Becky Gulsvig (right) stars as Elle Woods in the national tour of Legally Blonde The Musical. Photo: Joan Marcus

Wharton Center goes Legally Blonde beginning Jan. 13

EAST LANSING – East Lansing goes blonde Jan. 13 when Legally Blonde The Musical opens at Wharton Center.

Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

In its first year on Broadway, Legally Blonde The Musical earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, 10 2007 Drama Desk Award nominations, a 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award and the chorus of the musical was honored by Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs with the first-ever ACCA Award. Now, the Broadway hit is coming to Wharton Center Jan. 13-18 as part of the MSU Federal Credit Union Broadway at Wharton Center Series.

Becky Gulsvig, the Elle understudy in the original Broadway cast, is Elle Woods in the tour. Fans of the MTV reality show Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which premiered on June 2, 2008, will recognize two familiar faces in the tour casting: Third runner-up Rhiannon Hansen plays Elle's best friend Margot and fourth runner-up Lauren Zakrin is an ensemble member and understudies the role of Elle. The reality show represented the musical's second venture with MTV. In the fall of 2007, MTV aired Legally Blonde The Musical in its entirety to stellar ratings and was subsequently nominated for two 2007-2008 Daytime Emmy Awards.

As on Broadway, Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell is the director and choreographer. Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach. The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and sound design by ACME Sound Partners.

Legally Blonde The Musical is produced on tour by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.

Performance times are Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $30-$68.

For tickets or information, call the Wharton Center Box Office at 517-432-2000 or log on to www.whartoncenter.com.

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