Way Off Broadway Presents LEGALLY BLONDE, Now thru 8/24

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre's 2013 Season is the year Broadway and Hollywood meet with all of the productions at the theatre being hits both on the silver screen and Great White Way. The season kicked off with the funny and heartwarming Steel Magnolias, followed by Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 - The Musical. Beginning today, June 14th, the theatre is going pink when it opens Legally Blonde for its summer run.

In the hit musical, based on the MGM motion picture, sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

Reese Witherspoon first brought Elle Woods to the screen in 2001, creating a blonde heroine the likes never seen before. The movie was a hit and Elle became a larger-than-life character in film history.

In 2007, Legally Blonde opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre with Laura Bell Bundy starring as Elle. Joining her on stage were Broadway heavyweights Christian Borle as Emmett, Orfeh as Paulette, and Michael Rupert as Professor Callahan. The show was a "fun and upbeat production" that garnered ten Drama Desk Award nominations and seven Tony nominations.

During its run, the show was filmed and aired on MTV. Following that, MTV aired the series Legally Blonde - The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which was a reality competition to find the new Elle to replace Bundy when she left the show.

When Legally Blonde concluded its run on Broadway, it had played for over 600 performances. It was then followed by a national tour and a number of international productions. Just this month, Norwegian Cruise Lines announced that a production of Legally Blonde would be taking up residence on its new ship, the Norwegian Gateway. And now, Elle and her friends come to Mid-Maryland for a fresh new regional staging.

Taking on the iconic role of Elle Woods is Leah Bebee, who will be returning to WOB after appearing in the theatre's previous productions of Hairspray and Footloose. Bebee leads a cast that includes Jordan B. Stocksdale as Emmett, Jaimie Lea Kiska as Paulette, Zane L. Oberholzer, Jr. as Professor Callahan, Zahary Norton as Warner, Emily L. Sergo as Vivienne, Melissa Martin as Brooke, Chelsea Bondarenko as Margot, Sarah Biggs as Serena, and Joey Banigan as Pilar. Rounding out the cast of characters are Danny Bertaux, Erica Clare, Matthew Crawford, Samn Huffer, Trey T. Kiska, Emily Lentz, Ahjah Prom, James Tarrant, Joseph Waeyaert, Laura Walling, and Megan West.

Legally Blonde has music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hatch. Way Off Broadway's production will run from June 14 - August 24, 2013 and is directed by Bill Kiska, with choreography by Dee Buchanan and music direction by Jordan B. Stocksdale.

"We are very excited about Legally Blonde," says Kiska, who is also WOB's Executive Producer. "Not only is it a fun show, perfect for the summer, we have a large and talented cast. Half of whom are making their Way Off Broadway debut."

Performances are every Friday and Saturday evening, with matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month. Tickets are $43 for Friday evenings and Sunday matinees; and $47 for Saturday evenings.

Following Legally Blonde in the fall is Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. For additional information about any of Way Off Broadway's productions or events, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com. To purchase tickets, contact the Box Office at (301) 662-6600.

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has been a leader in the region's performing arts community since it first opened in 1995. Under the direction of the Kiska Family since 2002, Way Off Broadway has produced such productions as A Funny Thing . . . Forum, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Oklahoma!, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Odd Couple, A Chorus Line, Lend Me a Tenor, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Evita,Cats, The Full Monty, South Pacific, and Hairspray, as well as the regional and/or area premieres of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl - The Musical, Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles, the musical comedy The Wedding Singer, Mel Brooks' The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Located along Route 40 West, the Golden Mile in Frederick, the theatre also produces a one-of-a-kind children's lunch theatre, as well as a number of special events throughout the year.

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