Bridgewater-Raritan MS's Spring Musical 'Legally Blonde Jr.' Prepares For Curtains To Rise

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The themes may vary in nature, but the beliefs of the three directors and one student are identical.

The three dedicated directors are Olivia Matko, Francesca DiFazio, and Julia Meisterich, and the gifted student is Emma Brown, who is playing the role of the leading character.

They are joined by an enthusiastic group of students who are rehearsing for the production of the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School’s Spring Musical, Legally Blonde Jr.

The Middle School’s annual spring show, sponsored by the Drama Club, will be presented on Friday, May 2, in the school’s auditorium. The curtain will rise at 7 p.m.

According to Wikipedia, Legally Blonde is a 2007 musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. It is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2011 film of the same name.

The show tells the story of Elle Wood, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend, Warner. She discovers how her knowledge of the law can help others, and she successfully defends exercise queen Brooke Wyndham in a murder trial. Throughout the show, very few characters have faith in Elle, with the exception of her aesthetician Paulette, but she manages to surprise them when she defies expectations while staying true to herself.

Matko, DiFazio, Meisterich, and Emma all applaud the entire team's wonderful attitude and work effort.

This popular musical has always attracted Ms. Matko, the Middle School Grade 7 Theater Arts Teacher and the Drama Club and Musical Advisor.

“Working on this show has been such a blast,” Matko claimed.

“Legally Blonde is one of my favorite musicals and I have always dreamed of working on this show in some capacity,” she revealed. “The cast has done such an amazing job bringing these lovable characters to life and I could not have asked for a better group. I can not wait to see all of their hard work pay off on May 2!”

DiFazio, a Middle School 8th Grade Science Teacher, is a veteran of the stage. She, too, clapped at the students' efforts in front and behind the curtain.

“This is the 29th show I’ve directed at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School,” Ms. DiFazio shared. “Every single show is a new and different experience. We are blessed to have so many amazing and talented students involved in the cast and crew and I am super proud of the work they have done on this show!”

Unlike DiFazio, Meisterich is a rookie in the theater setting.

“I have loved working on this show! This is my first time ever working on a musical and doing stage crew,’ said Ms. Meisterich, a Middle School Counselor.

She also praised the attitudes of the students.

“I have learned so much from the student,s and I am so excited to see everything come together. We can't wait to show you what our students have been working on!”

Emma, an 8th Grade student, spoke one day during an after-school practice in the auditorium on how much she adores playing Elle Wood.

“This is great; I love it,” Emma said. “Playing Elle was my dream role. “She is a typical dumb blond who becomes a powerful woman.”

But Emma also touched on the same theme that the three directors alluded to.

All of us (cast and stage crew) are a big family that I love,” Emma declared. “Theater offers a different pool of people who come from all parts. This is a great chance to make new friends.”

Here are the Middle School students who make up the cast and crew.

CHARACTER, CAST

• Elle Woods: Emma Brown
• Warner Huntington III: Jacob Rizkalla
• Emmett Forrest: Shaant Sachdeva
• Vivienne Kensington: Anushka Khedlekar
• Paulette: Jamie Byun
• Professor Callahan: Derek Ebner
• Margot: Biel Rosales
• Serena: Grace Ricart
• Pilar: Madison Mattis
• Gaelen: Daphne Tang
• Kate: Emmanuelle Sapp
• Grandmaster Chad: Holden Fechter
• Brooke Wyndham: Dara Wolff
• Aaron Schultz: Jack Goodrich
• Enid Hoops: Katalina Orozco
• Sundeep Panamadan: Shuban Manjrekar
• Saleswoman/Ensemble B: Lucianne Raviwong
• Store Manager/Ensemble B: Adhya Balaji
• Chutney Wyndham/Ensemble A: Cassidy Caruthers
• Winthrop/Juror: Ananya Iyer
• Lowell/Juror: Sara Polo
• Pforzheimer/Juror: Chelsea Mattis
• Jet Blue Pilot: Agil Dinesh
• Whitney/Ensemble C: Riley Romanak
• Dewey/Ensemble A: Nathan Weinstein
• Sabrina/Ensemble B: Cassidy Caruthers
• Prison Guard/Ensemble A: Aarush Bhatnagar
• Kyle/Ensemble A: Kyle Johnson
• Kiki the colorist: Tanvi Tangirala
• Cashier: Aubrey Lucid
• Stylist: Dillon Lu
• Bookish Client/Ensemble B: Sharanya Bhiwapurkar
• Judge/Ensemble A: Aaron Zuniga
• Bailiff/Ensemble C: Whitney Guelich ,Ashvath Choudhary, Brielle Aragon,Gianna Fabrizio, MacKenzie Csontos, Nora Wang, Nathan Birgfeld, Kirtana Iyer, Aarushi Veera, Shanaya Malhotra, Adhvika Chandrasekhar, Gianna Zuniga, Gabriella Boardman, Medha Chingacham, Karina C Flores, Sharon Javadala, Radissa Wibawa, Alice Fan

CREW

• Eva Greulich - STAGE MANAGERZalina Pellegrini - STAGE MANAGER
• Olivia Tang - STUDENT DIRECTOR
• Gavin Ng - STUDENT DIRECTOR
• Hailey Baron - STUDENT DIRECTOR
• Violet Acker
• Saivi Ahuja
• Gabriella Capici
• Evan Cobucci
• Bella Corona
• Nova Dello Russo
• Khristian Duenas
• Hana Dymleku
• Julia Lesniak
• Sebastian Perez
• Nora Psak
• Hayley Reese
• Sofia Regala
• Ishaan Singh
• Sai Sumant
• Caleb Tiner
• Jordan Woodley
• Hannah Zimmerman
• Isabella Zimmerman

— Submitted by Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District