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A Study Guide for Teachers and Students

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Legally Blonde: Introduction
1
INTRODUCTION
This teachers guide has been developed as a teaching tool to assist teachers
who are bringing their students to see the show.
This guide is based on Camp Broadways StageNOTES, conceived for the original
Broadway musical adaptation of Amanda Browns 2001 novel and the lm released
that same year, and has been adapted by Sarah Dickinson for use within the UK.
The UK Education Pack is intended to offer some pathways into the production,
and focuses on some of the topics covered in Legally Blonde which may interest
students and teachers. It is not an exhaustive analysis of the musical or the
production, but instead aims to offer a variety of stimuli for debate, discussion
and practical exploration.
It is anticipated that the Education Pack will be best utilised after a group of
students have seen the production with their teacher, and can engage in an
informed discussion based on a sound awareness of the musical. We hope that
the information provided here will both enhance the live theatre experience and
provide readers with information they may not otherwise have been able to access.
Legally Blonde is an uplifting, energising, feel-good show and with that in mind
we hope this pack will be enjoyed through equally energising and
enjoyable practical work in the classroom and drama studio.
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LEGALLY BLONDE EDUCATION PACK
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS PAGE
1. INTRODUCING LEGALLY BLONDE
A Message from the Director Jerry Mitchell
Synopsis
Denitions
Characters
2. BACKGROUND
The Origins of the US Legal System
Key cases in US Legal History
Legal Terms
3. WOMEN IN THE LAW
Overview of Women in the Law
Female Lawyers Case Studies
4. THE ART OF PERSUASION
Thinking Like a Lawyer Using Persuasive Language
Working for Change
5. ELLE ON STAGE
Writing her Script an interview with Heather Hach (book)
and Neil Benjamin (music)
Dressing her Up an interview with Costume Designer Gregg Barnes
6. FURTHER RESOURCES
A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR
JERRY MITCHELL
Behind every great musical, there lies a great director. He or she is the person whose job it is to translate the words and music of the writers into a living and breathing moment that the audience gets to experience along with the characters. In the case of Legally Blonde, that task fell to the multi-talented Jerry Mitchell. Jerry has a lengthy Broadway CV as actor, dancer, and choreographer that includes such hits as The Full Monty, Hairspray, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. With a
Tony award to his credit for his work on La Cage Aux Folles, Jerry makes his
Broadway debut as a director with Legally Blonde. But why this show?
Why would this talented and well-respected player in the Broadway scene
want to make his directorial debut with Legally Blonde? Heres what Jerry
had to say...
When the producers of the show came to me and asked if I was interested, the
only thing I could say was YES! Why not? Elle Woods is a great character!
Shes a role model for us all because she is some-one who believes in
herself. She is a true modern hero. A hero is resilient. A hero is able to
forge forward, and not dwell on the past. Thats Elle Woods.
I love Elle for so many reasons, but I was drawn to this project because
in some ways, I feel a lot like Elle. I live a very positive life. Everyone has
successes and failures, but failures can be successes too, if you commit
yourself entirely to that event and learn from it - sometimes you learn
more from a failure than a success! Shes all about maintaining a positive
attitude about what you want to do with your life, and going after it. I also
thought that this story makes a perfect musical. When you have a character
who is larger than life, a character whose commitment to a goal or to
themselves is so strong that is what makes them sing. They need passion
in order to justify songs that move the story along. Elle has passion.
Theatre and especially musical theatre has the power to communicate
a message to people on an emotional level, so that they really connect
with it. When people come and see Legally Blonde, I want them to be
entertained, and there is no question in my mind that this show is entertaining.
But I also want people to leave the show having learned this lesson: to thine
own self be true. When no one else is there to guide you and support
you, you have the power within yourself to accomplish your goals!
If you stay focused on what you want and who you are, it will lead you
to things you never dreamed you could achieve!
Introducing Legally Blonde: Directors Message Legally Blonde: Introduction
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A SYNOPSIS OF
LEGALLY BLONDE
THE MUSICAL
Its Spring semester at the University
of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
The Delta Nu sorority sisters are
certain that their sorority president,
Elle Woods, will soon be engaged
to her boyfriend, the eminently eligible
Warner Huntington the Third. The girls
gather to sing Elle their traditional
Engagement Chorale.
Elle has dinner with Warner.
The moment is perfect.
But instead of proposing,
Warner breaks up with Elle. He
explains that hes going to
the prestigious Harvard
Law School next autumn
and he must marry
someone serious in
order to fulfill his life
plan of a career
in politics.
Heartbroken, Elle mopes
in her room eating Milky
Ways. Then she devises a
strategy to show Warner that
shes serious: Step 1) Get in to
Harvard Law School; Step 2)
Impress him with her high IQ; Step 3)
The Wedding!
While her friends party their way
through their nal semester, Elle works
hard and gets a 175 on her LSAT and
submits her application. But the
Admissions Ofcers are unimpressed.
However, when she performs with the
entire UCLA marching band and cheer
team instead of a personal statement
they let her in!
At Harvard, Elle is ridiculed by her
over-achieving classmates. During her
first class, the merciless
Professor Callahan tells his students
that youre nothing until/the thrill of
the kill/becomes your only law!
Callahan discovers that Elle hasnt
done her homework and throws her
out of the class.
To make matters worse, Elle learns
that Warner has a new girlfriend,
her two-faced classmate Vivienne.
Elles only support through all of this is
Callahans teaching assistant, Emmett
And, of course, Elles Delta Nu sisters,
who continue to appear as her own
personal Greek Chorus.
In her grief, Elle heads for the Hair
Affair Salon, where she asks the stylist,
Paulette, to make her a brunette
like Vivienne. Paulette talks her out
of it, and they become friends.
Paulette confides in Elle that her
ex-boyfriend, Dewey, left her and
took her trailer and her dog.
Vivienne invites Elle to a
costume party. But when she arrives
she realises she was the only one told
to arrive in fancy dress. She stands
out like a sore thumb, dressed as a
Playboy bunny. As she leaves the party,
she runs into Emmett, who finally
learns why she came to Harvard Law.
Emmett grew up poor and is working
two jobs while attending law school.
He convinces Elle that she, too, should
get a chip on her shoulder and work
hard to prove herself.
Elle stays at school over Thanksgiving
break and Christmas as well, and Emmett
and Paulette help her study. In class,
Elle impresses Professor Callahan,
who asks whether shes applying for
his very competitive internship.
Emmett and Elle help Paulette reclaim
her dog by visiting Dewey and advising
him that his ten year domestic
relationship with Paulette is considered
a Common Law marriage and entitles
Paulette to half their property.
Paulette is overjoyed, and Elle is
exhilarated when she realises that
this is what law is really about.
Back at school, the list of Callahans
interns is posted. Seeing their names
on the list together, Warner impulsively
proposes to Vivienne in front of everyone.
Elle is shocked, but feels much better
when she discovers that her name is on
the list, too. Callahan assigns Emmett
and the new interns to work on his
latest case, defending Brooke Wyndham,
a TV tness guru accused of murdering
her husband.
Elle is the only member of the legal
team who believes Brooke is innocent.
In a moment alone with Brooke, Elle
and Brooke discover that they were both
members of the Delta Nu sorority
in college. Brooke confides in Elle
that she was having liposuction the
day her husband was killed, and Elle
Double Delta Nu Sister Swears not to
reveal the secret.
Callahan is furious that Elle will not
reveal Brookes alibi. He tells ratty
corduroy (Emmet) and Legally Blonde
(Elle) to get lost for the day, so Elle
takes Emmett shopping to update his
image. She then has her nails done
at the Hair Affair, where Kyle, the
new UPS guy, appears and knocks
Paulettes socks off. Elle and her Delta
Nu Chorus teach Paulette the Bend and
Snap, which catches Kyles attention.
The next day in court, Callahan is
impressed by Emmetts new look, and
Introducing Legally Blonde: Synopsis Introducing Legally Blonde: Synopsis
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even more impressed when Elle saves
the day: She notices that the District
Attorneys witnesswho claims to have
been Brookes loveris impervious
to her Bend and Snap, and realises
he must be gay. Emmett tricks him into
outing himself in court.
Back at the office, the team
celebrates the victory, and Callahan
congratulates Elle. But when they
are left alone, he makes a pass at her
and fires her when she rejects him.
Elle is crushed, and although Emmett
tries to stop her, she is determined
to leave the course and return to
Los Angeles.
The next day, Paulette
and Kyles romance
is blooming when
Elle arrives to
say goodbye.
But Vivienne is there
and acknowledges
that she was wrong
about Elle, urging
her to stay.
Elle agrees, but
on her own terms.
She returns to
the trial in a pink
dress with her
dog Bruiser
under her arm,
accompanied by the Delta
Nus, the Salon folks, Elles own
parents, and her fellow students in
a grand parade.
The procession arrives at court, where
Brooke res Callahan and hires Elle
and Emmett as her counsel. Elle calls
Brookes frizzy-haired step-daughter
Chutney to the stand. Chutney claims
she has just had her hair permed and
was in the shower when her father
was killed. Elle requests that they
re-convene the court at the scene of
the shower, where she demonstrates
the aw in Chutneys alibi: if she had
showered straight after her perm,
the treatment would have been ruined
and her hair would now be straight.
Chutney breaks down and confesses
that she shot her father in an attempt to
shoot Brooke, and the judge immediately
dismisses Brookes case.
Seeing Elles success in the trial,
Warner realizes too late that Elle
would have been perfect for him.
He asks her to marry him, and she
rejects him.
Elles graduation day arrives.
She concludes her valedictory speech
with a proposal to Emmett, and the
Delta Nus are finally able to reprise
their acclamation of Elles
impending marriage.
DEFINITIONS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS
ANGELES (UCLA)
Founded in 1919, the University of
California Los Angeles (known as UCLA)
in the second oldest of the ten campuses
that make up the University of California.
It is attended by around 26,000
undergraduates and 11,000 graduate
students every year. It is located in
Westward, a neighbourhood of
Los Angeles. It is consistently ranked
highly in league tables for universities
in the US. Amongst its Alumni it boasts
nobel winners, important politicians
and lawyers, plus notable names such
as Francis Ford Coppola (director of
the Godfather), Tom Anderson
(founder of MySpace), Jack Black
(actor) and Nancy Cartwright (the
voice of Bart Simpson)
SORORITY
If you drive through any American
University Campus you are likely to
see houses with signs on the door
displaying Greek letters. These are
the houses belonging to the
Sororities and Fraternities, single-sex
student societies. Sororities are women-
only (the name means sisterhood
Fraternities are the male equivalent)
and most universities have a number
of them. Early in each academic year
Sororities host events for new students
in a week called rush week, enabling
newcomers to get a feel for the different
sororities and their members (there
are more than 60 Fraternities and
Sororities at the real UCLA). If a student
subsequently decides to apply her
application will be judged and voted
on by existing members. If successful
she will be admitted into the sorority
through an initiation ceremony.
Alongside the core value of a support
network, sorority membership comes
with other benefits including
accommodation in the sorority house,
nancial support through scholarships
and networking with existing and former
sorority sisters. The names of sororities
are often represented by Greek letters,
which link to their mottos. As seen in
Legally Blonde, sorority women are
often parodied, being represented as
airheaded and stupid yet, as Elle goes
on to prove, in reality sisters are often
highly intelligent young women who
go on to excel in their chosen elds.
Delta Nu is a ctionalised sorority
at UCLA.
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School
is now the oldest continuously operating
law school in the U.S. Considered the
worlds premier centre for legal
education and research, Harvard Law
is home to the worlds largest academic
Introducing Legally Blonde: Synopsis Introducing Legally Blonde: Denitions
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law library, comprising nearly 2
million volumes. A student like Elle
would be very lucky indeed to be
accepted; each year, nearly 7, 000
applications are received and about
800 places are offered; an acceptance
rate of about 12%.
LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
is an examination taken by prospective
Law School students in the United States
before applying to their chosen school.
Created as a method to give Law Schools
a way to judge all applicants uniformly,
the exam tests a candidates logic and
reasoning skills. Scores range from
120 to 180, with an average score
of about 151. As Harvard is such a
prestigious law school, Elle is required
to score highly in the LSAT.
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Thanksgiving is held on the fourth
Thursday in November in the USA.
Historically a religious feast,
commemorating the rst thanksgiving
to God in 1621 by the Pilgrim Fathers,
it is now considered a secular holiday.
Families traditionally gather together
at this time and the weekend around
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel
periods in the US year. Elles decision
to remain at Harvard to study at this time
is as signicant as her choice not to
return home for Christmas.
VALEDICTORY SPEECH
In the USA the highest-ranking student
in a graduating class is typically given
the title Valedictorian, and their
traditional role is to give the final
speech (Valedictory Speech) at the
graduation ceremony. That Elle gives
this speech at the end of Legally Blonde
indicates that she has graduated top
of her year! The title Valedictorian
comes from the Latin vale dicere
meaning to say farewell.
CHEER TEAM
Cheerleaders lead spectators at sports
matches using organized routines
comprised of dancing, acrobatics,
cheers and stunts to direct attention
towards their team. Cheerleading is
recognized as a sport in its own right,
and every US school and college has
a Cheer Team that will also compete
in its own competitions, as well as in
support of others.
INTERNSHIP
An Internship is a temporary position
in an organisation similar to an
apprenticeship in that it offers on the
job training rather than just employment.
Getting the right internship with the
right firm early in a career can offer
valuable experience and contacts.
As a leading lawyer Callahans
internships are highly prized by young
law students wanting to get a leg up
in their career.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
An individual elected in each judicial
district to charge and prosecute those
accused of committing crimes.
SENATOR
Congress, the US Parliament, has
two elected houses: the lower house,
the House of Representatives, and the
upper house, the Senate. Each US State
is represented by two Senators.
There are 100 Senators in total in
the Senate.
HOMECOMING QUEEN
Homecoming is celebrated at US schools
and colleges in late September/ early
October when past graduates return to
take part in a series of social activities
traditionally built around a central
sporting xture such as a football or
basketball game. Other events include
a parade, a feast and the crowning of
the Homecoming Queen to reign over
the proceedings (in some places a
whole Homecoming Court is elected).
Prospective Homecoming Queens
are nominated by their classmates in
recognition of their contribution to
the school (and often because of
their popularity) and elected by a
student vote.
TEACHING ASSISTANT
In universities a Teaching
Assistant is a graduate
student who assists a
professor in their classes.
UPS
United Parcel
Service
a leading
international
package delivery
service, well known for
its brown trucks and smart
drivers dressed in
brown uniforms.
Introducing Legally Blonde: Denitions Introducing Legally Blonde: Denitions
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CHARACTERS
ELLE WOODS
UCLA Homecoming Queen and Delta
Nu President
MARGOT, SERENA, PILAR, KATE,
AND A BEVY OF DELTA NU
SORORITY GIRLS
Elles sorority sisters
BRUISER
Elles Chihuahua
WARNER HUNTINGTON III
Elles college boyfriend, from an upper
class family, who plans to be a senator
by the time hes 30.
ELLES MUM
ELLES DAD
WINTHROP, LOWELL AND
PFORZHEIMER
Stuffy Harvard Admissions Ofcers
PROFESSOR CALLAHAN
Harvard Laws merciless Criminal
Law Professor.
EMMETT
Professor Callahans Teaching Assistant
VIVIENNE KENSINGTON
Warners new girlfriend, an upper class
Harvard student
PAULETTE BUONOFUONTE
A hairdresser with a heart of gold
DEWEY
Paulettes ex-boyfriend
RUFUS
Paulettes dog
BROOKE WYNDHAM
Television fitness guru accused
of murdering her husband
KYLE BRENDAN OBOYLE
UPS Delivery Guy whos perfect
for Paulette
JUDGE
NIKOS ARGITAKOS
Brooke Wyndhams pool boy,
who claims to have been her lover.
CARLOS
Nikoss friend
CHUTNEY WYNDHAM
Brookes frizzy-haired stepdaughter
And.
A cast of thousands including UCLA
students, the UCLA Marching Band
and Cheer Team, salespeople, salon
clientele, prison inmates and the
Harvard Law School class of 2009.
ORIGINS OF THE US
LEGAL SYSTEM
Have you ever wondered why
lawyers are admitted to the bar
and approach the bench?
The US judicial system has its origins in
the British legal system, as do many of
its terms. At the Inns of Court in
London, 16th Century law students who
were ready to practice law passed a
symbolic physical barrier the bar to
join the seasoned lawyers on the other
side; later, the word came to mean the
railing surrounding the area where the
judge sat. The judges seat and hence,
the judge himself was referred to as
the bench; to this day the space
around him or her is sacred, and one
must seek permission to enter it.
Both the British and American systems
are based on English Common Law
essentially the sum total of custom,
tradition, and especially precedent
over the centuries.
When the United States was formed
in July 1776 (having declared itself
independent from the United Kingdom),
its leaders established their national
government under a document called
The Articles
of Confederation.
This document was the first
constitution of the United States
and legally established the union of
the separate states into a federation.
But the Articles didnt give the
federal government
enough power and so
failed to bring the
states to solve
national problems.
In 1789, the states
ratied the U.S.
Constitution, which
established three
branches of government
and set down the basic laws
of the U.S. as well as the
rights of its citizens.
The Constitution seeks to
balance powers,
assigning some to the
federal government,
and leaving others to
the individual
states themselves.

