Winchester Cooperative Theatre’s Legally Blonde Jr.

Photos and story by Brendan Pulsifer

WINCHESTER, MA— This July, the Winchester Cooperative Theater is about to get a lot blonder.

In celebration of the 25th season of its summer program, the WCT is presenting Legally Blonde Jr., the story of a determined girl who defies stereotypes to succeed. In the musical, Elle Woods, a blonde sorority sister, is dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Warner, when he thinks he needs to be with someone more “serious” as he enters into Harvard Law School. But instead of moving on and giving up, Elle enrolls in Harvard Law as well to win him back. While at Harvard, Elle realizes that she can do more with her life than chase after her ex-boyfriend. When she gets assigned to assist her professor in the murder trial of the century, Elle works harder than ever to prove to herself and the world that she’s more than a “dumb blonde” from Malibu.

Originally a book and then a movie, Legally Blonde Jr. was made into a musical in 2007 and was met with great success critically and commercially. Now, the actors in the WCT will take on this Broadway-smash this summer, telling a story of tenacity and grit through music and dance.

The Winchester Cooperative Theatre’s summer program runs throughout July for four weeks. In each of the four weeks, actors strengthen their theatrical skills by participating in short skits, receiving vocal instruction, learning challenging choreography, and, ultimately, performing in a full-scale musical. The summer program is purposefully not as rigorous as the fall and spring programs, and this relaxed pace allows the kids to develop dynamic acting abilities in an easygoing environment. Anyone entering Grades 3-9, regardless of experience or skill level, is welcome to try their hand at acting.

The Winchester Cooperative Theatre has been providing children with the opportunity to discover acting at an early age and to make progress as artists since its inception in 1979. For over 35 years, founder and director Cathy Alexander has taught aspiring actors fundamental musical theatre skills while showing kids that acting can be fun too. “Over my years at Co-op, I have matured as an actor, and I have made so many new friends that will last a lifetime,” says 9th grader Holly Thompson, who has performed in a myriad of the WCT’s musicals. In addition to the summer show, the Winchester Cooperative Theatre puts on a musical in the fall for 6-8th graders and a musical in the spring for 4-6th graders.

The performance dates for Legally Blonde Jr. are Thursday, July 28, and Friday, July 29, at 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Elementary School auditorium. Please contact Cathy Alexander for more information at winchamb@aol.com.