Unrestrained laughter. A booming applause. Smiling faces. Grady’s production of Legally Blonde elicited all of these responses and more. 
“I thought the play was the best one I’ve seen so far from Grady,” junior Gwen Read said. “It had really great attention to detail in everything from the outfits to the props and the casting was really good, so I felt like each person had time to showcase themselves.” 
The casting was well-done. Every student shined in their roles, from the leads to dance-focused ensemble members. The lead, Elle Woods, was portrayed by Isabel Pruitt, who portrayed tomboy Anybodys in West Side Story last March.
“When I found out I would be playing Elle, I was overjoyed and super excited. Soon after, I got nervous because it was my first leading lady role and I knew I had to portray the iconic Legally Blonde star that we all know as Elle Woods,” Pruitt said. “Elle is very different from all the other roles I’ve played, but she’s furthest from Anybodys. I went from a scrappy tomboy to a beautiful blonde sorority girl.”
The attention to detail was immaculate. The stickers on Elle’s desk and the array of hair items displayed in Paulette’s scenes showed how much effort the cast and crew put into the production. The audience picked up on this, especially when dogs came trotting out from backstage.  
“At the beginning of the process, Mr. Dreiling knew he wanted real dogs to be in the play. When he introduced the idea to me I threw my dog’s name out as a joke, not thinking he would actually get to be in the play. But when the time came to cast the dogs, only one other dog had signed up so he needed Biscuit,” Quinn Hammond said, whose dog played Rufus in the play. 
In a production, the audience mainly focuses on the actors and dance numbers. However, you could see how much work the stage crew put into the show. They were often seen moving sets or hauling furniture. 
“The commitment is extreme. Since the play is a musical, the music is the most important part of it. The two weeks leading up to the show I would stay at school until 9pm some nights. I rarely got a break,” Hammond said, who was also the assistant stage manager. “While the actors are working hard physically, we techies are working hard mentally. During performances, I had to pay attention to the tempo of the music, the actors singing the music, specific moments in the music… all while communicating with my fellow techies in the booth and backstage through a headset.”
All of the hard work paid off. It was evident that the actors enjoyed themselves on stage and were proud of their performances. 
“My favorite part of the play was literally every group number because they were so much fun. Compared to many of the shows we produce at Grady, Legally Blonde is a feel-good musical,” Pruitt said. Learning choreography from [Grady alumnus] Miller Lansing and dancing with my friends onstage to a wild audience is the best thing about this experience. We all cared about this show and that’s why it turned out the way it did.”
The show was a great mix of important plot points and hilarious scenes that had the entire auditorium laughing. Paulette (Eden Artelli), the gay couple (Jasper Harrison and Benton Shevlin) and “Bend and Snap” all grabbed the audiences attention throughout the long play. 
“My favorite part was the “Bend and Snap” song because I felt like it was a good break from the actual plot, and it was really funny,” Read said.
The play allowed the students to provide a different side to Grady drama that not only was fun but challenged them as well. 
“The music I was able to sing was incredible. It challenged me but also gave me artistic freedom to put my own spin on it, which every artist dreams of,” Pruitt said. “Elle and Isabel are very different, but I tried to play my Elle to reflect some of me.”