The struggle over
the balance of these
powers continues in the
courts today. Under the
Constitution, both the
federal and the state court
systems have as their nal
court of appeals the United
Introducing Legally Blonde: Characters Background: US Legal System
12 13
States Supreme Court - the highest
court in the land. No other court or
power can overrule its decisions and
the decisions made there guide the
lower courts and those making the laws
through their interpretation of the
Constitution. The lower portion of the
timeline below shows a few of the
landmark decisions in Supreme
Court history.
In the US today courts actively
encourage and oversee Alternate
Dispute Resolution (ADR), in the form
of mediation and arbitration, which
can save time and expense for
both the parties involved and
the government.
Nevertheless, the US is a
famously litigious society, and
thousands of cases move
through the state and
federal courts. Only a tiny
fraction of those in
either system will ever
reach the Supreme Court,
but throughout U.S. history
local cases have captured
the nations attention and
focused debate on
issues foremost in the
minds of the populace.
Some of the cases in the
timeline, on the page
opposite, are landmark
decisions in US Supreme
Court history.
The timeline reveals the fact
that the US system often
allows the worst tendencies of
human nature such as
selfishness, superstition, and mob
mentality to abuse it; but it also attests
to the ingenious foresight of the
Constitutions creators, who designed
the judicial system to adapt to
unimaginable social and technological
changes over time.
DID YOU KNOW?
The U.S. Constitution is the oldest
charter in effect in the world! Its authors
created a system of checks and
balances that have effectively kept
any one branch from gaining too
much power. Most importantly, they
allowed for the documents own very
measured evolution over time.
In contrast, the United Kingdom has
no single constitutional document.
The UK is often said to have an
unwritten or de facto constitution
although most of the UK constitution
does exist in the written forms of
statutes, court judgments and treaties
as well as in unwritten sources.
The doctrine of Parliamentary
sovereignty is the foundation of the
British constitution, and so the
constitution can be changed by
Parliament by passing new Acts.
Today this principle is sometimes
questioned, however, due to the UK
membership of the European Union,
and the changing attitudes of the
judiciary, who no longer automatically
see Acts of Parliament as sacrosanct.
GROUNDBREAKING
COURT CASES IN US
LEGAL HISTORY
1692Salem, Massachusetts
The Salem Witchcraft Trials
An atmosphere of hysteria pervaded
Salem Village during the summer of
1692, during which over 150 people
were accused of witchcraft and brought
into court presumed guilty. The court
allowed torture to extract confessions
and testimony that included dreams
and apparitions. After 19 executions,
1 death as a result of torture, and
the deaths of several prisoners,
Governor Phips finally disallowed
spectral evidence and created a
superior court to hear the remaining
cases, all of which were dismissed.
The events of these trials were
dramatized in Arthur Millers 1953
play The Crucible drawing parallels
with the contemporary witch hunts
of McCarthyism.
1803
Marbury v. Madison declares a law
passed by Congress unconstitutional
(contradictory to the constitution).
As a result The Supreme Courts power
of Judicial Review is established and
the checks and balances of US
government dened.
1857
Dred Scott v. Sanford rules that
African-Americans, whether freemen
or slaves, are not U.S. citizens, not
protected by the constitution and that
Congress may not prohibit slavery in
federal territories. Dred Scott was
a slave who had lived in the free state
of Illinois and the free territory of
Wisconsin before returning to the
slave state of Missouri. He had appealed
to the Supreme Court in hope of being
granted his freedom. Commonly referred
to as The Dred Scott Decision, it fuels
the flames leading to the American
Civil War. (The 13th and 14th
Amendments explicitly overturn
Dred Scott.)
1886 - Chicago, IL
The Haymarket Riot Trial erupted when
a bomb was thrown at an otherwise
peaceful workers protest against
police violence and in support of an
8-hour workday. Eight anarchists were
convicted of inciting violence during
the riot. A frenzy of anti-labor and
anti-immigrant fears in the populace
resulted in an unjust trial; although the
prosecution produced no evidence that
the accused men had made or thrown
the bomb that detonated during the riot,
7 of the 8 were sentenced to death
by hanging.
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson
In 1892 Homer Plessy deliberately
entered a railway carriage designated
for white passengers only. He had been
born free and was one eighth black
and seven-eights white, and yet
under the law of Lousiana was still
considered black. When Plessy refused
to leave the white only carriage and
moved to one for coloureds, he was
arrested. In court Plessy argues that
Background: US Legal System Background: Key Cases Timeline
14 15
his rights under the thirteenth
(the abolition of slavery) and fourteenth
(extension of citizenship to all) had
been violated but this was rejected.
The decision upholds Segregation and
the constitutionality of the separate but
equal doctrine, which will curb the
rights of African-American citizens
for decades to come.
1919
Schenck v. United States
establishes the likelihood of speech
causing a clear and present
danger as the test for its
constitutional protection. (This is
replaced in 1969 by the more
narrowly defined test of
imminent lawless action.)
1925Dayton,
Tennessee
The Scopes Trial
High school teacher
John Scopes agreed
to be arrested and
put on trial in order
to challenge
a Tennessee
law against
teaching evolution.
The case famously
pitted Clarence Darrow,
a well-known lawyer
and civil libertarian,
against fundamentalist
Christian statesman
William Jennings Bryan.
The so-called Monkey Trial
sparked heated national
debate over evolution, religion in the
public schools, and meaning of
separation of church and state.
The 1955 play based on the trial, Inherit
The Wind by Jerome Lawrence and
Robert E Lee, was recently revived
at the Old Vic Theatre. Like Millers
The Crucible, it drew parallels
with McCarthyism.
1951New York, New York
The Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg became the
1st U.S. citizens executed for conspiracy
to commit espionage. Their case was
highly controversial, and the partiality
of the judge and the political climate
of the Red Scare made a fair trial almost
impossible. Both before and since the
Rosenberg case, there have been
convictions not only for conspiracy to
commit espionage, but also for actual
espionage, and yet no other defendants
have been executed. Thus it appears
that regardless of their guilt or
innocence, the Rosenbergs were
convenient scapegoats whose story
helped build popular support for the
Korean War. The trial has been
explored ctionally in novels including
E.L.Doctorows book The Book of Daniel
which was adapted into a lm. It also
provided the inspiration for James
Philips 2005 play The Rubenstein Kiss.
1954
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
invalidates the separate but equal
doctrine and outlaws racial segregation
in public schools, paving the way for
desegregation in all areas of public life.
1963
Gideon v. Wainwright guarantees a
defendants right to legal counsel in
criminal cases.
1966
Miranda v. Arizona rules that criminal
suspects must be informed of their rights
before being questioned by police.
1973
Roe v. Wade guarantees a womans
right to an abortion in the rst trimester,
but allows states to intervene in the
2nd and 3rd trimesters. Before this
case laws in some US states
prohibited abortion. This ruling
made abortion legal throughout
the United States.
1974
United States v. Nixon limits the
Presidents Executive Privilege,
and leads to Nixons resignation.
1995 Los Angles, California
The O.J.Simpson Trial
After 133 days of televised testimony,
jurors acquitted O.J. Simpson of his
ex-wifes murder, despite overwhelming
evidence of his guilt. The case inspired
national debate over the relationship
between law, celebrity, and
racial attitudes. Simpson was later
convicted of wrongful death in an
anticlimactic civil trial.
2003
Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger
Rules that colleges may consider
race in admissions in a holistic and
individualized manner, but not in a
mechanical one.
Background: Key Cases Timeline Background: Key Cases Timeline
The Rosenberg Spying Case
Photo: Everett Collection / Rex Features
OJ Simpson
Photo: Sipq / Rex Features
16 17
LEGAL TERMS: HOW
MANY DO YOU
ALREADY KNOW?
Here are some of the US legal terms
encountered in Legally Blonde, many
of which are the same in the UK
(weve indicated where theres
a difference).
ALIBI A provable account of an
individuals whereabouts at the time
of a crime that makes it impossible
for said individual to have committed
said crime.
ASSAULT Any willful attempt or threat
to inict injury upon another person and
the apparent present ability to do so.
The individual threatening the assault
is the assailant.
ASSOCIATE An individual working in
a law rm who is not a partner, or owner.
BAILIFF A court attendant; an
individual who works within a courtroom
and is charged with keeping order,
custody of the jury or the prisoners
while the court is in session.
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE
A marriage not based upon legal
ceremony and compliance with required
formalities but upon the agreement of
two individuals who are legally
competent to live together for a
substantial period of time as husband
and wife. The contract of Common Law
Marriage is only recognised in 11 States
and the District of Colombia in the USA.
In the UK, although the term is often
used, common law marriage is not
legally recognised.
CROSS EXAMINATION
The questioning of a witness by an
individual or attorney other than the
one who called said witness on matters
to which the witness has testified
during Direct Examination.
DEFENDANT In a criminal trial, the
defendant is the person accused of
the crime.
DEFENSE The evidence and testimony
offered by the defendant to defeat the
criminal charge.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
The questioning of the witness by the
counsel who has directed said witness
to be present.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY (or D.A.)
Essentially, an attorney for the US state;
an attorney who, on behalf of the people
of a state, prosecutes (i.e. initiates and
carries out a legal action to its
conclusion) the case against a defendant
charged with breaking the states laws.
There are also district attorneys who
protect and prosecute for the United
States Government (i.e. the federal
government). In the UK equivalent
positions are the Crown Prosecutor
(in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland) and the Procurator Fiscal
in Scotland.
GAVEL A small hammer-like
instrument used by a judge to call for
order and attention in a courtroom.
LSAT In the US, Law School
Admission Test. The LSAT is taken by
all individuals in the US (and some
other countries) who want to apply to
law school and is intended to measure
certain basic reasoning abilities deemed
to be important in the successful
study of law. If you wish to be a
lawyer in the UK you will take a
slightly different route. You must have
a law degree or have completed a law
conversion course. Solicitors in the UK
then take a course called the Legal
Practice Course and will then apply
for a two year training contract.
Barristers complete the Bar Vocational
Course and then apply for one year
of pupillage.
MOTIVE The cause or reason that
moves an individual to a certain action.
In a criminal trial, the reason why the
defendant committed the crime with
