Inside USC\u2019s Bing Theatre, a sea of pink, elaborate choreography and powerhouse vocals bring to life the world of Elle Woods. But, behind the sparkle is a process defined by dedication and collaboration.<\/p>\n
Running from April 2 to April 11, the production \u2014 led by director and musical veteran Scott Faris, music director David O and choreographer Dana Solimando \u2014 tells the story with a Trojan flair. The show also adds USC-specific moments, including appearances by the Trojan Marching Band. The USC alterations were approved by Amanda Brown, the author of the book the film was based on and a USC alumna.<\/p>\n
For sophomore musical theater major Lydia Berckley, who plays Elle Woods, the journey feels extraordinarily special.<\/p>\n
Berckley described an intense audition process involving multiple rounds of callbacks, auditioning with over 200 students. After weeks of preparation, she opened the cast list wearing what she calls her \u201clucky pajamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m literally on top of the world,\u201d Berckley said, recalling the moment she found out she was cast as Elle. \u201cThere are still moments when I\u2019m just like \u2014 this is unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI called everyone I knew,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
More than 100 students across USC, including those from the School of Dramatic Arts, Thornton School of Music and School of Cinematic Arts, are contributing to the show, both on stage and behind the scenes. .<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is so incredibly talented and we\u2019ve worked so hard,\u201d said Francis Faye, who plays Emmett, Elle\u2019s love interest and a teaching assistant at Harvard. \u201cIt\u2019s a show you wouldn\u2019t want to miss.<\/p>\n
That collaboration extends beyond performance. The production\u2019s design and technical teams \u2014 led largely by women \u2014 play a central role in shaping the world of the show, reflecting the musical\u2019s themes of female empowerment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis production is a showcase of the best work USC is going to see,\u201d said production manager Kaitlyn Chaidez.<\/p>\n
The production has also attracted attention beyond campus. Actress Lexi Minetree, set to play Elle Woods in Amazon Prime\u2019s upcoming \u201cElle\u201d series, was confirmed to attend the performance in an Annenberg media interview\u2014. <\/p>\n
For Berckley, stepping into the character of Elle Woods has meant more than learning lines and choreography. It required her to build the character from the inside out.<\/p>\n
Berckley has taken a meticulous approach, analyzing the script line by line, tracking character motivations and even journaling questions about Elle\u2019s life. From her relationships to her personal identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been using everything I\u2019ve learned in my acting classes to completely embody this role,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That process revealed a deeper understanding of the character, one that goes beyond the surface-level image of Elle as a bubbly, fashion-obsessed student.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the outside, you see all this fluff and pink,\u201d Berckley said. \u201cBut she\u2019s so much more than that. She keeps getting knocked down, and she never lets that stop her.\u201d<\/p>\n
That emotional arc is reinforced through the show\u2019s music, which Berckley says reflects Elle\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a motif tied to love,\u201d she said. \u201cAt first, everything she does is for Warner \u2014 but then it shifts. Law becomes what matters most to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cast emphasizes that the mental and physical demands are worth it \u2014 not just for audiences, but for the performers themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you don\u2019t like musical theater, you\u2019ll be able to find something you like or relate to in this show,\u201d said Keira Weiss, who plays Vivienne.<\/p>\n
For Berckley, the experience of leading the production as a sophomore has been transformative.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m learning so much from everyone around me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just so amazing to be surrounded by people who are this talented and this kind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inside USC\u2019s Bing Theatre, a sea of pink, elaborate choreography and powerhouse vocals bring to life the world…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":691180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,74676,2961,74677,224,5337,44449,30940,1148,11016,289564],"class_list":["post-691179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-elle-woods","tag-la","tag-legally-blonde","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-musical","tag-reese-witherspoon","tag-theater","tag-usc","tag-usc-school-of-dramatic-arts"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116315070426371760","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}