In March, North Harford will be putting on a show for the audience to come see. Legally Blonde: The Musical will be put on by students and practicing has begun.
French teacher Mrs. Larissa Arist is co-directing with chorus instructor Ms. Katelyn Hemling. Science teacher Mrs. Christine Jestel will be in charge of choreography and sound booth. English teacher Ms. Bethany Birchfield will be helping out with costumes and set design along with tech teachers Mrs. Chelsie Carr and Mr. Jacob Birchfield. Music will be done by band and orchestra teacher Mr. John Wojciechowski. Lastly, history teacher Mr. Charles Selfe will be taking on the role of being back stage manager.
Arist said, “I wanted to be a part of this musical because I have been a part [of it] since 2008 as a choreographer. I am taking on this new role because when [drama teacher] Mrs. [Nancy] Green announced she was retiring, she suggested this role would be a good fit for me, so I took the opportunity.”
She shared that as a dancer herself, she “loves seeing everything put together on stage.” Arist later said, “Nothing can replace the excitement of watching everything (music, dance, acting, lighting and set) come together on opening night. It’s beautiful.”
This director explained, “it takes a lot of time out of both my personal and work life. It is good we are able to collaborate as a group of adults to spread out the work. I would still say it takes dozens of hours out of my life.”
Arist is super excited about the cast because they are already showing “great ensemble ethic and people seem to be happy working with each other.” She shares, “they seem dedicated and ready to show their best work to make it an amazing show.”
When casting, Hemling and Arist had to look for singing, acting, and other attributes that would bring light into the cast. Arist said, “for some of the main roles, of course it is a musical, so we need people with strong voices to sing their parts. In addition to that, we are also looking for their personalities to shine through their characters in the reading.”
She explained, “I love working with Ms. Hemling because we have good synergy and have a lot of the same ideas.” Overall, she thinks the show is going to be “amazing in the end and everything will come together as planned.”
Sophomore Alex Manzari is in this year’s play as the role of Paulette. She shared she wanted to try out because she has “always loved musical theater” and she thinks she wants to “go into the business later in life whether that is acting or directing.”
Manzari was in last year’s play, Footloose, but “didn’t have as big of a role as this year.” She also “has been a part of smaller productions since elementary school.” She thinks it is very time consuming with “two hour rehearsals after school and outside practice about an hour daily.”
This actress said, “I think this is a really strong cast and I am really excited for who I am playing. Drama is one of the most welcoming communities so being there doesn’t cause me a lot of stress.”
She shared, “my favorite part is all of the people and bonds you create. Sometimes it can be embarrassing or a lot of pressure, so having others there that support you is super nice.”
