'Legally Blonde The Musical' Draws a Full House

Seats have been sold out at Legally Blonde The Musical since the 142 Throckmorton Theater's youth production launched last week.

The fast-paced, high energy show continues on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Purchase tickets here.

"We thought it would be a very exciting way to start out the season," said Steven Hess, director of youth programs.

Made popular by the movie staring Reese Witherspoon, when sorority star Elle Woods' boyfriend dumps her for someone "serious," she puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to your self never goes out of style, according to the 142 Throckmorton Theater synopsis.

"Legally Blonde is one gigantic obstacle," Hess said with a laugh. "It's non-stop singing and dancing."

The performance uses a challenging new style of musical theater, where curtain closures to separate the action have been replaced by on-stage transitions. At one point in the show, for instance, the setting goes from a party, to a bench outside, to Elle's dorm room, to a classroom. 

"All in one scene, during one song," Hess said.

The show features 44 students ages 10 - 18 from across Marin and San Francisco, with many of them coming from Tam High, Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, and Redwood High School in Larkspur.

"For this one we got quite a lot of new talent," Hess said. "Every show, people come out of the woodwork for various reasons." 

In this case, about 90 people auditioned for Legally Blonde. Many had their hearts set on the role of Elle Woods, but wound up being cast for other parts.

The 142 Throckmorton's Theater Youth Program launched in 2008 and is now in its fifth season. Many of the Marin performers have been getting older so the theater just launched a new class, Little Throck, for kids ages six to nine. They recently performed 101 Dalmatians and are now working on Jungle Book for February. 

Meanwhile, auditions for the next Youth Program performance, Anything Goes, are coming up on December 10 and 11. The show will be in March, followed by Sweeney Todd in the spring and Monty Python's Spamalot in the summer.

The 142 Throckmorton Theater is also holding it's annual Raise the Youth holiday celebration on Dec. 7, which is the only fundraiser dedicated specifically to the youth program.

Youth involvement has become increasingly popular over the years, and 142 Throckmorton plans to continue to produce quality shows.

"We're sort of getting to be known for our productions," Hess said.

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