Those looking for a night of bubbly, hilarious, pink-shaded escapism need not look further than the Visalia Players’ newest production.
“Legally Blonde: The Musical” opened this past week to the delight of local theater fans.
The show is an adaptation of the hit 2007 Broadway musical, which in turn was an adaptation of a film starring Reese Witherspoon via a novel by Amanda Brown, both of which were released in 2001. The story follows Elle Woods, a fashion-forward sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend. Along the way, she learns that she can use the law to help people who actually need it — and not just herself.
“I love Elle. I’ve always really related to Elle Woods and the type of person she is,” said Becca Coffey-Godfrey, who stars in the production. “I’ve always been a very bubbly, upbeat, optimistic type of person like Elle.”
Coffey-Godfrey added that sometimes people don’t understand what drives her, as a person, and Elle, as a character, which is an uncompromising sense of happy-go-lucky optimism.
“She’s a very strong person. She stands out and she’s different. She’s a California girl from Malibu,” Coffey-Godfrey said. “But she always stays true to herself. Even though she has to learn to kind of blend in, she never fully fits in, but she stays true to herself. I think that’s such a great message for young girls, women, for everybody. Stay true to who you are inside, even if you don’t always get to wear pink.”
That patented Elle Woods optimism paid off for Coffey-Godfrey and the rest of the cast and crew throughout the process of bringing the show to the stage.
Auditions originally began in November 2020 with the expectation that the show would open in 2021. However, that opening was pushed back due to COVID restrictions.
“We didn’t know when things were going to open up,” she said. “We didn’t know when things were going to happen so it was kind of a guessing game for a while.”
After the long wait — and changes in cast and crew that came with it — opening night happened last Friday, March 11.
“You always have opening night jitters, of course, but I’m really excited,” Coffey-Godfrey said just a few hours before the curtain opened on the show.
Coffey-Godfrey, of Exeter, has worked with the Visalia Players many times since her first show in 2013, including roles in “G.I. Jukebox,” “Bonnie & Clyde” and other productions. In addition to acting, she has also served as a director and choreographer with the troupe.
Those familiar with “Legally Blonde” will no doubt be asking themselves while reading this, “Is Bruiser in the musical?” And, yes, Elle’s beloved and fashionable Chihuahua sidekick, Bruiser, appears in the Visalia Players’ version of the show.
“He has been so much fun to work with. I’m such an animal person, I love animals,” Coffey-Godfrey said.
Bruiser, played by canine actor Pembrooke Hampson, is one of two dogs in the show. While not on stage, Bruiser is “handled” by 13-year-old actor Henry Van Gemert. Van Gemert, a Hanford native, is no stranger to the stage, having starred in multiple productions of the Kings Players in Hanford, most recently appearing on stage in The Visalia Players’ “A Christmas Story” this winter.
In addition to Van Gemert, other local Hanford faces appear in the “Legally Blonde” cast and crew, including Van Gemert’s mother, actress Christa Reiber and Kings Players mainstay, Hugh Munro Neely, who serves as the music director.
“I could not do the show without Henry. He always has [Bruiser] in place, ready to go,” Coffey-Godfrey said. “It’s also fun having a dog on stage because you never know what’s going to happen. When we walk out with the dogs we’re not going to exist anymore because they’re just so cute.”
“Legally Blonde: The Musical” runs weekends through April 10 at the Ice House Theater, 410 E Race Ave, Visalia. For more information or tickets, visit www.visaliaplayers.org or call (559) 734-3900.
