"Legally Blonde: The Musical" opened to a packed theater on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The performance hall was abuzz with excitement as patrons hurriedly went to their seats in preparation for the two-and-a-half hour show. As the lights went down, the star of the show Elle Woods came over the loudspeaker and asked the theatergoers to "like, totally, turn off their cell phones."

The show began and the audience was transported to the University of California in Los Angeles, where the Delta Nu sorority was preparing to celebrate with their president Elle, played by Southeast Missouri State University student Molly Dowd, about her supposed upcoming engagement to her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, played by Jacob Buckenmyer.

The sorority sisters kicked off the show with the number "Omigod You Guys," singing about their excitement for Elle, since she and Warner were the "perfect couple." However, Woods' dreams were absolutely crushed when Warner expressed in a duet with Elle called "Serious" that she was a "Marilyn," not a "Jackie," referencing Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy, and that she was not serious enough for him since he was preparing to go to Harvard Law School.

Elle, absolutely devastated that the man she loved left her in the dust, decided that she would not take "I think we should break up" for an answer. To prove to Warner (and ultimately herself) that she wasn't "just a Marilyn," she decided to buckle down and get into Harvard Law as well. She studied to get a 175 on her Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and even hired and led a marching band to blow away the admissions office, rather than doing an admissions essay. However, law school wasn't as fun as Elle originally thought it would be.

The first day of class did not go well for Harvard's blondest law student. The other students did not seem to care for her bubbly personality. She got kicked out of her class because she had not done the class reading, and she discovered that Warner was now dating another girl, Vivienne, played by Allie Wolz.

Elle formed an unlikely alliance with an older student, Emmett, played by Michael Burrell. She decided to clear her head and went to a hair and nail salon, where she met stylist Paulette, played by Hannah Lundy. Paulette, dejected after being dumped by the man she had lived with for 10 years, dreamed of an Irishman who would be her "knight in shining armor" in the land where dreams come true in her solo "Ireland."

The final scenes of Act I dealt with Elle becoming more serious about her studies, rather than constantly worrying about getting Warner back. Emmett encouraged her to get a "chip on her shoulder" and to care about what she's doing. It paid off, and Elle was one of the four students that was chosen for a coveted internship with Professor Callahan, played by Kyle Morr, who was known for being a very tough professor. Although Warner got engaged, Elle was not phased, saying that she was "so much better" now that she had found a "chip on her shoulder" and had become more serious about school.

"We saw this at The Muny last year, and this is just as good," said Kim Long, one of the attendees of the show, referring to herself and a group of friends that had attended the show before.

Act II began with the workout/dance routine "Whipped Into Shape," that showed Brooke Wyndham, played by Jessica Love, a fitness queen who was currently on trial for murdering her much older husband. Although initially refusing to give an alibi, she told Elle where she really was the day of her husband's murder, and Elle promised to keep her secret safe. Her colleagues disagreed with not telling the alibi, but Elle used her wit and knowledge of fashion and hair care to ultimately win the trial for Brooke.

Emily Goetter, former roommate of cast member Leshay Mathis and Southeast alumna, raved about the show.

"I love this," Goetter said. "I was a nursing major, but all of my friends are from the River Campus."

The show's numbers ranged from lighthearted ("Omigod You Guys" or "Bend and Snap") to ones that tugged on heartstrings (such as "Ireland" or "Legally Blonde"), with multiple costume changes, for Dowd especially, throughout the show. Dowd and Burrell showed great chemistry as Elle and Emmett. Lundy was a great comic relief, but also gave the character of Paulette a much deeper character development than the film did originally. Burrell and Dowd received standing ovations at the end of the show.

The show was extremely dance-intensive, especially with numbers like "Whipped Into Shape" or "Positive." The cast looked as if every second they were on the stage, they were having the time of their lives. The work that has been put into this show was noticeable from every set, costume change and every note that was sung.