Early Opening For Moorestown Theater Company's 'Legally Blonde'

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Things will be a little different when the Moorestown Theater Company (MTC) opens its production of “Legally Blonde, Jr.”

For starters, the Summer Stage show will start earlier than most MTC productions, as it opens Tuesday night, 7 p.m. Traditionally, Summer Stage shows open on Wednesday nights, followed by three shows on Thursday and shows in the morning and afternoon on Friday.

“There were only two shows for parents,” MTC Artistic Director Mark Morgan said. “Now we’re opening on Tuesday, there will be three night shows and no 3-show days.”

It gives parents an extra night to see their children perform, and the 11 a.m. start time for Friday’s show lets families get an early start on weekend trips. It also means the directors and performers have one less day to prepare, but it’s the latest in a series of changes that were brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

MTC has performed a majority of its shows outside since the onset of the pandemic. It means performers have had to deal with an element typically reserved for athletes in fall and spring sports: the weather.

Drawing on lessons learned last summer, MTC put a tent over its stage this summer. It keeps the heat off and the performers dry. Earlier this summer, when it began raining during a performance of “Annie,” the MTC crew invited the audience to join them under the tent during a driving rainstorm. When the storm passed, the audience returned to their seats and the show continued.

“It’s a great thing for the kids to learn about perseverance and overcoming challenges,” Morgan said. “It’s a huge benefit to being in theater. They see problem-solving in action.”

“Legally Blonde, Jr.” will be performed in the Bayada/MTC Outdoor Theater, 101 Bridgeboro Road in Moorestown. It is directed by Jody Haggerty, and features a cast of 37 kids between the ages of 6 and 15. The show schedule can be found below:

• Tuesday: 7 p.m.
• Wednesday: 11 a.m., 7 p.m.
• Thursday: 7 p.m.
• Friday: 11 a.m.

In the show, the audience travels with “Elle Woods” as she moves from Malibu, CA to Harvard Law School in search of true love. This musical features such great songs as “Omigod You Guys,” “What You Want,” “Ireland,” “Chip On My Shoulder,” “So Much Better,” “Whipped Into Shape,” “Bend And Snap” and the title song.

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online at moorestowntheatercompany.org.

MTC still has openings for children to perform in the last two Summer Stage sessions, “Oliver, Jr.” and “School House Rock, Jr.” Registration is available at moorestowntheatercompany.org.

“Oliver, Jr.” will run Aug. 10-13, and “School House Rock, Jr.” will run Aug. 24-27.