The Fox High School Theatre Troupe will highlight its female performers in this year’s spring musical, director Sam Meyer said.
The troupe will perform “Legally Blonde The Musical Jr.” at 7 p.m. Friday, May 3, and at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Rickman Auditorium, 747 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
Tickets cost $8 for students and senior citizens and $10 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at the door.
“We have a great number of highly skilled and super-talented girls this year,” Meyer said. “Most of my seniors are girls who I have been working with since they were freshmen. I knew I had to pick a show with really great female roles to give them something that allows them to shine.”
The musical is based on the 2001 movie “Legally Blonde” starring Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods.
The story follows Elle after her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, says she’s not serious enough and dumps her before he heads to Harvard University. To prove him wrong, Elle Woods applies and is accepted to Harvard Law School.
Rachel Rushman, left, and Maggie McAllister rehearse a scene from the upcoming performance.
Ella Myers, 18, of High Ridge, who plays the lead role, said she finds Elle’s character inspiring.
“She had been put in a box to be a sorority girl, and she gets this opportunity where she thinks she is there for one reason and ends up being a fantastic lawyer,” Myers said. “I think it is an empowering story and can have so many takeaways.”
Meyer said the musical could be categorized as a feminist story, like the recent “Barbie” movie, but he believes everyone can relate to the story.
“It is about what people expect from certain women, but it shows what they are actually capable of in real life,” he said. “That is the kind of message I think everybody needs to come see.”
Myers said she has wanted to play Elle Woods since first seeing the Broadway production about six years ago.
“During the pandemic, I watched it over and over again,” she said. “I pretty much know the video of the original Broadway production like the back of my hand. Playing this character is a huge theater dream of mine. It is exciting to get to do that.”
Junior Alayna McKenzie, 17, of Arnold, who will play Emmett Forrest, one of Elle Woods’ classmates and a love interest, said the show’s choreography will impress audience members.
“I feel like the star of the show is going to be the dance numbers,” McKenzie said. “We have a really good choreographer.”
Senior Zoey Thomas, 18, of Arnold, the show’s choreographer, said the cast is performing the dance numbers well.
“It is nice to see some of our (more shy) actors come out of their shell and have fun with it,” she said. “I think the audience is going to love it, and it is going to be a good show.”
Junior Justus Wilson will portray Warner Huntington III, and senior Sarah Monroe will play Paulette Bonafonte, a salon owner who becomes Elle Woods’ confidant.
The cast also includes seniors Rachel Rushman, Meagan Stengel, Peyton Kraus, Robert Kuehn, Jillian Grissom and Xandra Little; juniors Maggie McAllister, Alec Nunn, Amanda Cook, Andrew Proctor, Kirsten Vilcek and Zdena Roseberry; sophomores Sage Gilbert and Lily Johnston; and freshmen Megan Kraus and Riley Jones.
Meyer said the musical is fast paced and fun.
“In this show, there are not really a lot of breaks between scenes,” he said. “(The actors) talk through set changes, and they shift into the next thing. The show is fun, and the way the students and I have worked together to stage it, block it and act it, it is going to be fantastic.”
For more information email Meyer at meyers@foxc6.org.