Harvard Asap Legally Blonde

The show also explored Elle`s blondness in the Asian-American experience and how whiteness is often romanticized, she said. The blonde wig of actress Natalie Choo who played She had dark roots to show that she was not a natural blonde. “There`s a performativity of blondness that exists in the original musical. It`s just in a different context, now that she`s Asian American,” Cowperthwaite said. The story of Elle going to Harvard is a story of white privilege,” Karina Cowperthwaite, a Harvard junior and director of the series, told NBC Asian America. “She`s blonde, beautiful, rich and white. Admissions officers look at that identity and say, “Yes, it`s in there.” There are a lot of non-racial musicals that are automatically assumed to be white,” she said. In recent years, the Asian Student Arts Project (ASAP) had staged performances with an all-Asian cast, including “Mr. Butterfly,” but finding the right one this year was difficult, Cowperthwaite said. Cowperthwaite, who is biracial, attended a predominantly white high school and was the only Asian American in her drama program at the time.

She said keeping her Asian identity separate from her love of theater is the best way to avoid typography. ASAP is an organization for Asian Harvard students who want to celebrate their artistic passions coupled with their identity. “We are constantly creating open spaces where pan-Asian students feel they have a space to express themselves and elevate their art,” said Karina L. Cowperthwaite, director and co-chair of ASAP, 23. However, this semester`s musical was unlike any other ASAP production in the past. All of ASAP`s past shows have been written with Asian identities in mind, Cowperthwaite said. “Legal Blonde” is perhaps as far removed from this trend as possible. Very few contemporary Broadway musicals feature Asian-American stories. “It`s really hard when you`re a theatre company,” Cowperthwaite said. “Especially when we came back from COVID, we really wanted to start a big production.” One member jokingly suggested an all-Asian version of “High School Musical”.

ASAP co-chair Cowperthwaite wasn`t enthusiastic about the proposal, but he gave it an idea: “Legally blonde.” Especially with “Legal Blonde”, the irony in this cast is quite strong. The plot is about a privileged white girl who comes to Harvard in search of love in the blink of an eye. Although the race of Elle is not specified, whiteness is deeply rooted in the perception of most people – originally by Reese Witherspoon and later Laura Bell Bundy. So it`s a lot about coding that racially to suit a minority cast. “There are narratives and a history between Asian Americans and Harvard admissions officials, like the trial,” Cowperthwaite said, referring to Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, “so the narrative suddenly becomes a bit politicized.” But now she enjoys both. “I suddenly understood that equating art with identity is important, necessary and powerful,” she said. Adapting to an Asian-American context also meant rethinking deeper aspects of history. She added: “This production is a love letter to all the girls who dream of being Elle Woods but feel like they can`t because they don`t look like Reese Witherspoon.” Thank you all for auditioning for Legally Blonde this season! We were thrilled to see such a wonderful turnout and so much talent from diverse backgrounds. We are excited to create a space for pan-Asian talent, which can be showcased and raised this season with an all-Asian cast. Unfortunately, due to the high number of auditionees, we were not able to choose all those who auditioned, but we thank everyone for their time, talent and dedication.

Diversity and inclusion starts with representation and visibility, so thank you for joining us on this journey. Our residency will take place from October 18 to 31. Therefore, this show will be a significant expenditure of time – you can expect 15-20 hours of rehearsal per week from the beginning (depending on the character)! We will do our best to accommodate conflicts and plan for changes as much as possible during this time. However, we cannot share the actors with the following shows:A Winter`s TaleUbu RoiPirates of Penzance, we will have our first reading of the show at the Agassiz Theater on Thursday, September 16 from 7:30 pm to 11 pm.