Legally Blonde Creative

Director

Ms. Christina Baurle

Ms. Baurle is excited to continue to work with such talented students on this year's production of Legally Blonde the Musical. She is the theatre teacher at PCHS and is currently teaching Acting for the Stage, IB Theatre, Introduction to Playwriting, and Technical Theatre in addition to advising the Drama Club and International Thespian Society. Her Port Chester producing and directing credits include Twelve Angry Jurors, High School Musical, Clue, Head Over Heels the Musical, and Around the World in 8 Plays. She has also directed multiple original productions at SUNY Geneseo and off-off Broadway festivals. She was recently published as a contributing author to American Musicals in Context: from the American Revolution to the 21st Century. She would like to thank the entire Port Chester community for their support and encouragement of the performing arts talents of our students.

Music Director

Mr. Jonathan Pereira

Mr. Pereira is excited to be acting as Music Director in his third Port Chester High School production. Mr. P is the music teacher at Port Chester High School where he teaches Choir, IB music, Music Production, Music Theory, and runs the school’s a capella group, The Port Chester Sound. Prior to Port Chester, he has worked as an accompanist for various schools and community choirs across NY as well as working as a recording/mixing engineer in NYC recording studios such as Dream Recording Studios and QUAD Recording Studios. Mr. P is proud of the cast for their incredible hard work and talent and is grateful to be a part of the Port Chester community.

Producer

Ms. Steph Darrow

This is the 13th show Ms. Darrow has produced for the PCHS Drama Club. Play credits include: A View from the Bridge, 1984, Clue, and 12 Angry Jurors, producer/director. Musical credits include: High School Musical, Mamma Mia, and The Wedding Singer, producer. She is an English Teacher here at Port Chester High School. She would like to thank Ms. Baurle for making room for her in this year’s spring musical, Legally Blonde the Musical! It’s a pleasure to be your right hand woman.

Choreographer

Ms. Kimberly Fusco

Ms. Fusco is excited to be returning to choreograph for the PCHS Drama Club this spring! She previously choreographed High School Musical last year in 2023. She is also an 8th grade English teacher at Port Chester Middle School. She loves being able to work with the students in theater, share her passion for dance with them, and looks forward to rehearsals after school. Thank you to the amazing creative team for the experience. Best of luck to the very talented cast of Legally Blonde The Musical!

Assistant Director/Stage Manager/Ensemble-TV Reporter

Toni Ash

Toni Ash is a junior at the high school and is very excited for this year’s production of Legally Blonde. Toni has been a part of the drama club since her freshman year and has worked her way up to the Assistant Director position which is a role she is very grateful to have. Toni is a part the Port Chester Sound which is an acapella group at the high school and the International Thespian Society. She has so much love and appreciation for the arts and can’t wait to do this all over again next year for her last year at PCHS!

Assistant Choreographer/Ensemble

Yazirah Handal

Yazirah is a Senior and is thrilled to be working on this year's musical in the dance department, and also as an actor. Yazirah has been a dancer for 13 years and this will be her second and last time working on a PCHS show. She has performed in numerous dance shows before and has taken Acting for the Stage classes and IB theater. Her first show was Assistant choreographing for High School Musical last year with a small role, but now she is excited to be participating more behind the scenes and in more numbers on stage.

Stage Manager

Kayla Castillo

Kayla Castillo is a senior, and she is so excited to be a part of Legally Blonde as an assistant stage manager! Last school year, she worked on both the play and musical as a scene shift crew member. She was also an assistant stage manager for the previous production, 12 Angry Jurors. She is an enthusiastic member of the International Thespian society! Kayla has had a passion for theater since the 6th grade, and can’t believe this is her last show before college!

Stage Manager

Amelia Jimenez

Amelia is a freshman and this is her first year working with the PCHS musical. She hopes to continue her journey with theatre throughout her high school years . Amelia was a part of 12 Angry Jurors in fall as an assistant stage manager. Amelia hopes to become a playwriting producer or director in the future. She thanks her parents for encouraging her to be a part of the theatre, she wouldn't have done it without them.

Stage Manager

Sophia Tellez

Sophia Tellez is a junior and is excited to return as a stage manager for this year's spring musical. She was also a stage manager for the past two years since her freshman year. She has been grateful to have grown so much in the past three years throughout theater and would like to thank the amazing production team and all the wonderful cast and crew for the chance to participate!

Pit Orchestra Director

Ms. Melissa Neyer

Ms. Melissa Neyer is the Orchestra Director at PCHS. Not only does she direct the orchestra but is the advisor for Orchestra Club, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Pit Orchestra and co-director of the Jazz Band. Ms. Neyer has played bass for many shows and orchestras in the past but most recently has played in the pit for PCHS on High School Musical and Head Over Heels. Congrats to all cast and crew!

Original Creative Team

Heather received 2007 Tony and Drama Desk nominations for her work on Legally Blonde. Graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, School of Journalism. Worked at The New York Times Denver Bureau as a research assistant and Sports and Fitness Publishing in Boulder, Colorado, as a magazine editor. Member of Denver's Comedy Sports improv comedy troupe. Worked on the TV shows "Caroline in the City" and "Dilbert." Won Walt Disney Screenwriting Fellowship in 1999. Film credits include Disney's "Freaky Friday" and "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Also wrote the young adult novel "Freaky Monday" with Mary Rodgers. Much love to friends and family, especially Jason, Harper and Drake.

Laurence O'Keefe received 2007 Tony and Drama Desk nominations for his work on Legally Blonde. Larry thanks all Blonde producers and creative team. He won the Ed Kleban Award, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and a Jonathan Larson award for his music and lyrics. Off-Broadway credits: Bat Boy: The Musical (Lucille Lortel, Richard Rodgers, Outer Critics' Circle awards), which has received 100+ productions worldwide; music for Sarah, Plain and Tall, lyrics by Nell Benjamin (touring with TheatreWorksUSA). Co-author with Nell Benjamin of Cam Jansen (Drama Desk nomination) and The Mice. Larry is a product of his education with the Harvard Krokodiloes, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the Harvard Lampoon and the Actors' Gang, but especially the incomparable Nell Benjamin.

Nell co-wrote the score to Legally Blonde, the Musical with composer Laurence O'Keefe, which received Tony Award nominations, Drama Desk nominations, and the Olivier and Helpmann Awards for Best Musical. Nell wrote the lyrics to Mean Girls, which received multiple Tony Award nominations, including for Best Original Score and Best Musical. Nell's play, The Explorers Club, won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant. Nell has written book and/or lyrics for Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan plunder'd), Sarah, Plain and Tall, Cam Jansen (Drama Desk-nominated), I Want My Hat Back, How I Became A Pirate, The Mice, Life of the Party and Because of Winn Dixie. Upcoming musicals are: Huzzah!, Life of the Party, Dave. Television writing includes "Unhappily Ever After", Animal Planet's "Whoa! Sunday with Mo Rocca", "Electric Company", "Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris", "Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway", "Julie's Greenroom." Benjamin is the recipient of the Kleban Foundation Award and a Jonathan Larson Grant.

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Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

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