Nikki Gil is Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde: The Musical"

Elle Woods is Barbie incarnate. The doll and the vixen sport blonde hair and love anything pink. Stepping into Elle’s uber feminine world is Nikki Gil who leads the cast of Legally Blonde The Musical’s local staging. Atlantis Productions will present the movie-turned-musical in June 2010 at the Meralco Theater. Chari Arespacochaga directs.

"I like pink," replies Nikki when asked how she feels playing the Reese Witherspoon big screen role. "If you watch MYX, it’s their favorite character for me. I would play someone who is maarte and mouths, ‘Oh my God… what’s that?’ It is something I can do for a full-length play."

Although the singer-actress can relate to Elle with all her heart, Nikki has started preparing for the role this early.

"I got the material and I started reading the script and memorizing the songs," Nikki shares.

This shows how Nikki is serious with this new challenge in her career. Nikki has done one formal production with Atlantis and relies a lot on her singing experience on TV and in concert tours for the past years. Nikki is aware of the responsibility and the pressure of playing the Broadway character. Unlike actors who are trained for years, Nikki will put all her acting and singing know-how in seven months to act, think and sound like Elle come next year.

"I’m excited," shares Nikki. "It’s a fun gig. It speaks of something true. It also speaks of a sentiment like. I think I can be so much better than what I really am right now. I think it’s very timely." That’s the same scenario Elle has gone through in the movie. The sorority star proves that there’s much more to her than good looks.

"I’m more worried with singing than in acting," says Nikki. "Back in high school, I used to compete in dramatic monologues and one-act plays for inter-school competitions.

"Pop singing is different from theater singing. Theater actors have a different lifestyle compared to showbiz actors. TV work requires one to stay till the wee hours of the morning. I have to take a break from what I usually do because my voice might not stand the demands of musical theater."

It’s a wise decision for Nikki because there’s so much dancing and singing in Legally Blonde. It means she has to work on her physical stamina and vocal strength. Nikki will play the part for 20 shows and she has no understudy.

Legally Blonde The Musical begins when Elle’s boyfriend breaks up with her and falls for another girl who is more “serious.” To win back her man, she leaves her fabulous life to study law in Harvard. The intellectual community welcomes an unexpected visitor.

Elle’s journey to Harvard helps her find who she is and what she can do. As Atlantis puts it, being true to one’s self never goes out of style.

Legally Blonde won Best New Touring Musical, Best Design and Best Music. It will tour the US for the next two years.

Asked what she will do if a good soap opera comes her way, Nikki answers, "I have to finish first what I have started. And I have to avoid (doing) things that will ask me to stay long on the set."

For more details about Legally Blonde The Musical in Manila call 892-7078 or 840-1187.