I’m not the type of gal that enjoys all things pink and when women tote their dogs around in bags. I’m also not the type of gal that would usually admit a small part of me liked the movie Legally Blonde.
So when I head Hillcrest High School was going to perform the musical Nov. 15, 16 and 17, I figured at least 10 percent of the blonde in me might like that too.
Well, once again Hillcrest proved me wrong. The students’ stellar performances resulted in the best high school theater production I’ve seen – so much so that I feel embarrassed to say I was in theater myself.
Senior Madeleine Crenshaw played the part of Elle Woods, a sorority girl turned Harvard student after she follows her ex to law school to win him back. For Crenshaw’s first HHS musical she dominated the stage when due, but also stepped back and let other lead actors like Jacob Mock, Lilly Stafford, Malik Busari, Demarcus Targton, Sara Cagle, Alan Ortiz and countless other student starts draw cheers and shouts from the packed crowd.
The musical was about an hour long, but was so well choreographed and directed that it shocked me when I learned the students worked on it since October and not for at least one year. The vocal range on some of these teens, mixed with the acting skills convince me that any one of these students could be on TV, and would impress even the biggest cynics.
I know, this is a whole lot of cuteness for one post, but let me just add one more thing: the leading lady and man are boyfriend and girlfriend in real life. How precious is that?
The play is PG-13 as it involves some language that may be inappropriate for small children. The musical was directed by Lainie O’Connell and Gary Okeson was the musical director.
Check out this slideshow for a preview of the musical with photos by Becca Ray.
