Legally Blonde is the next challenge for CAOS Musical Productions

SussexWorld

The comedy musical Legally Blonde is the next challenge for CAOS Musical Productions as they take to the stage from Wednesday to Saturday, November 1-4 at Westbourne House School, Coach Road, Chichester (tickets www.caosmusicalproductions.co.uk)

Transcript

00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now, Chaos

00:06 are a fabulous, Chaos Musical Productions, fabulous Chichester-based company, do some

00:11 really great things. And the next challenge for you is the musical Legally Blonde. Now,

00:17 Emily Horner, you are the musical director, and Lauren Ford, you are stepping into the

00:22 Reese Witherspoon shoes, from the film at least, to be Elle. Now, Lauren, how's it going?

00:29 How's it shaping up? It's going really well, actually. Really, really enjoying the process.

00:34 We've got about a month to go, and we're now just getting to the point where we're able to start

00:39 kind of piecing together all of the work that we've done so far, and kind of see how the show

00:45 looks as a whole, and that's really exciting. And does it help you, the fact that Elle is such an

00:52 attractive character, isn't she? There's something really likeable about her, something really

00:57 appealing about her. Yeah, no, she's a really, really interesting character to play, and getting

01:03 to kind of take that inspiration from such a well-known portrayal from Reese Witherspoon,

01:10 and kind of take that and pick up pieces and make it my own has been a really,

01:16 really enjoyable experience. And there's the tiniest, tiniest of parallels, isn't there,

01:20 given that you are heading for a legal career? There is, yes.

01:24 Has it been a shift? Yes, I'm in law school, so it's quite fun

01:30 to kind of get to play that character and see it resemble my real life.

01:35 Is there anything that you can draw on, or are the two worlds so completely different?

01:40 I think the biggest takeaway I've had is I'm able to kind of approach the role with a real sense of

01:48 knowing how much work goes into it. It really can't be understated. And so I think that is

01:53 something I'm able to really, when there are points in the show where I think maybe Elle is at a point

01:59 where she is really seeing how much work she's put in, I'm able to draw on first-hand experience.

02:05 Emily, you've done a lot with the company over a relatively short space of time,

02:11 but you've usually been on stage. But now you're going to be hidden. Well, you'll be seen,

02:16 won't you? But not actually on stage. Tell me about the role of musical director for this.

02:22 What kind of music are we going to have in the show?

02:24 Just very fun music, very upbeat. You'll be leaving at the end of the night, kind of humming

02:32 the songs. They're very infectious. They're just really, really joyful. And it's a fantastic

02:39 scene for both our principals and ensemble. Challenging, but I think very worthwhile.

02:45 And I'm really excited for our audiences to see it.

02:49 And does it help you, Emily, the fact that, as you were saying, you have actually been in the

02:53 show in the past? Who did you play? I was an ensemble member. I played a student

03:00 in the last production that I was in, which was quite a few years ago now. So it's really

03:05 exciting to revisit the piece. It's such a fun show. Great film, great musical. So it's exciting

03:15 to be on the other side of things this time. Yes. And does that knowledge from the musical,

03:20 when you were in it, does that actually help you?

03:22 Yes, yeah, it does. It's bringing back a lot of memories. I scarily remember a lot of the music

03:29 much better than I thought I did, which has been quite helpful. It all comes flooding back.

03:35 But it's been really exciting to revisit. And again, a big challenge, you're saying

03:39 this is your first book musical, first full show, in effect, as musical director?

03:45 It is. It's quite daunting. It's quite a daunting task. You start to think to yourself,

03:49 "Oh, can I do it?" The responsibility of making sure that everybody knows what they're doing

03:55 musically and teaching all of the music. But it's been very rewarding. And I'm extremely

04:02 proud of all of the cast. They're doing well, aren't they?

04:06 They are. They are. And as Lauren said, we're at the point now where we're piecing all of the

04:12 bits that we've set together. And it's really shaping up to be a really exciting and joyous show.

04:19 It sounds brilliant. Now, Lauren, when you're taking your bows at the end of the run,

04:23 having had a fantastic time on stage in this lovely role, are you going to start thinking,

04:28 "This is what I want to do, not law." Are you absolutely set?

04:33 I think I'm quite a few years into my law degree now. So I think that's definitely the route I'm

04:39 heading. But I do really enjoy getting to take to the stage and have that as a hobby to supplement.

04:45 But what does it give you as a hobby?

04:48 Oh, it gives me the opportunity to spend time with a big group of other people working kind of

04:55 cohesively and collectively on a piece and seeing the journey of that from start to finish

05:00 is such a rewarding experience and something that I really love. And then, as you say,

05:05 like standing on stage at the end of a run and kind of getting to reflect back and having shared

05:10 that creation that you've made with an audience and seeing their reception is such a rewarding

05:16 experience. That sounds great. And finally, Emily,

05:18 it's a lovely choice for the company, isn't it, to do Legally Blonde?

05:23 Oh, it's absolutely fantastic. Chaos always put on a wonderfully exciting range of productions,

05:31 and I'm so glad that Legally Blonde is now one of those. It is just so fun. And it's a show that

05:40 all can get involved in, no matter if you're Elwood or you're in the ensemble. There's so

05:45 much to take away from it. So much singing, so much dancing. It's a real good time for hopefully

05:53 everyone on stage and off. Fantastic. Well, lovely to speak to you both.

05:58 Congratulations on the show. And yeah, have fun. Thank you.

06:02 Thank you.

06:03 Thank you.

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