Niki McClure and Jake Santo, Managing Editors

Penn-Trafford Drama Guild students can be heard humming throughout the school this time of year because one thing is on their mind — the spring musical.

This year’s production, “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” is based of the 2001 feature film.

“It’s a lot different than the movie. It’s based off the movie, but it’s almost all dancing and singing. It’s a very high energy show, and the dialogue is very small in comparison to the singing and the dancing,” Drama Guild Sponsor/producer Jen Haberberger said.

This show not only differs from the movie, but it also strays from the typical line of musicals that have been performed in the past at P-T. This created some challenges for the production.

“We’ve never done a modern show before. So, we had no resources in our costume room because all of our shows have been from the ‘20s or medieval times or something like that,” Haberberger said.

Thrift shopping and students bringing in items from their own closets was necessary to build the costume selection now available to the cast.

Auditions for the show began in December, and the first practice was just after the start of the new year. With months of practicing, the cast prepares for opening night.

Senior cast member Alyssa Curran, who plays star Elle Woods, is in her second year of the drama guild.

“[Elle] is ditzy but she’s not as dumb as everybody thinks she is. And she studies her butt off and gets into Harvard, which blows everybody away,” Curran said.

She said the most challenging part for her has been getting the the timing of the quick changes down after learning the rest of the show. “There’s over 17 songs and I have over 200 lines…”

Another experienced senior, Katelynn Powell, has the prominent role of Paulette in the production.

“[Paulette] has really bad issues with her insecurities because of abusive relationships that she’s had in the past. Elle helps her find confidence within herself to be who she is and attract the right kind of people in her life,” Powell said.

Powell is a four-year musical veteran and she said ranks this production high on her list in comparison to recent shows.

“It’s a huge show. It’s the biggest show we’ve done since ‘Shrek (The Musical)’. It might be even bigger in fact. It’s been a challenge to tackle it, but that’s the most fun part at the same time,” Powell said.

Powell said she has enjoyed the preparations and practices for the musical, but finds the four-legged actors the most exciting addition.          “The dogs are adorable! They have their own bows, they are the cutest things in the world,” Powell said.

Another four-year Drama Guild veteran, Natasha Popovich, plays Paulette on the opposite weekend that Powell does.

“I love the music, and the people are great. It’s just fun,and it’s also bittersweet that it is my last show but I’m also a lead so it’s a lot of exciting/different things,” Popovich said.

She said favorite song is the featured song for her character called “Ireland.”

While certain scenes and songs are favorites for some cast members, Curran said she enjoys the atmosphere of the drama guild.

“The best part is how positive and supportive everybody is — you can be 100 percent yourself there and there’s no judgment,” Curran said.

The cast puts in a lot of effort over the few months they have to prepare for the musical, and it is clear when the curtains open for their performances.

“My favorite part, as the sponsor role, is knowing where we started and what we get at the end — because nobody really has any idea what goes into the production of this,” Haberberger said.

Show dates for Legally Blonde will be March 31, April 1 and 2 as well at the following weekend of April 7-9.

“Expect to go and feel super energized and have a very positive feeling leaving the show,” Powell Said.

Haberberger agreed that the audience will leave being glad they came.

“You will smile the whole time, it’s just so funny and energetic.”