Terra Linda’s rendition of the hit musical Legally Blonde took the stage on February 7th, 2025. Starring a “dumb blonde” from California, Elle Woods, the musical details the journey she takes to Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend. Full of catchy songs, witty jokes, and pink sets, Legally Blonde at TL was a smashing success!
The show ran for two weeks and attracted families, teachers, and students from around the Marin County area. “I thought it was very funny,” shared Terra Linda English teacher Mackenzie Bedford. For Bedford, one comedic character in the show particularly stood out: Anton Schultz, who plays Grandmaster Chad and Kyle the UPS Guy. “There was one guy who’s very funny, who played multiple characters, most memorably, I think, the UPS guy.” Bedford also enjoyed seeing the students she teaches shine on stage in a different environment from the classroom. “ I also have a lot of students who were in the play and it was very fun to see that side of them on stage, and behind the scenes. Seeing the thing that they come into class talking about was very cool,” she said. Besides the characters, many members of the audience and cast alike enjoyed the quality and variety of songs featured in the musical. “The songs are just so catchy,” said junior Penny Carroll.
Legally Blonde featured many student voices, including the incredibly talented senior Kayla Wells as the star of the show, Elle Woods. “I love the show so much, so I was so excited when I found out we were going to do it, and that I was going to get to play Elle,” shared Wells. Dressed in Elle’s signature pink and a blonde wig, Wells perfectly embodied her role. Assistant director senior Meggie Stenbeck commented on her performance, saying, “My friend Kayla Wells, who plays Elle Woods, just has this beautiful voice and she sings the songs so beautifully. So my favorite memory is getting to watch [her sing] at rehearsal.” As the assistant director of the show, Stenbeck is responsible for setting up all of the scenes and making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. “It’s been so much fun to be an assistant director. I love this show so much and I feel like it’s just a lot of fun energy,” she shared. “I mean, I love Elle Woods. I love Legally Blonde. So I’ve loved really just getting to direct and embrace my vision.”
In addition to a fun experience, viewers of the show also gain a valuable message surrounding stereotypes and prejudices. Alex Pryor, the show’s director and TLHS drama teacher, was very interested in this idea, sharing, “The message is about defying stereotypes and challenging our own thinking about stereotypes. One of the lines is ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. It’s absolutely part of it. The other part that I realized late in the process is that it’s not about being one thing or another thing. It’s that you can have multiple aspects of your personality, and it’s up to you to decide what you want and what you want to be.” Pryor has been directing shows at Terra Linda for many years now and always enjoys seeing what the students can accomplish. “I think everybody did a fantastic job. I think last night, they did a great job, and tonight was even better,” Pryor shared after the second night of the show. “[The show’s] got a great message, great music. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a good night out. Come be part of a great community,” he added.
Junior Ben Smulewitz, who plays Elle’s Dad/Aaron Shultz/Carlos, shared his excitement for Legally Blonde in particular, saying, “I think [going to the show is] a great opportunity to see the hard work that we do in Terra Linda Drama.” Bedford echoed this with a similar sentiment, “One other thing I think about with these plays is that there’s a lot of people who go, but I think there’s a lot more who don’t go or who don’t even know about it. We go to sporting events all the time. And this is just as intense as all of that.”
This cast and crew worked so hard preparing for this show, dedicating hours and hours to perfect it for their audience. Their dedication is evident in their performance, as the show as a whole was truly incredible. Stenbeck again said, “Legally Blonde has some insane talent. We have the incredibly talented Kayla Wells, and the incredibly talented Declan Drey. We have so many incredibly talented actors and actresses, and it just sounds amazing. It’s a lot of fun.” Altogether, Legally Blonde was an incredible show, full of great voices, catchy songs, and a powerful message.
