How to Go
What: “Legally Blonde, Jr.”
Where: Mason Middle School, 6370 Mason-Montgomery Road, Mason
When: March 20-22, 7 p.m., Friday, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, and 3 p.m., Sunday
Cost: $12
More Info: www.actingup.com
“Legally Blonde, Jr.” is a family-friendly version of the Broadway musical, “Legally Blonde,” itself based on the 2001 hit comedy starring Reese Witherspoon. Although those who remember the movie probably can’t recall anything especially racy about it, Brent Peebles, who is directing “Legally Blonde, Jr.” for Acting Up, a young performer’s theater company in Mason that’s staging the show at Mason Middle School March 20-22, has an explanation.
“The movie wasn’t racy but the musical had some adult content, sexual references,” he said. “It’s not unusual for Broadway to play those elements up.”
For those who need a refresher, the legally blonde girl is Elle Woods, a sorority girl dumped by her beloved boyfriend because he is planning a career in politics and deems Elle excessively interested in manicures and skin creams. Determined to prove him wrong, she gets a nearly perfect score on her LSAT and enters Harvard Law School. Despite the now-obvious fact that there is more to Elle than hot pink and fashionable shoes, her boyfriend still refuses to take her seriously, so Elle resolves to succeed as a lawyer for herself.
For Peebles, there were several motives for staging the show.
“I’m a lawyer, that’s my day job,” he said. “One of the reasons I enjoyed the movie and the musical so much is because Elle discovers her own empowerment through the law. It’s a very positive portrayal of what the law can do for people. I also had a lot of interest from our younger female performers.”
Given the altered content and a running time of less than two hours, Peebles said their typical audience was parents and their children.
“Our age range is typically 5 and up,” he said.
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