Following the traditional fall play and spring musical sequence, the NJIT-Rutgers Theatre Program will be putting on a production of “Legally Blonde” this semester! The musical, following the hit movie of the same title, features the protagonist Elle Woods, a heartbroken girl who follows her ex-boyfriend, Warren, to Harvard Law School, where she pushes past stereotypes against blondes and prevails as a flourishing lawyer.
Compared to other musical theater shows, “Legally Blonde” is a greater investment in terms of the time, energy, and resources needed to pull it off. As the stage manager of the show, fourth-year civil engineering senior Kyle Herrmann said, “Once you start, it’s just going, going, going until the finale… like there’s no break in the show.”
With both the director and lead role out sick for a couple of weeks, there has been an additional share of obstacles with this production. However, the cast and crew have been able to bounce back quite effectively, with the help of rehearsals on the online platform of Zoom and a strong support staff, according to director Emily Edwards, who is also a lecturer in the Humanities and Social Sciences department.
The cast features Zoe Papianni as Woods and Steven Cipoletti as Emmett Richmond, Woods’ love interest. Papianni is a fourth-year at Rutgers-Newark studying video production and psychology, while Cipoletti is a fourth-year at NJIT studying mechanical engineering.
This will be Papianni’s second time performing as the triple blonde threat, having previously portrayed Woods in her high school’s production of Legally Blonde: “I had the privilege of being able to play her then…but I’ve grown to do a lot of character work and do more justice to the people I’m portraying.” From her first year of high school to her senior year of college, the show brings about a full circle moment not just for Woods but for Papianni as well.
When asked what they hope viewers will take away from the show, Edwards’ answer conveys the all-encompassing message of this big-scale production: “[It’s about] finding community in places where you don’t necessarily belong [and] accepting yourself for who you are.”
“Legally Blonde” will be running from April 19 – 21 at the Jim Wise Theater. The show’s duration is approximately 2.5 hours. Further information can be found at https://theatre.njit.edu/current-season
