LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL Opens at Stages St. Louis Tonight

STAGES ST. LOUIS continues its record-breaking 27th Season when it turns St. Louis pink, with the romantic comedy, Legally Blonde, The Musical tonight, July 19th through August 18th . A plethora of upbeat music, dance and of course laughs, made the show a hit on Broadway in 2007. The Tony nominated score features the hilarious "Omigod You Guys," the sassy "Bend and Snap" and the catchy "Legally Blonde."

Join in all the fun with that sassy blonde we all know and love, sorority sister Elle Woods. She thinks she has her future all tied up with a nice, little pink ribbon, until her boyfriend suddenly dumps her for someone more "serious." But don't break out the tissues just yet! This is one girl who doesn't take "no" for an answer as she sets out to prove that being true to yourself and going after "what you want" never goes out of style. Positively the perfect evening of fun, romance and everything pink!

Legally Blonde, The Musical received critical praise for its exuberant and youthful message of female empowerment and became an international award-winning hit. STAGES ST. LOUIS' production will star Michelle London as Elle Woods. Perfectly cast, London grew up on the beach in Southern California, and her best friend is a 4lb Chihuahua named buddy. After graduating from AMDA in Los Angeles, Michelle was cast in the Chicago company of WICKED as the Glinda understudy. That led to 4 years of touring in various companies of WICKED playing the role of Nessarose. Other favorite credits include Sandy in GREASE, Laurey in OKLAHOMA!, Cossette in LES MISERABLES, and Eliza in MY FAIR LADY. Michelle has also appeared in "Arli$$" (HBO) and "Drake and Josh" (Nickelodeon).

Legally Blonde began as a novel written by Amanda Brown based on her experiences studying law. In 2001, MGM released the Golden Globe nominated film version starring Reese Witherspoon. The film became a huge success, and spawned a sequel in 2003,Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon and Sally Field. Five years later in 2007, Legally Blonde, The Musical premiered in San Francisco before heading to Broadway starring Laura Bell Bundy. Soon after, a filmed version of the Broadway show premiered on MTV, a first for any show still running on Broadway. The following year, MTV premiered Legally Blonde, The Search for Elle Woods, a reality competition to find the new star of the Broadway production. Legally Blonde, The Musical made its West End debut and went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Also starring is St. Louis favorite Ben Nordstrom (Emmett Forrest) who returns to STAGES where he was last seen in STAGES 2010 production of Promises, Promises. Other credits include Title of Show, Next Fall, Big River, Footloose, Boeing, Boeing andAmadeus. David Schmittou (Professor Callahan) returns to STAGES for his fourteenth season. Schmittou most recently was seen in STAGES 2012 production of The Sound of Music. Other credits include The 39 Steps, Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Sweet Charity, Doubt, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Broadway actress Heather Jane Rolff (Paulette) was last seen in the STAGES 2007 production of The Full Monty, with additional credits including the Broadway production of Shrek The Musical, and the National Tour of the 25th Anniversary of Les Miserables.

Rounding out the cast in alphabetical order are; St. Louis actress Becca Andrews(Kate/Chutney), Stephen Barnowski (Lowell/Baliff), Adam Brown (Jason/Kiki), Melinda Cowan (Margo), Patch David (Nick), Brandon Davidson (Warner Huntington III), St. Louis actress Laura Ernst (Boutique Manager/Elle's Mom/Whitney), Gaby Gamache (Leilani), Joe Grandy (Grandmaster Chad/Carlos),Scott Guthrie (Pforzheimer/Dewey/Kyle), Broadway Actress Nicolette Hart(Shandi/Brooke Wyndham), Austin Hohnke (Aaron/Guard), Brittany Rose Hammond (Gabby/Mousey Client/Stenographer), St. Louis actor Steve Isom (Elle's Dad/Winthrop/T.V. Reporter), Julia Johanos (Serena), Erik Keiser(Padamadan/Nikos), Jonathan Kwock (Paul), Natalie Newman (Cece/D.A. Joyce Riley), Shannon O'Boyle (Vivienne Kensington), St. Louis actress Pamela Reckamp(Courtney/Judge), Sarah Rolleston (Pilar), Kathleen Rooney (Kristine), St. Louis actress Katy Tibbets (Enid Hoopes), and the canine co-stars, Bruiser and Rufus will be played by Jose and Romeo, respectively.

The creative team for the production includes Michael Hamilton (Direction), Rusty Mowery (Choreography), Lisa Campbell Albert (Musical Direction), James Wolk(Scenic Design), Lou Bird (Costume Design), Matthew McCarthy (Lighting Design), and Stuart M. Elmore (Orchestral Design). With special thanks to our Legally Blonde corporate sponsor Edward Jones and to our production sponsors, Merry and Jim Mosbacher.

Single ticket prices range from $20 - $55. STAGES performs in the intimate, 384-seat Robert G. Reim Theatre at Kirkwood Civic Center, 111 South Geyer Road in St. Louis, MO. For more information or to purchase tickets call 314-821-2407 or visitwww.stagesstlouis.org.

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