which s/he is charged.
PATENT Something that is evident
or obvious. A legal patent for an invention
gives the inventor the absolute right
to the invention and protects it so as
to exclude others from making, using
or selling the invention for a period of
time without rst obtaining the patent
holders permission.
PERJURY A criminal offense that
involves making false statements,
or lying, while testifying (making
statements as a witness in court)
under oath.
PLEA In a criminal case, the plea
is the statement by the defendant as
to whether they are guilty or not guilty,
made at the arraignment (the
proceeding during which the state
charges a person with a crime).
PLEA BARGAIN an arrangement
whereby the district attorney on behalf
of the state and the defendant and his
or her attorney negotiate a mutually
agreeable resolution of the case, for
example, less jail time provided the
defendant pleads guilty to the crime
or testifies against someone else
involved in the crime.
RESIGNATION A formal renouncement
or relinquishment of a position or an
ofce; for example, After being charged
with assault, he offered his resignation
as director of the Peace Foundation.
TRIAL An examination and
determination of issues between parties,
whether they are issues of law or of fact,
before and by a judge (and sometimes
a jury) in a court of law.
Background: Legal Terms Background: Legal Terms
18 19
LEGALLY FEMALE: A
BRIEF HISTORICAL
OVERVIEW OF
WOMEN IN THE LAW
For centuries, women faced an
enormous challenge in their efforts to
enter the law profession. All institutions
of the law, namely the law schools,
law society and courts, were under the
exclusive control of men.
In both the UK and USA, the history of
women in the law is closely connected
the womens suffrage movement
in its early stage and later, the
womens rights movement.
A womens right to practice
any profession was closely
connected to her own legal status.
A woman was seen as the
property of her husband
and the ownership of all
her possessions was
turned legally over to
him on her marriage a
law which was not
changed until the 1880s.
African American
women, often slaves,
have an early powerful
history in pursuing the
law as a means of obtaining
their own freedom. In 1655,
Elizabeth Key, a slave, sued for her
freedom by arguing that her status
should be determined by the ancestry
of her father, a free white, rather than
that of her mother, a slave. Although
Ms Key won her case, in 1662. The
Commonwealth of Virginia
responded by legislating that whether
or not a child is a slave or a free person
will be determined in accordance
with their mothers status (hereby
overturning the courts decision).
Women faced a battle in training for a
profession before they were even
allowed to enter it. In 1792 Mary
Wollstonecraft published her
Vindication of the Rights of Women. In
a period where women were viewed
as decoration and property in
marriage, one of its central arguments
was that women should be educated
in so they might contribute fully to
society. However, it wasnt until 1876
that the Medical Act allowed women
to train formally as doctors in the UK
(British born Elizabeth Blackwell had
trained in New York and qualied as
the rst female doctor there in 1849
and went on to become the rst
practicing doctor in the UK). In 1878
London University accepted women
for graduation in all its subjects a
move followed by many universities
around the country. However Oxford
University didnt award degrees to
women until 1920, Cambridge in 1948
and Harvard University, ostensibly the
best law school in the nation (and law
school of choice for Elle Woods in
Legally Blonde), did not admit women
to its law school until as late as 1950.
Women in the United States found
themselves able to enter the legal
profession slightly earlier than their
British sisters. Beginning with Belle
A. Manseld in 1869 in Iowa, women
slowly began gaining the right to
practice law, state by state. In 1923,
Delaware was the last state to admit
women to the bar. In 1869, Lemma
Barkaloo entered the Law Department
of Washington University in St. Louis,
thus becoming the first woman law
student in the nation. She did not
complete her studies but passed the
Missouri bar upon the conclusion of her
rst year of study and began practicing
in 1870. Of all the regions in the US, the
Northeast, with the highest
concentration of male attorneys, the
longest history of male attorneys, and
the most prestigious law schools, was
the most resistant to the admission of
women to the practice of law.
In the United Kingdom an application
by a woman to be admitted as a solicitor
was made in 1876, but was turned down.
Women were associated with the
profession, acting as assistants to
solicitors and barristers, and in 1912 a
bill was introduced into parliament to
permit them to qualify in their own
right but failed. In 1914, when her
application to be registered as a solicitor
was turned down by the Law Society,
Gwyneth Bebb went to the Court of
Appeal. Here she was rejected once
again on the claim that she was not a
person within the terms of the 1843
Solicitors Act. The Committee for the
Admission of Women into the Solicitors
Profession was formed to take up the
ght, with new private members bills
introduced and rejected in 1914
and 1917. It wasnt until 1919, with
the successful passing of the Sex
Discrimination (Removal) Bill that the
cause was won. The bill finally
recognized that women were persons
and therefore able to hold public ofce.
In Scotland the rst women Solicitor,
Madge Easton Anderson, was admitted
in 1920. In England the first women
to pass their law examination were
Maud Crofts, Carrie Morrison, Mary
Pickup and Mary Sykes in 1922.
Carrie Morrison nished her articles
first and was admitted to the role of
solicitor in 1923. Both she and Maud Crofts
had studied at the womens college
Girton, at Cambridge where they had
been allowed to attend lectures, and
sit exams but not been allowed to
receive degrees. A year earlier, in
1922, Helena Normanton was the rst
woman admitted to the bar. A true
trailblazer, she would go on to be the
rst woman to lead the prosecution
in a murder trial, the rst, with Rose
Heilbron, to be appointed Kings Counsel,
and, as a campaigner on marriage
reform, the rst British woman to be
issued with a passport in her maiden
name. She was also, like Elle, a
Sorority Sister, an honorary member
of the of the US women lawyers
association, Kappa Beta Pi and Principal
elected officer for Europe of the
International Legal Sorority. Yet despite
these female pioneers, entry into the
profession remained difficult for
many women with the high cost of
training for articles preventing only
women of independent means, or
wealthy, enlightened parents from
entering. In 1931, nine years after
Carrie Morrison had been admitted,
only about 100 women had qualied,
and as recently as 1967, only 2.7% of
solicitors were women.
From early on, as women entered the
profession of law, contrasting views
have arisen as to their role and
Women in the Law: An overview Women in the Law: An overview
20 21
contribution to the law. On one hand,
women have argued that there is no
difference in the way law is practiced
by men and women - that the two
genders are equivalent and thus equal
in all aspects. However, another
argument is made that women have
brought to the law a unique perspective,
one that is less adversarial than the
traditional method (established by men)
of trying cases in a court of law and
declaring one side the winner and the
other the loser.
In an effort to nd case resolution that
entertains the philosophy of a win-win
instead, women have expanded the
law into areas of alternative dispute
resolution such as mediation, especially
in the areas of employment and family
law, where it is not necessarily
appropriate or desirable to have an
outright winner and loser. Similarly, a
more gentle approach to adjudication
has been suggested by US Supreme
Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In
a speech given shortly before her
nomination to the Supreme Court,
Ginsburg suggested that measured
motions seem to me right, in the main,
for constitutional as well as common
law adjudication. Doctrinal limbs too
swiftly shaped, experience teaches,
may prove unstable. Ginsburg has
also urged that the Supreme Court
allow for dialogue with elected
branches, a notion not previously
considered by the men who served
before her.
Women solicitors today have come
far further in the profession than their
early twentieth century counterparts,
but still face barriers of their own.
Research by the British Law Society
published in 2007 revealed that in 31
July 2006 43.7% of solicitors on the
role (57,249) were women and the
percentage of woman law students
was 62.2%. There were more women
trainees (61.8%) and more women
student enrolments with the law
society (63%). However, the number
of women partners in law rms was
far lower only 23.2% and concerns
remain about how many women leave
the profession after the early stages
of their careers. In a speech delivered
to the Association of Women Solicitors
on 12th March 2007 to mark the 85th
anniversary of Carrie Morrisons
qualication, Mrs Justice Dobbs noted
that research shows that the issues
of gender equality in the law and legal
professions still continues to present
a challenge today all over the world.
Whilst there has been a healthy
increase in women training and
qualifying as lawyers, you only have
to look at the attrition rates to see
that women are not reaping the same
rewards and advancements as men
Women always have to be exceptional
at everything to get there. Why, if they
are equal at the start? Do women
suddenly become incompetent at
a certain level in a bizarre and
unexplained way? Of course the
answer is no. It is largely due to the
culture within which they operate.
It is the changing of this culture that
the Association of Women Solicitors
and other organisations are working
hard to exact. Their current
campaigns include the
encouragement of women to apply
for more judicial appointments and
equal pay in the legal sector. They
also run services to support women
re-entering the profession and giving
advice on maternity/ paternity rights
for both men and women enabling
parents to negotiate the balance
between family and work with more
support. Although many battles have
been well fought in the campaign for
women to achieve parity with their
male counterparts in the courtroom,
the war is not yet won.
Women in the Law: An overview Women in the Law: An overview
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Photo: Rex Features
22 23
EXERCISE: Discussion
Use the historical information above as stimulus for a discussion about the
obstacles women have faced both historically and currently within the law
profession. Questions posed may include:
What were some of the obstacles that women lawyers had to overcome in
the 1800s?
Why do you think historically women have had such obstacles in the law
profession?
What skills did women need to overcome these obstacles?
How have things changed for contemporary female lawyers? What has
stayed the same?
Thinking about Legally Blonde, turn the discussion to Elles own quest to
become a lawyer:
What were some of the obstacles that Elle had to overcome to be taken
seriously as a law student in Legally Blonde?
What did she do to overcome these obstacles?
What obstacles did she not meet that other characters / contemporary
women do?
Do you think things have changed for current women in the law profession?
Why or why not?
What changes would you make if you could?
FROM THE SCRIPT
WARNER
Well, hello Marilyn! Looks like youll make partner now. Youve really earned it.
VIVIENNE (elbows him) ELLE can only shake her head.
VIVIENNE (disgusted) Warner, shut up!
VIVIENNE
(walks off) WARNER follows her. ELLE is alone. ELLE
TAKE BACK THE BOOKS AND PACK UP THE CLOTHES.
CLEAR OUT THE ROOM AND DROP OFF THE KEY
LEAVE WITH WHATS LEFT OF MY DIGNITY

