.”
“I was just in New York a couple of months ago, and the most beautiful thing in all six shows I saw was the diversity of the casts – body types, abilities, ethnicities, gender identities – this is the future of theatre. Actors are now beginning to be able to break free of whatever their ‘type’ may have been and see what they are truly capable of.”
Wyatt’s cast is headed by Reese Chavez as Elle, Owen Stapp as Emmett Forrest, Braxton McGrath as Warner Huntington III, Anna Martin as Vivienne Kensington, and Eric Schiffer as Professor Callahan.
Mallory Kerwin is cast as Paulette Buonufonte, Hailey Chaplin as Brooke Wynham, Harper O’Loughlin as Enid Hoops, Shea Buchanan as Serena, Nicole Warkentien as Margot, and Avery Santore as Pilar.
Double- or triple-cast (or more) in multiple roles are Oscar Aguilar, Sebastian Bojorquez, Grace Browne, Sam Dwyer, Matthew Manning, Emilie Manville, Brennan McMahon, and Bubba Proctor.
Wyatt has “definitely had conversations with the actors about what their characters' lives were like before the story started and then the arc that they make throughout the course of the show, primarily Warner.”
She related that McGrath “had mentioned that Warner is always played so one-dimensionally, which he didn’t really connect to as an actor because he (Warner) never really changes and was, in his eyes, not a very good person at all during the show.”
Wyatt said she and McGrath “have had a lot of conversations about how Warner has never learned many life skills or had to make a decision for himself, so he walks over people unaware. He has his life laid out for him and has never really asked himself what he wants.”
“We don’t find out what he does after law school until the end, in the ‘where are they now’ segment. I won’t give it away, but it’s a far cry from being a lawyer. I think this has helped make his character more well-rounded.”
Fitting the show to the venue.
“As with many shows in our space, one of the biggest challenges is always trying to use our small space and making it work for a larger-scale production. It takes a lot of creativity, but that is also one of my favorite parts.”
Working to accomplish that goal are choreographer Sabrina Harper, music director Roxanna Ward, scenic designer Tim Mueller, costume designer Brigitte Harper, lighting and sound designer Blake Huntley, prop master Abby Matossian, and stage manager Ben Yawn.
For anyone planning to see what “Legally Blonde” looks like on stage, Wyatt sums up the show as “just so much fun! The music is catchy, the show is well-written, and this cast is truly a dream.”
Eric Marchese has written about numerous subjects for more than 39 years as a freelance and staff journalist at a wide variety of publications, but is best known as a critic, feature writer and news reporter covering theatre and the arts throughout Orange County and beyond.
‘Legally Blonde’
No Square Theatre
384 Legion Street, Laguna Beach
August 2 - 18, 2024
(949) 715-0333, www.NoSquare.org
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