Ridgewood students in Glen Ridge to stage ‘Legally Blonde’ musical

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — With a cast of 130, the junior version of the musical “Legally Blonde” will be performed by students of Ridgewood Avenue School under the direction of Heather Ballantyne on May 6 and 7. Including backstage hands and front-of-house help, another 30 students are involved with the show.

Ballantyne, who has been directing at the school since 2016, said in a recent interview with The Glen Ridge Paper that she has always wanted to direct “Legally Blonde” — especially now since recent shows had boy-driven leads. She gave school Principal Mike Donovan several choices, including the Disney musical “Frozen,” and he decided on “Legally Blonde.” 

“The music is fantastic,” Ballantyne said. “The kids love it. And it’s great we’re doing a show without restrictions.”

But following school protocol, rehearsals began with masks, she said. 

The challenge for Ballantyne is working with such a large cast.

“I always have so much talent,” she said of her students. “It’s trying to make sure the kids have enough to do.”

Ridgewood Avenue School is for grades three through six. Under Ballantyne’s direction, students in grades three and four do not audition, but the third-graders are in one long musical number and the fourth-graders are in two. Fifth- and sixth-graders may audition for a part.

“If a fifth-grader doesn’t get a part, I try to feature them,” Ballantyne said. “This year, the fifth-graders are a strong group. They are in multiple parts.”

Knowing she will have a large group of interested children, Ballantyne tries to pick a show that can be expanded.

“The fourth-graders are in a restaurant scene,” she said. “Later, they are inmates in a jail. They have two big songs, and they come back for the finale. If you were really doing the show, you’d have two waiters; I have 30. It’s being creative and then seeing what makes sense. Basically, anything is possible.”

“Legally Blonde” is based on the 2001 motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon and Luke Wilson. The movie, based on a novel by Amanda Brown, is about a young, Southern California woman who, determined to win back a boyfriend who thinks she is not very bright, enrolls in Harvard Law School, as does her one-time boyfriend. But at school, she is again confronted by the “dumb blonde” stereotype. Throughout the movie and the musical, the protagonist proves the stereotype wrong.

Ballantyne said directing such a large group of children requires one to remember that a stage play is all about pretending and that children are naturally good at this.

“I set up the scene, tell them to be in character, to improvise and it works,” she said.

But she admits the choreography for such a large group can be tricky.

“You just have to be patient. I have about five students from the middle school. They help out with everything, and hopefully it trickles down,” she said, adding that the main thing is that the students “are having fun and telling a story. But a few of the leads have been studying voice for years and are quite good.”

“Legally Blonde” will be performed Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, May 7, at 3 p.m., at the school, 235 Ridgewood Ave. Admission will be charged.

  FEATURED, Ridgewood Avenue School