GET IN THE CAR AND JUST GO

CHALK IT ALL UP TO EXPERIENCE.

THEY SAID ID FAIL BUT I DISAGREED;

WHO COULD SAY THEN WHERE MY

PATH WOULD LEAD?

...WELL, NOW I KNOW:

BACK TO THE SUN;

BACK TO THE SHORE;

BACK TO WHAT I WAS BEFORE.

BACK WHERE IM KNOWN,

BACK IN MY OWN

VERY SMALL POND.

LAUGH WITH MY FRIENDS

WHEN I ARRIVE

WELL DROP THE TOP AND JUST DRIVE

THATS FINE WITH ME.

JUST LET ME BE,

LEGALLY, BLONDE.
Women in the Law: An overview Women in the Law: An overview
24 25
FIGHTING TO WORK,
ARGUING AT WORK:
WOMAN PIONEERS
IN THE LAW
CLARA SHORTRIDGE FOLTZ
Accomplishment: First female lawyer
in California; Drafted Californias
Womens Lawyers Bill; Inventor of
the position of Public Defender
History: Clara Shortridge Foltz was
a single mother of five who had
tried various womens occupations
and could not support her
family. She wrote that it
was her ve children who
by their very dependence
spur me onward in
my profession. The struggle
between career and family,
the dilemma of the working
mother, is not a new
phenomenon but was
an emotional issue
for Foltz. I have lost
more for myself that
I have gained for
all women. All the
pleasure of my young
motherhood I sacriced
for womans cause...
Ms. Foltz drafted the Women
Lawyers Bill by substituting
the word person for the
words white male in the
existing Code, thereby enabling
women to enter the profession.
With ve children to support,
Foltz was desperate to pass
the bill and become a lawyer.
Long after the Bills passage, Foltz
described her feelings as follows:
I coaxed, I entreated, I would have
reasoned had they been reasonable
men. . . I had to beg -- not for a living,
but to be allowed to earn a living.
After much hard campaigning, the bill
became law in 1877 and in the following
year, 1878, Foltz became the first
woman lawyer to be admitted to the
California bar. On the day she joined
the bar, a fellow lawyer suggested
that she would fail because her sex
could not keep a secret. During one
trial, the prosecutor told the jury not
to listen to her because she was
incapable of reason. Ms. Foltz is
the person who invented the public
defender as an institution, in part due
to the fact that she herself suffered
the systems unfairness personally.
Ms. Foltz represented many poor and
destitute people for free while
prosecutors on these cases were
receiving payment. She started speaking
out about the need for a position called
public defender who has a equal title
and resources equivalent to those
of the prosecutor of such cases.
When Californias women won the
vote in 1911, they wanted a woman
prosecutor, and so Ms. Foltz became
the rst female deputy district attorney
for Los Angeles County. We are lucky
to have much information about
Ms. Foltz, as she kept scrapbooks
that are being used by a biographer
who is writing a book about her life.
CHARLOTTE E. RAY
Accomplishment: First African-
American woman admitted to a US
state bar.
History: Charlotte Ray was born on
January 13, 1850 in New York to a
Reverend father who was a member
of the Underground Railroad (which
helped slaves make their way
to freedom). In 1869, she graduated
from the Institution for the Education
of Colored Youth in Washington, D.C. and
became a teacher at Howard University.
She applied to the law school at Howard
using her initials (C.E. Ray). Although
there was some commotion when the
university realized she was a woman,
they allowed her to continue her courses.
Ms. Ray graduated Phi Beta Kappa in
1872 to become the rst female attorney
in the Capitol as well as the first
African-American lawyer in the nation.
The event is immortalized in the
Womans Journal, which describes
her as a dusky Mulatto. In the same
year she opened her own law practice
in Washington, D.C., however, due to
the pervasive sexism and racism of
the time, she was forced to close her
practice due to a lack of business.
She returned to New York where in
1886 she married and obtained work
in the Brooklyn public school system.
In 1895, Ray became active in the
National Association of Colored Women.
Ray died on January 4, 1911, from
acute Bronchitis.
CARRIE MORRISON
Accomplishment: First woman to be
admitted as a solicitor in the UK.
History: Born in 1888, Carrie Morrison
had studied at the womens college,
Girton, in Cambridge and had served
in the War Office and Army of the
Black Sea at Constantinople (now
Istanbul) during the First World War.
At Cambridge she had been allowed
to attend lectures and sit exams, but
was not awarded a degree. Passing
her law examinations in 1922, she
nished her articles and was admitted
to role of solicitor in 1923. She married
Ambrose Appelbe and became a partner
in his firm when he established it in
Lincolns Inn in 1935. She had a
particular focus on family law, reading
a paper on the costs of domestic
relations in 1931 and on reform of
the married womens property law.
In particular she argued for womens
independence from their husbands in
terms of income and tax.
BRENDA MARJORIE HALE,
BARONESS HALE
Accomplishment: First woman to be
appointed a UK Law Lord
transferred in 2009 to the new UK
Supreme Court.
History: Born in Yorkshire in 1945 she
studied at Richmond High School for
Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies
Clara Shortridge Foltz
Photo: University of California Portrait Library
26 27
Girls and Girton College Cambridge
where she read law graduating with a
starred first, top of her class. She
graduated top of her class again in
1969 when, having been called to
the bar, she completed her finals.
For eighteen years she combined work
as a barrister with academic work
and became professor of Law at
Manchester University in 1986. In 1984
she was the rst woman and youngest
person ever to be appointed to the
Law Commission where she oversaw
proposed reforms in family law
which made her a target of hate for the
rightwing press. She also worked on
the groundbreaking Children Act.
She was made Queens Counsel in 1989
and Recorder later that year. In 1994
she entered the High Court of Justice
as a judge and was appointed a
Dame Commander of the Order of the
British Empire. In 1999 she became the
second woman ever to be appointed
to the Court of Appeal (breaking new
ground given her background in
academia), entering the Privy Council
at the same time. In 2004 she was
appointed to become the rst female
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and was
created Baronness Hale of Richmond.
She holds strong views about equal
rights for women and the importance
of more women reaching the top of
the legal profession and judiciary. In a
Bar Reform Lecture in 2004 she
quoted Chief Justice Beverley
McLachlin of the Supreme Court of
Canada of the importance of womens
contribution to the judiciary: The ...
most important reason why I believe
we need women on our benches is
because we need the perspectives
that women can bring to judging.
This is because: ...jurists are human
beings, and, as such, are informed
and inuenced by their backgrounds,
communities, and experiences.
For cultural, biological, social and
historic reasons, women do have
different experiences than men.
SANDRA DAY OCONNOR
Accomplishment: First woman to be
appointed to the Supreme Court.
History: In 1981, Sandra Day OConnor
became the rst woman appointed to
the US Supreme Court. Born in 1930
in Texas, she graduated from Stanford
University and Stanford University
Law School. She and her family settled
in Phoenix, Arizona, where she served
as an Arizona assistant attorney general
from 1965-1969 until she joined the
Arizona Senate. In 1974, she was elected
a trial judge and ve years later, in 1979,
she was appointed to the Arizona Court
of Appeals. It was only eighteen months
later that President Ronald Reagan
nominated her to the Supreme Court
where in 1983, she became its first
woman member. She retired from the
bench after 24 years of service.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG
Accomplishment: Second Woman to be
appointed to the US Supreme Court.
History: In 1993, twelve years after
Justice OConnors appointment, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg became the second
woman appointed to the US
Supreme Court. Prior to joining the court,
Ginsburg worked as a law clerk and
then as a professor at Rutgers
University Law School and Columbia
University Law School. It was at
Columbia that she became the first
tenured woman professor and
co-authored the rst law school case
book on gender discrimination. In 1971,
she launched the Womens Rights
Project of the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) and served as the
General Counsel for the ACLU from
1973-1980. Ginsburg stepped down from
that position in 1980 after President
Jimmy Carter appointed her to the
United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit. On June
14, 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated
her as an Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court. During her conrmation
hearings, Ginsburg refused to answer
questions regarding her personal views
on most politically charged issues
(abortion, gay rights, separation of
church and state, etc.) or how she
would adjudicate certain hypothetical
situations if they were before her;
Were I to rehearse here what I would
say and how I would reason on such
questions, I would act injudiciously.
Her refusals, now known as the
Ginsburg Precedent, has reappeared
in subsequent conrmation hearings.
PATRICIA JANET SCOTLAND,
BARONNESS SCOTLAND
Accomplishment: First Black Woman
to be made a Queens Counsel and
First Woman to be appointed Attorney
General of England, Wales and
Northern Ireland
History: Born in 1955 in Dominica to
Antiguan and Dominican parents and
the tenth of twelve children, she
moved to Walthamstow London when
she was three where she attended
Walthamstow School for girls.
She studied for her Law Degree from
London University externally at Mid
Essex Technical College in 1976 and
was called to the bar at the Middle
Temple in 1977 specialising in family
and childrens law. She was made
Queens Counsel in 1991, the rst
black woman to be made so and the
youngest person since William Pitt
the Younger. In 1994 she was named
as a Millennium Commissioner and
was also a member of the
Commission for Racial Equality. In
1997 she was elected as a Bencher of
the Middle Temple and received a life
peerage in the same year as part of
the Labour Party list of working peers.
Whilst serving in the House of Lords
she has served a number of
government posts including
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State at the Foreign and
Commonwealth Ofce and in 2001 she
became Parliamentary Secretary in
the Lord Chancellors Department and
was made a member of the Privy
Council. In 2003 she was made
Minister of State for the Criminal
Justice system and Law Reform at
the Home Ofce where she was
charged with promoting a new
extradition treaty with the USA in the
House of Lords. In 2007 she was
appointed Attorney General by
Gordon Brown, the rst woman to
hold this ofce since it was
established in 1315.
Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies
28 29
FROM THE SCRIPT
(As Elle and Warner exit we transition to graduation day. The entire cast enters in cap
and gown as a giant banner reads CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2009. Vivienne is at
the lectern.)
VIVIENNE: William Shakespeare once wrote: To thine own self be true. And it
must follow as the night, the day. Thou canst not then be false to any
man. I believe this wise statement best applies to a woman. A blonde
woman. She taught me, and showed us all, that being true to yourself
never goes out of style. Ladies and gentlemen, your valedictorian, Elle
Woods!
EXERCISE PART 1: Role on the Wall
As a whole group demonstrate the activity, Role on the Wall as follows:
On large piece of paper, draw a gure to represent the character Elle from
Legally Blonde. This should just be a general outline so you dont need to be an
artist to draw it. Draw the form large enough so that you have room to write on
the inside and the outside of the gure. Label the gure, Elle.
On the outside of the gure brainstorm the external inuences, pressures,
conicts that affected Elle in the musical. On the inside brainstorm her feelings
and thoughts associated with these external pressures.
Divide the class into small groups.
In these groups, ask them to choose a character from the historical list provided.
Pass out large paper to each group and ask them to complete the same, Role on the
Wall activity for this character. In groups they will brainstorm the possible external
and internal pressures. Since they dont have all the facts of the characters life,
they are asked to surmise what some pressures might be.
EXERCISE PART 2: Day in the Life Creating Protagonists
The next exercises build up to the creation of a scene between two characters drawn
from your imagined experiences of the woman you have selected.
In the past many women kept diaries or scrapbooks to keep a record of their
experiences. Clara Shortridge Foltz and Helena Normanton both kept scrapbooks
which are now archived and used as a valuable resource for people wanting to
discover more about them.
Using this idea as starting point to explore your chosen woman in more depth,
split into pairs (keep the character that you have worked with in a larger group in
the earlier exercise there will be more than one story for each of these women).
In your pairs write a diary entry of a day in the life of this woman. This day should
include an obstacle from her professional life that affected her.
In your writing think about where the obstacle came from and how she overcame
this obstacle as well as the obstacle itself. What were the consequences of her
overcoming it? How did she feel? Was she changed in any way?
EXERCISE PART 3: Point/Counter Point Diary Entries Creating Antagonists
Having nished your diary entry for this chosen woman, now think of another
character who is opposition to her in her life, and has contributed to the obstacle
she faced/ or knows about them. This information isnt in the historical
information, so you must create this character yourself. For example they might
be a judge, a male colleague or an unsupportive family member.
Take the same obstacle you wrote about in your day in the life diary entry and
approach it from the opposing point of view of this new character (think
about moments in Legally Blonde where characters see things from
different perspectives for example Elle sees Warner breaking up with her as
a tragedy but Warner sees it very differently).
In your pairs now write a diary entry where this new character is talking
about the female lawyer.
EXERCISE PART 4: Sharing
In Legally Blonde: The Musical characters sometimes use a theatrical
device of mingling their spoken thoughts with their speech. This
particularly happens within songs.
Think of some examples where this happens within the musical.
You are now going to use this device for the characters youve written
about. The written diaries of the characters thoughts will be spoken
aloud in pairs.
In your pairs choose a character each e.g. Person A is the
Female Lawyer and person B is the antagonist character.
Divide the diary entry you will be reading into sections that separate out the main thoughts of the character. Number each of the sections. If possible Person A (the female lawyer) should have one more passage than Person
B. For example A might have 5 sections and B might have 4.
Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies
30 31
Once youve split up the entry into the numbered passages, practise reading
them aloud in a ping/pong approach passage 1 from A, then 1 from B, then 2
from A and then 2 from B and so on. You may wish to redivide up the pieces of
text so they ow well together.
As youre practising think about the end performance and the shape of it.
What is the mood at the beginning? How is it in the middle and the end? How
might you ensure that the nal moment of the piece feels nished for the
audience?
Share your piece with the class.
EXERCISE PART 5: Comparing
When everyone has shared their texts spend some time thinking about the
characters you created. There should be more than one version of each of the
female lawyers. What were the differences between them? What different parts of
their personalities were highlighted? Remember there is no right or wrong
version of any character here. When writers create stories from historical
characters they are always drawn to an aspect (or several aspects) of that
characters life that they nd interesting, intriguing or resonant.
EXERCISE PART 6: Creating Scenes
Back in your pairs return to the original obstacle that your lawyer has to
overcome. This time you are going to dramatise the action.
Using your two characters create a short scene between them that shows
what happens and its impact, rather than tells it.
If your second character was not involved in the situation itself either try to
amend your scene to include them, or think of another moment in the day
where they are involved eg. It might be an unsupportive relative reacting to
being told about an incident and the impact that has on the lawyer telling
them. Try and nd a situation where there is a clear conict between your two
characters.
As before think about the mood of the scene. How do your characters feel at
the beginning? What has changed at the end? Who has the most power in the
scene? Has the power shifted at all by the end?
Rehearse your scenes and play them back to the group.
When everyone has shared consider your roll sheets you made at the beginning.
Is there anything to add to them about how your character thinks/ feels?
FROM THE SCRIPT
(Meet Kate, Delta Nus Scholastic Chair.)
KATE
Harvard Law School?
ELLE
I have a 4.0 average.
KATE
Yeah, in fashion merchandising. What makes you think you can do this?
ELLE
LOVE!

