Carlin Cochran leads Vanguard’s production of ‘Legally Blonde.’ | Photo Credit / University Relations
Before there was Barbie in the 2023 smash hit, there was sorority-girl-turned-lawyer Elle Woods, a hopelessly chic 20-something obsessed with all things pink who was also fiercely intelligent if simply given the chance. Originally seen in the 2001 film of the same name, and portrayed by Reese Witherspoon, Elle undergoes a transformation in Legally Blonde from girlhood naïveté to an astute, self-possessed young woman, treading the macho culture of Harvard Law School to chase a boy but ultimately finding herself. The 2007 musical adaptation brought her journey to the stage.
Running from November 2nd through November 5th, the 2023 production of Legally Blonde: The Musical from Vanguard and the UT Martin Department of Visual and Theatre Arts featured Mass Media and Strategic Communication major Carlin Cochran in the lead role; the supporting cast included university students and community members Michael Beecham as Warner, Elijah Davidson as Emmett, Ella Sego as Vivienne, Hunter Burton as Professor Callahan, Gabriel “Gabby” Rogers as Paulette, and Ellyn Beebe as Brooke.
The director of the show, UT Martin theater professor Dr. Macaela Carder, elaborates on why the show was selected and the inner workings of the production. Besides expanded casting opportunities and the more jovial tone that compelled her and other faculty members of the department, the nostalgic factor was key for Dr. Carder personally.
“I was in college when the movie came out, and I loved the reminder of the ‘girl power’ element of the late 1990s and early 2000s,” she says.
That “girl power” attribute is what earned Legally Blonde a reappraisal as an early mainstream feminist text that honors an individual of emphatic femininity defining her power on her own terms and defying the standards of a male-dominated culture. While presenting that ideal could be beneficial for a 2000s cultural sphere defined by machismo stories, one where similar properties like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ally McBeal, Miss Congeniality and Bring it On also went against the grain and made strides, Dr. Carder also weighed that against the gender politics of today, all while trying to stay true to Elle’s arc.
“The stories where, despite the representation of acceptable femininity, the character is able to achieve status in a male-dominated society, or the stories where the characters are not considered traditionally feminine have to embrace the contemporary feminine ideal in order to achieve success,” she says. “We struggled with this idea. However, we went back to Elle’s story. After all, this is Elle’s story we’re telling, and it needed to be true to the character’s journey, rather than considering its placement and reception in today’s world.”
Though it may bear some shortcomings under modern scrutiny, Legally Blonde is a pure reflection of its bubbly female character, and it bursts with the charming, effervescent and larger-than-life trappings of Elle’s conventional femininity. Vibrant sets and costumes laced with plenty of pink, playfully elaborate musical numbers, exuberant choreography, colorful lighting and a thunderous live orchestra make this one of the more intricate Vanguard productions. Dr. Carder and her collaborators sought to execute it very carefully as they coordinated its many moving parts.
“Before concept conversations can happen, a timeline for the production has to be agreed upon. That is where a majority of the organization comes in. We then came up with a concept for the show. Elle lives in a pink world, so coming from that as well as the recent Barbie movie helped to inform the aesthetic we wanted to achieve,” she says. “And of course, the budget and the timeline to produce the show had to be taken into consideration. It takes a lot of scheduling and time management, as well as the ability to pivot quickly when problems arise. It was also a learning experience for everyone involved. This was the first production at UTM for myself and two of my colleagues and melding working processes with all involved.”
Though some may deem the material as somewhat dated, the musical adaptation of Legally Blonde is more progressive and edgy than what is preferred by the local climate; one hysterical musical number depicts the legal team viciously and perhaps unethically prying at the sly demeanor of a witness to determine if he’s “gay or European.” The show delves into self-worth and its intersection with how people present themselves, either authentically or not, in relation to social expectations, and Dr. Carder expands on the importance of art that pushes boundaries and challenges perspectives for both students and audiences, echoing the dictum of unknown origin “Art comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable.”
“From an educational perspective, theater students need to learn a broad range of styles in order to be prepared for the professional field. The need to encounter the classic musical style theater, as well as more contemporary pieces that interrogate the human condition of contemporary society,” she says. “A variety of styles is necessary, everything from classical Greek theater and Shakespeare to Samuel Becket and BIPOC playwrights of contemporary theater. That means our audiences will experience these things too. It’s a fine balance between providing our students experiences and also providing plays and musicals that appeal to audiences.”
If audiences want to support this constantly evolving medium, Dr. Carder underscores the easiest way is to attend shows, ranging from local community theater to touring Broadway productions. This drums up discourse and buzz for shows at a grassroots level as audiences discuss them with friends and family or on social media. You can even take it a step further: Donate to and volunteer for local theater programs, companies and institutions.
As for the message of Legally Blonde, Dr. Carder leaves that in viewers’ hands. Her utmost goal was that audiences experienced an entertaining performance that familiarized them with Vanguard’s productions at UT Martin. She intends to continue a quality output that showcases the talents of students and the department with more shows on the horizon, including William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing from February 29th to March 3rd, 2024, and Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds by Bess from April 25th to April 27th, 2024.
Now, bend and snap… and enjoy what Vanguard and the UT Martin Department of Visual and Theatre Arts has to offer!
