Cinnaminson High School students prepare for the upcoming spring musical “Legally Blonde”.
By Stephen Finn
The Sun
After a string of more dramatic plays like “Sweeney Todd,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Les Miserables,” Cinnaminson High School’s drama department is ready to lighten the mood this year with its upcoming spring production, “Legally Blonde the Musical.”
“Nobody dies,” said director Larry Biren of this year’s change of tone.
“Legally Blonde” follows the story of the titular blonde character, Elle Woods, after she is dumped by her boyfriend, Warner, so he can attend Harvard Law. Determined to win him back, Woods works her way into the prestigious law school where she struggles with peers, professors and her ex.
Biren takes his productions seriously and believes high school students are capable of performing at a college level.
“It’s a good group, they rely on each other and it pays off,” said Biren.
Assistant director Megan Schweitzer focuses much of her energy during rehearsals working one-on-one with students to draw out their best possible performance.
According to Schweitzer, she achieves this by “not settling for ‘just OK.’”
Once a student has memorized his or her lines, it is then up to her to help them add inflection, levels and dynamics to make for a more believable performance. She tries to establish a culture of constructive criticism and “tough love” she has seen students respond well to.
“If they know that we’re being tough on them because we care about them and we want to bring out the best in them, what we’ve seen among some of our seniors is that they will come to us and ask for more criticism if we aren’t giving them enough,” said Schweitzer.
Senior Helaina Parejo is a veteran of the CHS drama department. “Legally Blonde” marks her fourth production with her school and her first year stepping into the role of student director.
In her new role, Parejo works directly with Biren and Schweitzer. She appreciates her senior directors’ willingness to include her in the process despite her dual role as their student and collaborator. She feels able to speak her mind and knows she is being heard.
“They are always there if I want to input something or if they’re stuck and they want to ask me for my opinion, so I kind of feel like I am one of them in a way,” said Parejo.
According to Parejo, as a student director she walks a fine line. Given that she is directing her peers, many of whom are personal friends, she tries to measure criticism as much as possible.
“If I’m mean to them, I know they are going to hate me at lunch,” said Parejo.
Despite the challenges, Parejo loves the process and is a strong believer in the benefits of young people getting involved in school productions.
“It always runs really smoothly. I feel like it’s a good opportunity for a lot of the kids to meet people with similar interests or put themselves out there in a way that they don’t get to do with a lot of clubs,” said Parejo.
Senior Maggie Harbord was cast in the lead role of Elle Woods. In a show of dedication to the part, she even dyed her hair blonde. She sees a lot of qualities in Woods that she aspires to in her own life.
“She’s always positive. She’s happy wherever she is and she always wants to be there,” said Harbord.
She believes Woods represents a positive message for people, regardless of age.
“You don’t need a man to get through your life, you can be very independent and do things yourself. You can do whatever you want no matter what gender you are or how old you are,” said Harbord.
Performances of “Legally Blonde” will take place at 8 p.m. on March 22 and 23, and 2 p.m. on March 23 and 24 in the high school auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $12 for adults, $8 for students and free for senior citizens.