IM DOING THIS FOR LOVE,

AND LOVE WILL SEE ME THROUGH;

YES, WITH LOVE ON MY SIDE I

CANT LOSE,

AND HARVARD CANT REFUSE

A LOVE SO PURE AND TRUE...

DONT LAWYERS FEEL LOVE TOO?
KATE
EVEN IF THEY DO;

WHAT YOU WANT, SWEETHEART,

IS NO EASY THING.

IF YOURE GOING TO SWING IT

IT WILL WRECK YOUR

SENIOR SPRING.

YEAH, ITS TRUE:

FIRST YOULL NEED AN LSAT SCORE

OF MORE THAN ONE SEVENTY FOUR,
Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies Women in the Law: Female lawyers Case Studies
32 33
FROM THE SCRIPT
CALLAHAN (easily) ...NOW WHEN YOU CHOOSE A LAW CAREER

THE MOMENT YOU EMBARK;

THERE IS THAT JOKE YOURE BOUND TO HEAR;

A LAWYER IS A SHARK.

IGNORE THAT. ITS SIMPLISTIC AND ITS DUMB.

ONLY SOME OF YOU WILL TURN OUT SHARKS, JUST SOME.

(he smiles)

THE REST... ARE CHUM.
In Legally Blonde, and in many legal dramas, lawyers have to argue a case for
their clients and try to convince the judge and jury of their version of events.
They need to make their case by using clear and persuasive language. In the
nal scenes of Legally Blonde, Elle harnesses her own clear persuasive language
to demonstrate how Brooke was not responsible for her husbands murder.
Elsewhere in the script we watch Emmett use persuasive language to convince
Elle to knuckle down to her studies and prove her ene mies wrong.
Persuasive language isnt just a skill used in the courtroom but in many different
aspects of life. Effective persuasive language takes into account the audience
and the speakers intended effect on them.
Here are some exercises to encourage students to explore persuasive
language for themselves.
EXERCISE 1: Discussion
1. Having introduced the concept of persuasive language ask the students to
think about contexts in which it may be encountered in daily life.
Get them to consider:
Who else can you think of who might use persuasive language?
What point do you think they ware trying to make?
Who is their intended audience?
What are the ways this speaker shapes their language in order to reach
that audience?
Eg: a politician wants voters to vote for her (and not her opponent) by making
promises and highlighting her experience. Or a teenager wants to convince
his parents to let him stay out later because he has shown that he is responsible
and trustworthy.
Make a record of these different speakers on a white board or sheet of paper.
You may want to create a chart [Speaker/Argument/Audience/Methods] to record
students responses for their reference in Exercise 2.
2. Get them to now think of a time recently when they have used a form of
persuasive language themselves.
What point were they trying to make?
Who was their audience?
How did they shape what they said in order to get their point across?
How successful were they in their persuasion?
If they were, why? If not, how might they have changed their argument/
speech in order to be more successful.
The Art of Persuasion: Thinking Like A Lawyer The Art of Persuasion: Thinking Like A Lawyer
34 35
FROM THE SCRIPT
EMMETT
NO THATS THE CHIP ON MY SHOULDER.

I HUGGED MY MOM AND TOLD HER:

WITH THE CHANCE IVE BEEN GIVEN,

IM GOING TO BE DRIVEN AS HELL!

THOUGH I CANT TAKE THE DAY OFF,

I JUST THINK OF THE PAY OFF.

YOU NEED A CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER,

LITTLE MISS WOODS, COMMA, ELLE.
EXERCISE 2: Getting into Character
In the modern world, many different kinds of media are used to communicate
a persuasive argument including TV, radio, newspapers, websites, magazines,
blogs and billboards.
1. Get the students to brainstorm all the different media that may be used to
convey persuasive arguments.
2. Ask the students to return to the list of characters they created together in
Exercise 1 and select one (or alternatively to think of another one of their own).
3. Ask them to write a letter or a short speech as that character. Imagine some
of the language that character might use. Think about the best way for them
to express their case, keeping in mind their message and target audience.
What would be the best media for them to use in their context? Would it make
most sense to prepare a statement for a press conference? A radio spot?
Or write a letter to an Editor?
4. Ask for volunteers to share their work, remaining in character. When they have
nished conduct a straw poll of the audience to nd out how many of them
were convinced.
FROM THE SCRIPT
CALLAHAN (Smiling) Gotcha!

OH DEAR, I FEAR MY COMMENT HAS OFFENDED.
. HARD TO ARGUE, THOUGH, WHEN YOURE TOO
MAD TO SPEAK.

YOUR EMPLOYMENT WILL BE VERY QUICKLY ENDED
ONCE THEY SEE HOW YOUR EMOTIONS MAKE YOU WEAK.
EXERCISE 3: Voting with your feet
1. Before the exercise assemble a set of statements related to Legally Blonde
on which students are likely to have strong opinion. They may include
things like: It is never OK to repeat a secret, Anger is always negative,
Its understandable why Elle was never taken seriously before and so on
(you can also prepare statements on specic areas).
2. On large sheets of paper write out ve possible responses to the statement:
Strongly Agree, Agree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.
3. Line these pieces of paper in order across the oor to create an axis of
agreement (leave plenty of space behind them and around them).
4. Read a statement from your list and ask the students to vote with their feet and
stand behind the paper that corresponds to their own response to the statement.
5. When they have settled on their responses ask them to discuss with the people
with them why they nd themselves at that position.
6. Ask the group to select a spokesperson who can relate to the rest of the group
the main points in sixty seconds or less, and try to enlist people from other
groups to join them. Once all the arguments have been heard, give students
the opportunity to move if them arguments have changed their minds.
7. After the exercise have a group discussion about which arguments were
particularly effective, and why? How did it feel to have to explain what they
believed? How did it feel to change their minds?
The Art of Persuasion: Thinking Like A Lawyer The Art of Persuasion: Thinking Like A Lawyer
36 37
FROM THE SCRIPT
VIVIENNE I USED TO PRAY FOR THE DAY YOUD LEAVE

SWORE UP AND DOWN YOU DID NOT BELONG.

