Fortune Favours the Brave:  WCCH Legally Blonde Musical

Amy Tham

Director of Performing Arts

This year’s school production proved to be a successful one with our Performing Arts and Creative team going the extra mile to give our cast an amazing experience of presenting the story of Legally Blonde, the musical. It was through the many rehearsals and personalised pull out sessions by our various teachers that enabled our pupils to shine on stage with their characterisation, ensemble singing, dancing, and overall stage presence and confidence.   

The cast is unbelievably talented in their own special ways, and I am comforted to see everyone bonding like a family and supporting each other along the way with words of encouragement to uplift each other. Teamwork makes the dream work and many hands make light work. We are truly blessed with our amazing musical team consisting of teachers who volunteered their time and expertise in ensuring our musical ran smoothly.  

From the set and design SA team, FOW makeup parent team, procurement and purchasing team that ensured our props and costumes arrived in the nick of time. Everyone stepped up, filled in the gaps, and contributed greatly to the behind-the-scenes preparation.   

In closing, I want to acknowledge and thank all our cast members and teachers who showed me what courage, kindness, and responsibility is. They took learning and memorising their lines seriously, supported each other through the buddy system, stood in for roles when their peers were absent, and practiced so diligently and shone on stage on the actual day. Their progress and transformation from zero to hero made their friends, teachers, and parents so extremely proud of them. Our teachers were superheroes too, often sacrificing their break and lunch time to spend that extra time to fine tune certain segments of the musical. Legally Blonde, the musical showed us true determination, resilience, and how staying true to oneself through this journey called life is more fun when it is filled with loved ones and friends surrounding us!   

Karen, who plays Elle Woods 

in Legally Blonde, Jr.

Omigod guys, thank you so much for clicking on this WeChat article and reading through these lovely reflections. My name is Karen, and I was fortunate to play Elle Woods in this year's musical. Although it's my first year as a musical actress, I've loved musicals since birth. Laura Bell Bundy, the superb American actress who played Elle Woods on Broadway in 2007, had her cast photo in my wallpaper collection for almost three years until last week, when I finally changed it to a photo of myself in hot pink, holding Bruiser (Elle’s Chihuahua), and bowing on stage. 

I am thrilled and feel this is a dream come true. As a ten-year dancer, a half-pro singer, and an IGCSE drama candidate, I want to thank myself for not wasting my talents and having the courage to audition for this competitive role against many experienced actors. After the endorphin boost of getting the role wore off, challenges and miscommunications arose. However, I was lucky to be part of a supportive cast. Despite coming from different grades and schools, our passion for performing arts bonded us closely: I LOVE YOU ALL! 

On performance day, "So Much Better" was the song that made my eyes damp. This is when Elle experiences a huge emotional shift from seeing her love propose to another girl to realizing she is the intern of the year. For the first time, Elle feels proud of herself for achieving something a typical Californian blonde couldn't, and I was extremely proud of myself too. At the moment when Elle shares her success with her mom, I saw my mom and grandma sitting in the front row, dressed in hot pink, glittering under the lights. It reminded me that there will always be people who support you unconditionally. 

Elle Woods challenges Aristotle’s quote, “the law is reason free from passion,” yet sticking to passion and having faith in oneself are crucial. I will carry this lesson taught by Elle with me through my future journey. Thank you, everyone, for supporting Legally Blonde the musical. A hug is airdropped to you all; please click “Accept” to join the Legally Blonde family. 

｜From the editor｜

“Go be part of the performance about dreams in your dream-chasing age.” 

Musicals probe into the inner selves of characters with soul-touching melodies and lyrics through songs and music. In Legally Blonde, each track is carefully selected to complement the narrative. With pleasant melodies and rich lyrics, audiences can resonate more deeply with the characters and further understand the plot.   

Constant guidance from the teachers in exploring and interpreting the characters is needed when directing pupils from senior schools in a production like Legally Blonde. However, stage performances are never perfect; this imperfection allows pupils to reflect and grow as it enriches their explorations of the world. A more profound and unique insight might arise when they combine what is observed with their personal experiences. 

It is indeed a rare experience in their life journey to jointly invest time and energy, face challenges, and passionately stage a beloved performance with others. Immersing themselves in the joy of stage art and collective creation is a precious process itself that outweighs the final outcome. 

Rehearsing and performing a large-scale musical in the school is a challenging and complex task that requires the joint efforts and hard work of everyone. Wellington College Education (China) - Hangzhou organised a strong support team for the success of the musical Legally Blonde. This team, composed of outstanding performing arts teachers, other academic and non-academic staff, and parents, provided strong support to the 35 pupil performers. 

Legally Blonde is a story about dreams and commitment. Elle is a charming character. Decisive as she is, she resists temptation and perseveres once she sets a goal; brave as she is, she faces challenges and marches forward even when she fails; kind as she is, she helps others and resolves misunderstandings even when being wronged. What is most admirable about Elle is her unwavering self-confidence. She refuses to be labelled and does what she believes is right, and firmly believes that she can accomplish anything. 

The meaning of life lies in a simple truth: we weave our life stories with our own experiences and beliefs. I believe that every audience left the theatre filled with positive energy and love for life, and if given the opportunity, they would choose to watch this musical again which imparts belief and motivation.