Let's Hear It for the Boys!

In my last post, I mentioned the themes of female friendship in "Legally Blonde." Now I want to call special attention to the male members of our casts.

"Legally Blonde" is one of the most challenging Mainstage shows our young actors have ever taken on, with more demanding songs, complex choreography, and multiple quick changes than we've had in recent shows.

Michael Metcalf, above left, was the only cast member to appear in all eight performances as he played the shark-like Professor Callahan of Harvard Law School in Casts A, B, C, and D. His commitment, endurance and energy at every rehearsal and performance are to be commended.

Our guys went through a lot in this show, getting kissed...

 ...smacked...

 ... and slapped!

Sam Stein played both the ultra-masculine Kyle the UPS guy (and subject of one of the funniest lines in the show: "That new UPS guy is like walking porn!") as well as the both gay and European Miko Argitakos. Sam's Russian jump easily cleared five feet.

Javier Spivey, below, got a lot of laughs in the same triple-cast portrayal of Kyle/Mikos/Dewey for Casts C and D.

And then there are the Bens! Ben Senneff, above, and Ben Milan-Polisar, below, shared the role of Warner for Casts A/B and C/D respectively.

Warner is a nuanced character as he's torn between what his heart really wants and what he thinks he needs to achieve his goals. It would be so easy just to play him as a jerk, but both guys brought depth and humanity to the role. Just a great job done by both.

I gotta give a quick shout-out to Miguel Garcia for his Jamaican-themed "Beer Bash Extreme" frat boy rap. So funny!

And then there was Emmett. Noah Ruff, above, and Luke Forester, below, handled this role with finesse.

Both young men are veterans of multiple Random Farms' Mainstage productions. Their talent and experience bring invaluable contributions to our shows. They've grown so much since I first saw them in "Cinderella" (for Luke) and "Little Mermaid" (for Noah.)

Overall, I just can't say enough good things about the guys in "Legally Blonde." Congratulations to you all!

Girl Scouts at Legally Blonde!

Although we were very pleased with the audience turnout at Legally Blonde, (we sold out the orchestra at nearly every show!), we were especially delighted to welcome several local Girl Scout troops to Cast A and B. Did you know that when you bring a large group to Random Farms Kids' Theater shows, you can arrange for a short meet-and-greet afterwards with the actors with a little planning ahead of time? Our leads from Cast A came out to answer a few questions and sign lots of autographs following the show.

It was particularly endearing seeing the tweens clamor for autographs from the male leads, calling out, "Oh, look! It's the UPS guy!" Sam Stein, Cast A's Kyle (and other roles), is a pretty modest guy,  but he took it all in stride and obliged every Girl Scout who approached him to sign her program. 

We thought the show's message about self-improvement through higher education and hard work, as well as the emphasis on the bonds of female friendship, made "Legally Blonde" a great fit for older Girl Scout troops.  Elle gets a lot of support and encouragement not only from her Delta Nu sorority sisters, but also from smart, strong women characters from very different walks of life, like Enid, Vivian and Paulette.

Tenth-grader Olivia Battinelli, Cast A's Enid, below, is also a cadet who is still active in scouting. "I'm a Girl Scout, too," she told the scouts from Scarsdale. Olivia is currently working on her Silver Award, one of scouting's highest honors, as well as juggling school and theater. The younger girls seemed excited to hear that, and it was a nice moment of connection all around.

Although Legally Blonde is over, auditions for our summer Mainstage start on Sunday! School groups and camps with 20 or more people can save 40% on tickets, so if you or your kids are active in summer programs, come see "Shrek The Musical" the last weekend in July and the first weekend in August.  To learn more about bringing your group to a Random Farms show, click here.

Unseen Moments from "Legally Blonde"

We hope you got to see one of our four casts' performing "Legally Blonde" these past two weekends, because our kids and teens were just amazing. We are so pleased and proud of how everyone did, and we appreciate everyone who was in the audience. It was particularly nice to see kids from different casts come to support their friends.

I want to show you some of my favorite offstage moments that happened behind the scenes, because the crew, band, volunteers and staff put in so much time and energy. Here are some random, funny and touching moments you didn't get to see on stage.

Production coordinator Stephanie Rubino closes the curtain and makes sure everything is set before opening the house to the audience.

Musical director Charlotte Evans warms up the band during dress rehearsal.

Lighting designer Ania Parks works behind the board. She worked so hard on this show.

Hadley Durkee, Cast B's Elle, gets a kiss from Sara, the chihuahua who played Bruiser.

Bella, Cast D's Rufus, wears a Random Farms Kids' Theater t-shirt as she waits with her owner to be part of the cast photo.

Producer Anya Wallach works her magic, lit by bright stage lights.

Jonah Halperin checks on his props backstage before dress rehearsal.

Athena Ripka, Cast A's Elle, presents director Alexis Grausz with flowers before giving a bouquet to musical director Charlotte Evans.

Faith Lyle, who came to nearly a month of rehearsals, tech week and shows altogether, gets her dog Sara (Bruiser) ready for the cast photo.

Halle Mastrobernardino, Cast A's Paulette, signs autographs for a young fan.

Cast B gets notes on the stage before dinner break during tech week.

Associate director/choregrapher Julia Moss strikes a pose (while wearing a wig) before warming up the jump-ropers for Act 2 during dress rehearsal.

Last but not least, Cast C had an amazing dress rehearsal. They were so focused the entire time, even with one of the dogs barking in the house during their run-through. At the very end, Noah Ruff spontaneously began re-enacting the scene from the Lion King where young Simba is presented to the animal kingdom with the pillow that serves as Paulette's baby bump. I'm not sure why this happened, exactly, but it was hilarious.

Then, Maggie Brennan, Cast C's Elle, came up with the idea to pretend Sara/Bruiser was Simba, which was even more hilarious. It's truly the kids' personalities, humor, creativity and sense of fun that make our programs special. I hope this gives you a little peek at that. :)