BUT WHEN IM WRONG THEN I SAY IM WRONG,

AND I WAS WRONG ABOUT YOU.
EXERCISE 4: Impromptu Speechmaking
Like many lawyers and public speakers, Elle often nds herself needing to
speak without having a lot of time to prepare and relies on her gut instincts to
build her arguments.
In this exercise, students will have an opportunity to give impromptu speeches
on a number of youth-centered topics in a variety of low-exposure partnerships.
1. Ask all the students to get into pairs. Each pair selects one partner to be
A and the other to be B.
2. The teacher offers one of the possible topics below as a prompt.
Friendship Summer Vacation Family Dating College Driving
Money Food The Media Voting Technology War
3. Each A begins stating all of the Pros of a particular topic to B. At any point B
can say Cons, and A must now begin to explain all of the Cons on the topic.
B continues to alternate between saying Pros and Cons for approximately
2 minutes.
4. The teacher now announces a new topic and the partners swap over: B must
now speak while A alternates between speaking pros and cons again
for approximately 2 minutes.
5. Once both partners have had the opportunity to speak and to prompt/listen,
the teacher can instruct students to nd new partners.
6. Repeat the exercise 5-6 times (or for 5 or 6 groupings).
7. At the end of the exercise bring the group back together and discuss the
experience of the exercise with them. What did they nd challenging?
Did they nd their speechmaking change at all in different groupings?
FROM THE SCRIPT
ELLE has a LIGHTBULB MOMENT, raises her hand.
ELLE
Your honour, I would like to go to the bathroom. JUDGE
Shouldnt you have gone before the murder trial? WARNER
Why do girls always do that?....
VIVIENNE
(punches WARNER in the bicep.)
ELLE
I mean, Id like everyone to go back to the bathroom where this alleged shower took place. JUDGE
This I gotta see. Lets all go to the bathroom.
The Art of Persuasion: Thinking Like A Lawyer The Art of Persuasion: Working For Change
38 39
CHANGE BEGETS
CHANGE. NOTHING
PROPAGATES SO FAST.
CHARLES DICKENS
When and how does the world change?
Whenever and however you decide
to change it. Legally Blonde is populated
by characters motivated to have their
hand in changing the world whether
it be Warners aspirations to run for the
US Senate as an elected politician, or
Enids desire to redesign the political
system altogether, or the change
brought about in Paulettes life
through Elles support.
As we approach the next general
election in this country later in 2010,
the media will be lled with different
ideas about how we can change the
country and the world for the better
and who are the best people to do it.
But change in the world happens in
many different ways, and even if you
are not old enough to vote you can
still contribute to that change whether
it be writing to your MP about things
that concern you, or following in the
footsteps of some of the young people
below who set out to change the world
and succeeded.
Joying Brescia Environmental
Campaigner
I have learned that even children
can do good things for the earth,
says Joying Brescia, who took on a
local environmental problem at the
age of eight when she noticed that
cigarette butts were littering the
beaches of her hometown. Since it
takes five years for the remains of
a cigarette to disintegrate, she knew
something had to be done.
Joying launched a clean-up campaign
and dubbed it No Butts on the Beach.
She enlisted her Brownies troop and
convinced local schools, businesses,
and carpenters to donate labor and
materials to construct cigarette butt
disposal containers for each entrance
to the beach. Thanks to Joyings
initiative, the local beaches are
noticeably cleaner.
Madhav Subrmanian Kids for
Tigers
In 2008 the Guardian named Madhav
one of the 50 people who could save
the planet. With his friends, Kirat Singh,
Sahir Doshi and Suraj Bishnol, twelve
year old Madhav Subrmanian set up
the Kids for Tigers project which works
in hundreds of schools across India
to make young people aware of the
dangers facing these big cats.
Madhav raises money on the streets
of Mubai by writing poems, singing and
selling merchandise. By 2008 he had
collected 6,500 in just two years.
www.kidsfortigers.org
Ryan Hreljac Ryans Well
Foundation
Ryan Hreljac rst learned of the dire
need for clean water in Africa in his
rst year at school. Right away he took
on extra household chores to raise
$70 to build a well. When he discovered
that that amount would only pay for
the pump, he went on saving until he
had paid for his rst well. Inspired by
his perseverance, his classmates
joined in the effort, and the media told
his story, bringing in funds for more
wells, as well as equipment to dig them.
Ryan has continued his work through
his non-profit organization, Ryans
Well Foundation. Ryan is now 15, and
to date he has raised over $1.5 million
and built 266 wells in 12 countries.
Im just a typical kid, says Ryan.
I had a small dream, and I stayed with.
Everybody can do something.
Talia Leman RandomKid
Ten-year-old Talia Leman was eager
to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina,
but wasnt sure how to do it until she
came up with her plan for TLC -Trick
or Treat for the Levee Catastrophe.
Talia challenged thousands of kids
across the country to ask for small
change instead of candy at Halloween
and convinced a Midwestern
supermarket chain to print 8 million TLC
trick-or-treat bags. She asked the
Governor of Iowa to contact each
states governors ofce to help spread
the word. Talias original plan, drawn
in #2 pencil on lined school paper,
resulted in kids from approximately
4,000 schools trick-or-treating or
holding hurricane relief fundraisers.
All told, the campaign raised over
ve million dollars. Talia is now CEO
of RandomKid, an organization that
helps kids help others. You can do
anything if you put your mind to it,
says Talia. It might be hard, but
when you get worried, just remember
all the people you are helping.
Ricky McCalla Frosted Ice Inc
Ricky was a talented young dancer
and choreographer from Bromley in
Kent, who seemed to have a promising
future, already in demand from some of
the biggest names in the music industry.
But when he was shot in the back of
the neck during a bungled carjacking
he was left partially disabled.
Determined not to be defeated he
decided to turn his experience into
something positive by becoming a
mentor to young people at risk
of offending. Just three months after
the shooting he devised Frosted Ice
Inc, a music training project to help
violent teenagers escape life on the
streets, which he set up with grant
support from the Princes Trust.
The project began in 2006 and by
2008 more than 300 teenagers had
completed his course.
The Art of Persuasion: Working For Change The Art of Persuasion: Working For Change
40 41
FROM THE SCRIPT
ENID
I DID THE PEACE CORPS OVERSEAS

INNOCULATING REFUGEES

IN FAMILY CLINICS THAT I BUILT MYSELF FROM MUD
AND TREES.

I FOUGHT TO CLEAN UP THEIR LAGOONS

AND SAVE THEIR RARE ENDANGERED LOONS

THEN LED A PROTEST MARCH AGAINST
INSENSETIVE CARTOONS.
EMMET & STUDENTS: PRETTY IMPRESSIVE
ENID (keeps going) BUT NOW IM ON THE LEGAL TRACK,

BECAUSE THIS COUNTRYS OUT OF WHACK

AND ONLY WOMEN HAVE THE GUTS TO GO AND TAKE
IT BACK.

WELL MAKE THE GOVERNMENT COME CLEAN,

AND GET MORE PEOPLE VOTING GREEN,

AND REALLY STICK IT TO THE PHALLOCENTRIC WAR

MACHINE.
EXERCISE: Creating Change Discussion and Action
Using Enids song lyrics as a jumping off point, brainstorm with students
issues that matter to them.
Follow this with a brainstorm of ways in which they could make their
voices heard in their communities.
What are the barriers they face to making a difference? How might
they be overcome?
Encourage each student to think of the next step in contributing to this
change.
This may be writing to their local MP using some of the persuasive writing
techniques above, researching online, joining a network or a charity,
organising a fundraising event.
GOING BLONDE THE
ROAD TO BROADWAY
FOR ELLE WOODS
Originally, Elle Woods existed only in
the mind of Amanda Brown, who
penned the novel LEGALLY BLONDE
in 2001 and named her heroine after
the vernacular law students use to
describe themselves to one another
a 1L is a rst year law student,
so Brown named her ctional alter-ego
Elle, and a cultural icon was born.
After making the leap to the silver
screen in the 2001 MGM lm Legally
Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon,
Elle had ofcially broken loose as the
newest pop culture embodiment of
female empowerment. After the
resounding success of the lm version,
a sequel was spawned in 2003 chronicling
Elle Woods further adventures. So one
has to wonder, how much bigger can
Elle Woods get?
Ask the resident blondes on the
musicals writing team - Heather Hach
(bookwriter) and Nell Benjamin
(co-author of the music and lyrics,
with her husband, Larry OKeefe),
and theyll tell you: MUCH bigger!
How did the writers of Legally Blonde
approach the challenge of taking a
well-known and loved character and
translating her story into a singing,
dancing Broadway musical? We asked
them, and got the answer, and
much more...
What rst excited you about working
on Legally Blonde?
HH: The thought of Broadway was
intoxicating and a new challenge,
as Id never worked for
Broadway before.
What is your writing process like?
HH: Its very collaborative. I worked
closely with Larry and Nell to beat out
how we saw the story owing - new
twists and where the songs might fall
- and crafted it together.
NB: Then, in terms of songs, the rst
thing, before the lyrics or music, is to
identify the idea behind the song.
The best songs are new ideas that
can only happen at this moment in
the story. When you decide what the
important moment is, (what decision
or statement needs to be made right
now) then you know what your
characters are going to sing about.
Once we have the idea, we look for
the right words, phrases or ideas for
them to sing. (For instance, a bunch
of excited sorority girls would sing
Omigod you guys!) Then we try and
outline the things that happen in
the song. Only then do we start
writing lyrics and music.
What makes Elle Woods special?
HH: Everything! She is so fantastic
and I adore her... the most positive
person I know and always sees the
best in others and herself. I am a
better person for having worked with
Elle Woods so closely, and I feel very
connected to her.
Elle on Stage: Writing her Script Elle on Stage: Writing her Script
42 43
NB: Elle goes after what she wants
WITHOUT hurting or using other
people. Its rare to nd someone smart,
pretty and ambitious who still thinks
about other people more than about
herself. She doesnt judge people by
rst impressions. She proves that you
can succeed while still being nice and
generous to people. Elle is an idealist.
She believes in things like sisterhood,
friendship and love. A realist might
consider those things to be weaknesses
-things that hold you back, but they
drive Elle forward. Elle creates a
network of friends (like Paulette, Emmett
and Brooke) whom she helps and
who, in turn, help her get where she
wants to be.
What has been the biggest
challenge in telling this story?
NB: For me, the biggest challenge is
making Elle an underdog. Shes a pretty,
smart, rich, thin, blonde whos the
president of an exclusive sorority.
My rst reaction is to be jealous of her,
not to listen to her story. But hopefully
she wins people over because in spite
of all that she has going for her, shes
not catty, or conceited or snobby.
Shes a really nice person. She wants
to be your friend.
What do you hope people take away
from their experience at Legally Blonde?
NB: The feeling that being smart is
just as important as being gorgeous
and well-dressed, and that everyone
in the world (even people you might
dismiss on sight because theyre
different from you) has something to
offer, and something to teach you.
HH: I hope people leave with a smile
in their heart and hope in their step!
I hope they want to be a little bit more
like Elle Woods...
EXERCISE: What makes you real?
Many of the characters in the
play have a happy ending
because they accept who they are,
sometimes in ways that are funny
or even surprising.
Ask students to think of people
whom they admire who are
successful and have found a way
to keep hold of what makes them
real. What challenges or
obstacles has each students
person had to face and how did s/he
overcome those difculties?
Ask students to imagine that they
are marketing executives organizing
a Be Real campaign and they can
bring in any stars they want to
create a series of public service
announcements. Ask students to
write a script of what their favorite
person might say. If time allows, ask
students to perform their scripts for
each other.
Remind students of the range of
people they might feature in their
PSAs: actors, athletes, authors,
educators, musicians, newscasters-
the list goes on and on.
The form of a PSA is that it is
short and sweet. Students can
use the exercise to home in on one
issue that is especially important
to them and their character.
FROM THE SCRIPT
ELLE JUST LAUGH IT OFF, LIKE IVE ALWAYS DONE.

- LORD KNOWS THEYVE ALL LAUGHED AT ME BEFORE.
SHOULDNT SURPRISE ME MUCH ANYMORE

SHOULDNT STILL HURT BUT IT DOES.
EXERCISE: Status
Legally Blonde displays how our status is informed by how we feel about
ourselves and how it is conferred upon us by others through how they perceive
and treat us. At UCLA Elles status is high, living in a supportive community of
women who treat her wonderfully. It takes a knock when WARNER rejects her,
but she overcomes this. At Harvard, though, her status sinks low and she has to
work hard to raise herself up amongst her peers and to build her own self-
esteem. Her relationships with EMMET and PAULETTE (as well as her SORORITY
GREEK CHORUS) are important in helping her do this.
1. Ask half the group to observe quietly as the audience. The other half of the
group is the rst round of players.
2. Each player receives a playing card that s/he cannot look at, but holds up
to her/his forehead facing out. From the highest an Ace to the lowest
on the totem pole a Two the cards create a hierarchy among the students.
3. Give the players a setting, such as a supermarket or a school dance. Ask players
to interact with each other in such a way that they can try to gure out what
card they are holding, and they also want to give the other players subtle
hints as to what cards they have.
4. After a few minutes, pause the game and ask the players to try to arrange
themselves from lowest to highest (point out where you want the person
who is 2 to stand, where the Ace should stand). They can only use the clues
they have been given and they cant x other players if they see they are
standing out of order. Once an order has been determined, ask the players
to put their cards out of sight for a moment.
5. Ask them how it felt to play the activity, what clues they received from the
other players, how did they feel about being watched? Ask the audience about
some of the behavior that they observed. Was there anything going on that
maybe the players werent aware of? Ask the players to take out their cards
and see what they had. How close did they get to achieving the right order?
Where there any discrepancies and why? Again, ask the audience for input.
Elle on Stage: Writing her Script Elle on Stage: Writing her Script
44 45
FROM THE SCRIPT
ELLE LOOK, IVE BARELY BEGUN, IM HARDLY THROUGH.

I WAS LIVING IN IGNORANT BLISS,

TIL I LEARNED I COULD BE MORE THAN (gesturing to hair) THIS.

THERES STILL SO MUCH TO LEARN;

SO MANY DREAMS TO EARN.

BUT EVEN IF I CRASH AND BURN

TEN TIMES A DAY,

I THINK IM HERE TO STAY.

