Pink, powered and homegrown | 'Legally Blonde: The Musical' opens at Numerica PAC in Wenatchee
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Stephanie Etherington, center, as Elle Woods rehearses for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
Since January, more than 40 local performers have rehearsed between workdays and school pickups, building a production that is equal parts spectacle and small-town alchemy. Now the dances are tight, the music is memorized and the dialogue is second nature. The stage is set. The costumes are pink. And the hair is blonde.
The 2026 Apple Blossom Musical, "Legally Blonde: The Musical," opens April 29, bringing with it a swirl of high-energy choreography, quick wit and a story that insists, cheerfully and stubbornly, that ambition can wear heels.
Directed by longtime Wenatchee theater duo Kelly and Paul Atwood, the show transforms a familiar story into something distinctly homegrown. At its center is Stephanie Etherington as Elle Woods, a character who begins in sunshine and certainty and finds herself somewhere far more complicated.
"She's a fun, loving girl," Etherington said, describing Elle's early world of sorority life and expectations. "And then she goes through this transition, traveling to Harvard and becoming a lawyer."
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Stephanie Etherington, center, as Elle Woods and Dave Williams as Professor Callahan rehearse for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
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Chuffles Higgins, who plays Rufus, takes a break during rehearsal for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
At first, she said, the motivation is simple: win back the boyfriend who doubts her seriousness. But the arc bends.
"In that experience, she finds the purpose and the drive," Etherington said. "Helping people through this profession, she kind of finds herself."
For Etherington, who is no stranger to the Apple Blossom Musical and previously appeared in the titular role in "Mary Poppins," the role offers a different kind of freedom.
"It's just fun, goofy, silly," she said. "You get to incorporate more about yourself in the role."
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Andy Sheets, Steve Wilkinson, Luke Tiffany and Justin Titus rehearse ensemble parts for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
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The band rehearses for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
That sense of self and rediscovery runs offstage as well. Like much of the cast, Etherington balances rehearsals with a full life: a job, young children and the logistics of daily life.
"I feel like a piece of me was missing, and now that's back," she said. "It's so wonderful being around everybody. It's truly like we're a family."
That family includes first-timers, seasoned performers and even a pair of canine castmates. Among them is Steve Wilkinson, who by day serves as executive director of the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce and, by night, sings and dances as one of Harvard's professors. It's his first musical.
"I was asked by my daughter, Whitney Decker, if I'd be in ‘The Nutcracker.' I had a blast. So then they said, Well, we got another show coming for Apple Blossom, "Legally Blonde," I said, ‘Well, that sounds fun.'" Wilkinson said, laughing. "I didn't know I was singing. Then, dancing, I wasn't aware I was dancing as well. So it's all been a fun surprise."
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Stephanie Etherington, center, as Elle Woods rehearses for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
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Stephanie Etherington, center, as Elle Woods rehearses for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" Monday, April 21, 2026, at the Numerica Performing Arts Center.
Jumping on stage with both feet: a leap prompted by family and followed by discovery.
"I come here in the evening, and the young people, they just make me laugh. I come back jacked every time. It's so much fun," he said. "You connect, cause you're just putting yourself out there. I come here, and I just let it out. I love it."
That release: of voice, of nerves, of the careful composure of daily life, may be the quiet thesis of the Apple Blossom Musical. Not just performance, but permission. What fills the room is something that cannot be rehearsed: neighbors becoming characters, colleagues becoming castmates, a community stepping briefly into the spotlight together.
"Legally Blonde" runs April 29 through May 9 at the Numerica Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at the Numerica PAC box office or by visiting numericapac.org.
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