Jenny Dalrymple (holding Binx Carrillo-McBride) in “Legally Blonde: The Musical" at the Timber Lake Playhouse -- July 14 through 24.
Thursday, July 14, through Sunday, July 24
Timber Lake Playhouse, 8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll IL
A Tony-nominated delight that the Chicago Reader lauded for its “tongue-in-cheek choreography and playfully smart lyrics,” the theatrical version of beloved Reese Witherspoon comedy enjoys a Timber Lake Playhouse presentation in the July 14 through 24 run of Legally Blonde: The Musical, the Mt. Carroll venue's production sure to demonstrate why Broadway World called the show “a bright testimony to the power of women and importance of self-love.”
Based on the novel as well as the Witherspoon film, Legally Blonde: the Musical chronicles the journey of the famously perky Elle Woods: a fashion-savvy, UCLA sorority girl who finds her life turned upside down when she is dumped by her boyfriend Warner. In an effort to prove to Warner that she is more than just some dumb-blonde sorority girl, she follows him to Harvard Law, where she struggles to fit in and do well. Ultimately, however, she defies expectations and manages to stay true to her delightfully pink personality. A Broadway hit that ran for more than a year between 2007 and 2008, the show received seven Tony Award nominations and 10 Drama Desk Award nominations, and after Legally Blonde: The Musical's West End production opened in 2010 at the Savoy Theatre, the production was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards and won three, including the trophy for Best New Musical.
Timber Lake's production of Legally Blonde: The Musical is being directed by Hadley Kamminga-Peck and choreographed by Cate Benioff, with musical direction by Michael McBride. The show's scenic and projection design is by Orion Forte, with the lighting design by Cameron Strandin, costume design by Jade Zhang, props design by Callie Hester, sound design by Davie Voelker, and projection design by Orion Forte. Kamminga-Peck's cast features Jenny Darlymple as Elle Woods, Natasha Ricketts as Paulette, Daren Mangler as Professor Callahan, Kai Brown as Warner, Amber Findlay as Elle’s Mom, and Ken Singleton as Emmett, with the entire 2022 Resident Company portraying dozens of additional characters.
The show's two dogs Bruiser and Rufus, meanwhile, were chosen through “dog auditions” held earlier this summer. Eight canines auditioned for the roles of Bruiser and Sandy in the theatre's recent production of Annie. “We choose a golden-doodle named Copper to play Sandy,” said Dan Danielowski, the Timber Lake Playhouse's executive director, “but we didn’t have any Chihuahuas audition for Bruiser.” That’s when music director Michael McBride reminded Danielowski about his own Chihuahua Binx. “Binx is a perfect dog for Bruiser," said Danielowski, "and when I had the pictures of the dogs who auditioned on my desk, one of our company members said, ‘That dog would be great for Rufus.'" Rufus will be played by Alfie, a pit-mix who spent three years as a greeter in a pet store.
Legally Blonde: The Musical runs at the Mt. Carroll theatre July 14 through 24, with scheduled performances at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is $25-35, and more information and tickets are available by calling (815)244-2035 and visiting TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