IM GOING TO FIND MY WAY.
INTERVIEW WITH
COSTUME DESIGNER
GREGG BARNES
How did you become a
costume designer?
I was a late bloomer in many ways.
Im from San Diego, and I was going
to teach high school, and my major in
college was dramatic literature. I took
some technical classes towards my
requirements and found I had a strong
connection to design and history and
clothing. A gentleman named Robert
Morgan [costume designer] came to
talk to the Masters students, and my
teacher encouraged me and said I
should go and talk to him. Well, that
conversation with him changed the
course of my life. I went to NYU (New
York University) and got my Masters
in costume design.
After I graduated, I taught at NYU for
twenty years. I just recently left. It was
really through teaching that I realized
how to question both my self and the
students: What is your philosophy
and how do you create a character
through clothing? I think I learned
more from my students than they
learned from me! (Laughs) I learned
a lot from having to communicate
that daily. It was a great platform to
learn your public persona.
I was also doing regional theater
and opera. I was the resident costume
designer at Paper Mill Playhouse
[in New Jersey], and there I met
Jerry Mitchell [the director of Legally
Blonde]... Through his kindness and
support, I did several shows with him,
including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
on Broadway. This is my fifth
Broadway show.
What does costume design add to
a show? How do you view your role
as a costume designer?
To be a costume designer the most
important thing is to be a good listener...
to listen to the people who you
collaborate with. A clothing designer
may be viewed as an auteur, but were
kind of anonymous, because our job is
to tell a story. I try to be a good listener.
Sometimes you develop all these ideas,
but they havent cast the actor. You could
be thinking of an actress who is ve
feet, ten inches, and then they cast a
four foot eleven inches character actor.
So you have to be exible, as sometimes
you have to change for the actor, you
have to be uid. You cant be too set
on your ideas. I always tell the actors,
dont fall in love with the skirt, it could
be trousers tomorrow (laughs). I feel
like my job in this case [with Legally
Blonde], is to be a little quiet. You want
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up
46 47
to bring a signature to it, but everybody
the bookwriter, the lyricist, the
composer, the director, the
choreographer, the other designers
all the collaborators and all the parts
should be equal. Its like an intricate mesh
so that the story is the foremost thing.
In my past work, I did circus shows,
the Radio City Christmas show and
ice shows, shows where sometimes
theres no dialogue and no narrative.
Its just these amazing feats! I did a
lot of that kind of work, and its very
different from Legally Blonde.
With theater shows, you know when
you get it right thats when you know
its just a skirt, and people say, Oh, I
loved her costume. Then somehow
its more than just clothes. The nal
ingredient is that when the audience
brings their own experience and ideas
to the table too, so when they connect
to it it becomes more than just clothes.
How do you think costume design
creates an emotional response?
How does it convey
emotional information?
Well, for example in Act II, Elle has three
different scenes where shes onstage
the whole time, so we had to have
three different looks that reveal in
different ways as she transitions from
scene to scene, and also as she
transitions into Harvard by wearing
less pink [her signature color]. So the
outt changes subtly. But we also have
a pink slip under the Harvard clothes.
Little things like that, theyre subtle,
and maybe the audience doesnt
notice it right away. But I think that
subconsciously you do, and it shows
how the character is staying true
to herself.
The actor Christian Borle, who played
the character of Emmet [on Broadway],
wanted to obscure his natural bodyline,
so [when Elle gives him a] makeover
people think wow! Christian didnt
want to look too sloppy or unkempt
before that, so we played over the course
of many fittings, with a lot of input
from him. He has such good instincts.
Finally, we said, why dont we look
on the Internet, and get a shirt from
the Roxbury School [where Emmets
character is from], and well put it
under a jacket. So Emmet wears a
technical t-shirt, with a Roxbury logo,
a very specic thing that we sought
out to show that Emmet is still connected
to his mother and his home. Also he
wears a Star Trek watch, because
Emmet is a little nerdy. All of those
things are very carefully thought out.
In San Francisco [where Legally Blonde
began its performances], some of the
young girls and teenagers would come
dressed as Elle, which was thrilling!
There was one girl who came with
bunny ears! It appeals to our inner
child, the idea of dress-up.
What sort of research did you do for
Legally Blonde?
Well, weve seen the movie one
thousand times! (Laughs) I had not
seen the movie, the rst movie, before
this project. What I love about the movie
is how many different levels it works on.
You know the story within the rst
few minutes, but whats interesting is
HOW they tell it. The story itself is very
inspiring. You know what I love about
[the character of] Elle, is that shes a
woman who has it all, but shes so kind.
You never see her play that card.
Shes a real humanitarian; very aware
of all the people around her. Im not a
designer whos done a lot of modern
dress, fantasy or historical based.
We spent a lot of time in pre-production.
My assistant Skye and I photographed
people here in New York City, on the
Upper East Side. We had friend in
Los Angeles who photographed people
at the Beverley Center and on Rodeo
Drive, and we had friends in Boston
at Harvard, taking photos of what the
kids were wearing. We looked at Vogue
and those high-end magazines. We ran
the gamut. We would show things to
Jerry [Mitchell, the director]; we went
through a million ideas. The design was
a mix-master of a lot of different sources.
My favorite picture is from up on 5th
Avenue, a beautiful blonde from the
back, crossing the street. A beautiful
lace summer dress. We based Elles
first dress on it. I told my assistant,
I wished we had a picture of her from
the front, and he said, she was about
seventy years old. So it can come
from anywhere.
Legally Blonde has three different
visual stories. First there is the
Los Angeles story, which I call it the
Easter Bunny popped by look; the
Harvard, a brown world in which we
used every shade of brown, grey,
ochres, greens, so she looks like a
sh out of water. Then theres Paulettes
world in the hair salon, which is a
different suburban group... middle class,
young and sexy. We wanted a rock star
look [for them] so we used all denim,
every denim idea you can imagine!
Then theres the Delta Nus, too, [as the
Greek Chorus]. Our story is about
students, and Elles a fashion
merchandising student, so she
knows a lot.
There are a lot of challenges for a
costume designer specic to the genre
of musicals. You have to build [costumes]
that are really strong. There are a lot
of quick changes. A lot of fashion today
is fragile and disposable; slip dresses,
t-shirts, especially when youre young.
Its funny, when you go from a drawing
to a 3-D, its not always a home run.
There is one dress in the show, where
Elle was picking up her dog, and then
shes sitting on a rough texture a little
later in the scene, and the dress
kept snagging.
Sometimes you have to see how the
choreography works, how the design
works, and design a costume that will
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up
48 49
t all of [those elements]. We are always
adjusting a lot of things up until
the opening.
We drew it, painted it and then we had
it bid [the designers take their designs
to all the costume shops to assess how
much it will take to be made]. You
determine how much its going to cost.
For this show, half of it is made, half of
it is purchased. We went all over New
York City, couture boutiques in NYC,
Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Woodbury
Commons, mixing things together.
Usually if its modern, its purchased. If
its historical, its made. They get that,
but you make your own.
What else inspired you for your
designs in Legally Blonde?
When the actor inspires you thats
the best way. Orfeh, the actress playing
Paulette [on Broadway], was a rocker
in the 1980s so I asked her what she
wore then. She inspired me by her
audition outt. Shes very tender, but
with a rough edge, very rock and roll,
but in a playful way. We bought a pair
of vintage platform high-heel sneakers,
florescent green for her, first thing
we found! When we showed them to
Orfeh, she knew the brand, from when
they were popular! They didnt make
the cut, but they inspired. I had seen
Laura Bell Bundy (who plays Elle) in a
full workshop of the show last year
and watched her, and its useful to
know what suits the person. Elle wears
a lot of pink in the rst act, as its her
signature color, and so Laura Bell
wore a lot of pink to rehearsal to get
into character.
From that, I could see what shade of
pink looked good on her. So the show
is in cool pinks. What is your own
favorite costume in the show?
Theres a dress I dont want to say
too much about it, except that its a
trick its the dress that she wears
when Warner dumps her. My friend
for 26 years, Jeff Bender, hand-
painted the dress. Its a very simple
slip dress, but its hand-painted. I love
the role it has in telling the story, and
all the different peoples roles in it,
Jeffs, Jerrys, and Laura Bells.
What is your own favorite outt?
I work too hard to be dressed up!
I have a uniform and its not
impressive (laughs). I wear sneakers,
jeans and a shirt un-tucked. I won
a Tony last year, and I had to wear a
tuxedo and that was so hard! I spend
my life dressing other people up, and
Im the biggest mess in the room (laughs).
Every job is difcult. The hours are long,
I work 7 days a week, I love all the
interacting I get to do with people.
I dont wear uncomfortable shoes, I make
other people wear those. (laughs)
Looking from the Outside In
In Legally Blonde Elle Woods and her
sorority sisters at college dress and
wear their hair in a certain style that is
very important to them. Costume design,
as we have seen, is an integral element
of the musical Legally Blonde.
The character Elle expresses both her
emotions and personality in her clothing
choices, and is both celebrated
and derided for her faith in her
own appearance.
When designing the costumes for
Legally Blonde, Gregg Barnes spent
a lot of time looking closely at the
different ways that people dress in
different cities and contexts in America.
As audiences, as in life, we are
incredibly sensitive to the way people
look and as a result, getting the right
costume for characters at a specic
point is an important part of storytelling.
In our lives how we dress is often
controlled by the cultures in which we
grow up and work. So how does fashion
change and how is it affected by
historical events and cultural contexts?
The following set of exercises explore
fashion, clothing and appearance and
its impact on who we are from a
number of different standpoints.
EXERCISE 1: Changing Fashions/
Fashioning Change
Warm-Up
Write the below three quotes from
Legally Blonde on the board or
large posters. Ask students to write
for two minute on Post-It notes their
responses to the three quotes. In pairs,
ask students to share their responses,
and then share out. Students may also
post their quotes on the boards to aid
the next activity.
Dye hair brunette to be serious.
Casual Friday is not in Callahans
vocabulary and you have to dress the
part if you want to get ahead.
[Emmett tries on new clothing:]
Think of the guy you want to be.
Main Activity: Buzz Groups
In this exercise, students will explore
both extemporary speaking a skill
that Elle develops and uses throughout
Legally Blonde and the themes
explored in the warm-up theatrically.
1. Break the students into discussion
groups of 3 or 4. Ask them to
number off 1, 2, 3, 4. 1 will speak
rst, then 2, etc.
2. Introduce and model the discussion:
As I ask questions I would like
you to share your thoughts with
your group. 1 will speak first.
Please allow each person to speak
- without interruption - until I clap my
hands (or use another sound device).
Then 2 will have his/her chance to
speak, etc. (On the second question
2 will begin rst, etc.).
What fashion style was appropriate
for your parents when they
were young? What did they wear
to school, to important occassions,
during their free time?
What are the most popular clothing
styles for young people today?
What happens if someone wants
to go against this style? How are
they treated? Why might a person
choose a different fashion style?
What inuences how styles change
and adapt?
Discuss a fashion style in history
(anything not current) that appeals
to you or that you question.
How do male fashion styles differ
from females?
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up
49
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up
50 51
Sharing
Ask students to gather into a circle again to reect on their small group discussions.
Discussion questions:
How did that feel? How did it feel to practice extemporary speaking?
What new thoughts or discoveries came up in your small groups?
Please share with us if you had any differences of opinion.
What are your overall thoughts on fashion and dress?
Why do we conform or not conform to certain fashion styles?
Why do young people and adults so often differ on what is appropriate
style and dress?
EXERCISE 2: Uniform?
