Memorial Middle School staging ‘Legally Blonde, Jr.’

Students at Memorial Middle School in Mentor rehearse a scene from “Legally Blonde, Jr.” (Submitted photo)

May 3, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

As we get closer to prom and commencement season, high school musical season is largely wrapping up (outside of Madison, but that’s next week’s story).

But the middle schools in our area can still stage some events this time of year, and Memorial Middle School in Mentor is one of them as it looks to perform “Legally Blonde, Jr.” this weekend.

Performances are May 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial auditorium at 8979 Mentor Ave. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens and may be purchased at memorialmstheatre.ludus.com. For more information, email Tammy Palermo at palermo@mentorschools.org.

Palermo directs along with Mikayla Doepker as musical director, Kat Fisher as assistant director, and costuming by Heather Lippert. Chrissy Cogan also assists the director.

Palermo says there is no dress code, but please don’t wear white after Labor Day. Message received.

With a book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, “Legally Blonde, Jr.” is based on the book by Amanda Brown and the hit Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy.

“Legally Blonde The Musical” opened at Broadway’s Palace Theatre in 2007, starring Laura Bell Bundy as the iconic Elle Woods.

This popular story follows the adventures of a sorority girl named Elle Woods – a Gemini with a double Capricorn moon – who tries to win her ex-boyfriend back by earning a Harvard law degree.

Determined to win him back, Elle uses a lot of hard work and some charm to get into Harvard Law so she can prove to Warner that she’s serious enough for him. Once at school, she is challenged by her peers, professors and her ex, but with the help of some new friends, Elle realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

“‘Legally Blonde, Jr.’ may be a comedic, light-hearted show,” says Freddie Gershon, the CEO of Music Theatre International, “but it also explores serious themes of self-discovery and independence which resonate with people of all ages.

“We hope everyone in Mentor is totally psyched to see the show.”

Jolie Fisher is an eighth-grade cast member active in WEB Leaders, National Junior Honor Society, Pride Club, Drama Club, Chamber Choir, and Video Production.

She plays Vivianne after having appeared in numerous productions such as “Beauty and the Beast, Jr.,” “Aladdin, Jr.,” “Frozen, Jr.,” “Shrek, Jr.,” and “Newsies, Jr.” at Theatre Arts Camp at Mentor United Methodist Church. She has also appeared in “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” “Dad’s Christmas Miracle,” and others for the Truth & Light Players at Mentor United Methodist Church. This is her second Memorial MMS performance after appearing last year in “The Little Mermaid, Jr.”

“Seeing as, for most of the show I am the antagonist, I have been trying to work on being more rude and stuck up towards my fellow castmates,” Jolie says. “It’s quite difficult to be mean when the people you must be mean to are your friends, but I have been working on not breaking character, as well as being more snobbish, and I hope it comes across that way during the show.”

Jolie watched the film as well as a video of one of the original “Legally Blonde the Musical” performances to prepare.

“I have found watching these very helpful, especially when I was having trouble getting ideas on how to portray my character,” she said. “But with these resources I have been able to figure out different ways Vivianne has been portrayed, and how I can portray her.

“For example, I have been watching different versions of the song I have to sing, and from those performances I have been able to gain inspiration,” she continued. “After watching some of the different scenes that my character is in, I have been able to get an idea of what my character is like, how she talks, and how she acts, to different people’s interpretations, which has helped me to figure out how I can best play Vivianne.”

Jolie finds “Legally Blonde, Jr.” to have a positive message.

“I think that the message of this show can be summed up best in the form of a quote: ‘Shoot for the moon!’” she said. “‘Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’ But, in this analogy, Elle learns that ending up with the stars.”

Adam Cogan is an eighth-grader active in National Junior Honor Society and Honors Choir. He plays Dewey after having appeared in a lot of the same productions as Jolie as Mentor Methodist Church.

“I think the message of the show is independence because for most of the show she is trying to get people’s attention but towards the end she realizes that she doesn’t need anyone and succeeds when defending her client,” Adam says of the main character, Elle.

“At the first meeting of the season,” Palermo tells me, “the students remembered what the behavior expectations were from last year. This launched our rehearsal process in the right direction. The students have worked so hard to make this production a success and want to share it with as many people as possible.”

Bend and snap with them this weekend.