Introduction
Most schools in England have a school uniform or dress code, and other rules
on appearance. Guidance at the end of last year from the Department of Children,
Schools and Families strongly encourage schools in the UK to have a uniform,
stating that amongst many other benefits, it contributes to the ethos of a
particular school and helps to set the tone.
In Legally Blonde, the clothing that Elle wears becomes an issue for her. Can she
succeed by wearing pink, and being a blonde? Just as attorney Elle debates
issues in her classroom and courtroom, today we will explore the topic of
school uniforms.
Warm-Up: Scene Study
Pass out copies of the below scene from the script to the students. Divide the
class into pairs, or two groups to read chorally, and assign each pair or group
a character.
Read the scene aloud.
ELLE
If its impressing Callahan you want, I can help. Theres more than one way to do that, too.
EMMETT
Ok. How?
ELLE
silences that thought, placing a hand over EMMETTs mouth.
ELLE
You can start by tucking in your shirt.
EMMETT
What?
ELLE
You look law school, not law rm, Emmett. Casual Friday is
not in Callahans vocabulary, and you have to dress the part
if you want to get ahead.
EMMETT
Ah. So... shirt tucked in, problem solved. And maybe with some teeth bleaching, Id win the case. Or... Get a lunchtime
facial and be made partner!
ELLE
Okay, youre right, youre right. The ratty corduroy IS totally
working for you.
EMMETT
Elle, didnt your mother ever teach you about not judging a
book by its cover?
ELLE
She did. But this isnt a perfect world: books with tattered covers stay on the shelf.
(beat)
Think people havent judged me my whole life? Think it wasnt a good idea to make navy my new pink? EMMETT
No, that was a good idea.
ELLE
I know.
Discussion questions post-scene:
How does Elle persuade Emmett?
Do you agree with Elles choices? Why or why not?
How does clothing identify the person? When do people dress to t in?
When not?
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up
52 53
Main Activity: Persuasive Writing
On a large chart present the following:
School Uniforms
Pros Cons
Ask students to gather into a circle. Have students go around the circle, each
stating a pro or con to school uniforms, as the teacher or volunteer charts
their comments.
Number off 1, 2, 1, 2 around the circle.
1s write a Pro piece for an informal debate, 2s will write a Con piece.
Sharing
Ask for volunteers to share their pieces. If appropriate and there is time, hold an
informal debate in the classroom with students presenting their pieces in-role
as attorneys or other speakers.
Exercise 3 - Stereotypes
FROM THE SCRIPT
SALESWOMAN (evil) Oh, blondes make commission SO much fun. (The SALESWOMAN swoops down on ELLE, carrying a dress.)
SALESWOMAN (cont.) Excuse me, have you seen this? It just came in; its perfect for a blonde.
ELLE
Right, with a half-loop stitch on china silk? SALESWOMAN
Uh huh.
ELLE
But the thing is, you cant use a half-loop stitch on china silk. Itll pucker. And you didnt just get this in because I saw it in last months Vogue.
DELTA NUS (Sotto Voce, delighted) OH MY GOD. OMIGOD YOU GUYS. ELLE:
I am not about to buy last years dress at this years price. DELTA NUS
ELLE SAW RIGHT THROUGH THAT SALES GIRLS LIES. ELLE
It may not be perfect for a blonde, but Im not THAT blonde. Legally Blonde has many characters who have pre-conceived notions about
each other, and much of the comedy of the show builds on the audiences own
expectation of where each character may be coming from. Ask students to
work in three smaller groups for brainstorming and discussion and to record
their responses using markers and large chart paper.
Each group will select a piece of paper at random. On each of the three pieces of
paper is written one of the three pairings listed below, though the pages are face-
UCLA & Harvard
Blonde & Brunette
Someone who is a Sellout & Someone Representing
The topics remain a secret to the other groups until the end of the exercise.
Each group is asked to discuss and list the attributes and characteristics of
each item in the pairing. Responses may be entirely subjective and impressionistic;
students are being asked for associations and not necessarily concrete facts.
Once all three groups have reached a natural breaking place, ask the groups
to announce their topics and to post their responses. Ask the groups to travel
quietly to see each posting and to reserve comments until the end. Ask students
if they have any questions about what they see posted and seek clarication.
Do they agree or disagree with any of the points made by other groups? Is there
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up
54 55
anything they would they add any of the lists? Does anyone think that the lists
under each individual item might have been different if it werent paired with
another item? Ask each group to share briey with the larger group the general
tenor of the small group conversation and any challenges they may have
faced as a group.
During the small group discussions, spend a few moments with each group to
monitor their progress. Often your presence will help students stay on task and a
few guiding questions from you may help them focus their thoughts more clearly.
Ask them to consider what each pairing may have in common as well as any
obvious differences. It is important to stress that the exercise is meant to
record responses. If there are a range of opinions within each group, ask students
to record all of them and to be prepared to discuss any cause for contention.
Similarly, any points of consensus should be noted. Remind students that the
exercise is meant to provoke thought and conversation. Groups should not
feel that they need to defend their lists, but they may be asked to illuminate
their thought process.
Vivienne: William Shakespeare once wrote: To thine own self be true. And it
must follow as the night, the day. Thou canst not then be false to any man. I believe
this wise statement best applies to a woman. A blonde woman. She taught
me, and showed us all, that being true to yourself never goes out of style.
Ladies and gentlemen, your valedictorian, Elle Woods!
EXERCISE 4 : Judging on Appearances
Have a conversation with friends and/or family members about how important
appearances are to them. How much responsibility does an individual have to
control how others perceive his/her appearance? Can they can recall an instance
when they were surprised, positively or negatively, when they discovered that
someones physical appearance did not match what they expected their behavior
to be like. What had they expected and how was the reality different? After the
conversation, write up a brief summary of the most important points that were
discussed and what was said.
EXERCISE 5: Creating Costume Designs
This exercise explores elements of costume design. Through creating their own
costume designs students will explore how clothing characterizes an individual.
Warm-Up: Character Walk
1. When actors create their characters, they often analyze and create their
physicality based on their characters clothes and posture. Ask students
the following questions:
How do people show their character/personality in what they wear?
How does how they feel about their clothing affect their physicality?
2. Clear a large space in the room for your class to comfortably walk around in.
Ask students to stand, and walk around the room according to the
following prompts. Between each prompt, ask students to freeze and
observe their own and others choices. Encourage students to transform
their posture and gestures using their imagination and whole body.
Walk like a person who is wearing their favorite outt.
Walk like a person who is not comfortable in their outt.
Walk like a person on their way to an interview.
Walk like how you imagine yourself in the future.
Walk like you have on your dream outt.
Walk like you are in your favourite fancy dress costume.
After the activity discuss with students about their experience of the exercise.
What choices and discoveries did you make?
How do you think clothes make, or dont make, the person?
How do clothes (and how we feel about them) change our physicality? Why?
Elle on Stage: Dressing Her Up Legally Blonde: Further Resources
56 57
LEGALLY BLONDE
FURTHER RESOURCES
FILMS:
Legally Blonde, directed by Robert
Luketic, starring Reese Witherspoon.
Released by MGM, 2001.
Legally Blonde II: Red, White and
Blonde, directed by Charles Herman-
Wurmfeld, starring Reese Witherspoon.
Released by MGM, 2003.
Valley Girl, directed by Martha
Coolidge, starring Nicholas Cage and
Deborah Foreman. Released by
MGM, 1983.
Unzipped, directed by Douglas Keene,
starring Isaac Mizrahi. Released by
Miramax, 1995.
BOOKS AND PLAYS:
Editors of Phaidon Press.
The Fashion Book. Phaidon Press, 1998.
Adler, Sue. Baroness Patricia Scotland
QC: Peer, Barrister, Junior Minister
(Black Proles). Tamarind Books 2001
Brown, Amanda. Legally Blonde.
Time Warner Paperbacks, 2003.
Brown, Amanda. Elle Woods: Blonde
Love (Legally Elle Woods). Hyperion, 2007.
Brown, Amanda. Elle Woods: Vote
Blonde. Hyperion, 2006.
Gregory, Mollie. Women Who Run
the Show: How a Brilliant and
Creative New Generation of Women
Stormed Hollywood. St. Martins
Grifn, 2003.
Johnson, Donald Clay and Helen
Bradley Foster. Dress Sense:
Emotional and Sensory Experiences
of the Body and Clothes.
Berg Publishers, 2007.
Lawrence, Jerome and Lee, Robert E.
Inherit the Wind. Mass Market, 2005
Lucia, Cynthia. Framing Female Lawyers:
Women on Trial in Film. University of
Texas Press, 2005
Lynch, Annette and Mitchell Strauss.
Changing Fashion: A Critical Introduction
to Trend Analysis and Cultural
Meaning. Berg Publishers, 2007.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Penguin
Modern Classics 2000
Mossman, Mary Jane. The First
Women Lawyers: A Comparative
Study of Gender, Law And the Legal
Professions. Hart Pub, 2006.
Normanton, Helena. Everyday Law
for Women. Nicholson and
Watson,1932
Philips, James. The Rubenstein Kiss,
Methuen Modern Plays, 2006
Russell, Willy. Educating Rita:
A Comedy. A&C Black, 2001.
Watson, Linda. 20th Century Fashion:
100 Years of Style by Decade and
Designer, in Association with Vogue.
Firey Books, 2004.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication
of the Rights of Women.
Penguin Classics 2004
Legally Blonde: Further Resources Legally Blonde: Further Resources
Main Activity: Costume Design
1. Discuss with the students the two quotes from the musical in either a large-
group discussion, or in small groups.
Elles friend Margot sings:
CAUSE YOUVE BOTH GOT SUCH GREAT TASTE IN CLOTHES!
OF COURSE HE WILL PROPOSE!!!
Later, Elle tells Emmett, after she helps him update his wardrobe:
THE OUTSIDE IS NEW
BUT NOW IT REFLECTS WHATS ALREADY IN YOU,
COULDNT CHANGE THAT IF I WANTED TO.
Ask students to share their thoughts.
2. In pairs, ask students to brainstorm what the different elements of costume design
are each pair should identify at least three (fabric choices, colors, plot point/
event, mood, theme, etc.). Write these criteria on the board. (if you have access
to any pictures of costume design these might be useful as visual prompts).
3. Now ask students to act as costume designers themselves, through drawing
or sketching their own three outts with the following prompts:
1) An outt that is comfortable for you now.
2) An outt that you dream of... or how you see yourself in the future.
3) An outt that is appropriate for a job interview.
Sharing and Discussion
After completing the assignment, hang each students favorite sketch (or all three,
depending on the space and individual class) in a gallery format around the
classroom. Guide students on a gallery walk to observe each others work.
Discussion questions post-gallery walk: What similarities did you notice?
Where there any/many differences? What do we communicate through our
choice of color? Through our clothing choices? If someone choose a style
that is not the most common, not the norm, how is that viewed? Is conformity
important? Why or why not? Is non-conformity important?
58 59
MUSIC:
Legally Blonde: The Musical Original
Cast Recording, 2007
Legally Blonde: Original Motion
Picture Soundtrack, A&M, 2001
WEBSITES:
The ofcial UK website for
Legally Blonde: The Musical
www.legallyblondethemusical.co.uk
The ofcial website for Legally
Blonde: The Musical on Broadway
www.legallyblondethemusical.com
For a wonderful behind-the- scenes
look at the show, check out
The Road to Broadway:
www.broadway.com/gen/general.
aspx?ci=540070
Association of Women Solicitors:
www.womensolicitors.org.uk/
Law Society: www.lawsociety.org.uk
The Womens Library: www.
londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/
Harvard Law School
www.law.harvard.edu
Kids for Tigers:
www.kidsfortigers.org
Fashion of Legally Blonde Interview
with lm costume designer Sophie de
Rakoff: www.thread.co.nz/article/573
Legally Blonde Style and Beauty
Page www.stealtheirstyle.co.uk/
movies/Legally%20look
StageNOTES
A FIELD GUIDE FOR TEACHERS
A Camp Broadway LLC Publication
Publisher: Susan E. Lee
Associate Editors: Rhona Silverbush
Art Director: Joseph M. Pisarchick
Contributors:
Judith Bendewald, Mariana Elder, Alexandra Lpez
Sherri Marton, Shannon Morrison, Karina Naumer
Sami Plotkin, Alexia Vernon
For Legally Blonde The Musical UK:
Jerry Mitchell Director/Choreographer
Heather Hach Book Writer
Laurence OKeefe Music and Lyrics
Nell Benjamin Lyrics and Music
David Rockwell Scenic Designer
Gregg Barnes Costume Designer
Kenneth Posner Lighting Designer
Paul Miller Lighting Designer
Acme Sound Partners Sound Designer
Christophe Jahnke Orchestrations
Legally Blonde: Further Resources Legally Blonde: Further Resources