“Legally Blonde: The Musical” tells the story of a young woman who perseveres despite obstacles and grows over time. Basically, it is an appropriate play for high school drama students to perform, and the result can be seen starting Friday at Benicia High School.

Director Nathan Day said the drama department had a difficult time picking a spring musical this year following the graduation of drama students from the Class of 2017.

“I lost a really big class last year that were really talented,” he said.

This year’s crop of drama students has mostly been girls and freshmen/sophomore boys. Day and vocal director Vivian McLaughlin decided to hold a general audition in September even before a show was selected.

“The whole concept was ‘Let’s have a general audition, and based off of that let’s pick a show that we feel we can be successful with,’” he said.

Day and McLaughlin had about six different titles in mind. After getting a feel for the talent involved in the general auditions, they settled on “Legally Blonde: The Musical.”

“We kept coming back to, ‘We have the guys for it and we have the girls for it,” Day said. “We knew it was a tough show. It’s a big show, but we felt out of all the ones we were looking at that it would be the most challenging for the kids. They’d have to work, they’d learn a lot, it would definitely challenge them but we could be successful with it if the kids did their work.”

“Legally Blonde: The Musical” is about a sorority girl named Elle Woods who enrolls in Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend, the wealthy son of a governor. The story originated as a novel by Amanda Brown which later became the basis for the hit 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon. The movie was the basis for the musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2007.

Day felt the play would be a good fit for Benicia High students because of how the characters transform over the course of the story.

“There’s so many characters that progress, and that’s really the heart of the story,” he said. “Regardless of what you put your mind to, if you go back and you work hard, you can accomplish what you’re going after. It’s not about going to law school, it’s about becoming a better person. You see that in so many different characters.”

Being able to portray the evolution of Elle was a good experience for junior Kirsten Lambinicio.

“Elle’s a very strong character,” she said. “She goes after what she wants, and she sets her mind to it and doesn’t let any stereotypes define her. She’s just a very good role model.”

Lambinicio’s portrayal itself also had to evolve from the initial rehearsals. Being so familiar with the original show, she based her performance largely on that of original actress Laura Bell Bundy.

“Mr. Day told me I need to ‘bring out the Kirsten in Elle,’” she said. “I had to give more of me.”

This is the first time Day has worked with many of the actors involved, and he has been very pleased with what they’ve offered, especially their ability to take chances.

“They’re eager,” he said. “They want to learn, they want to get better, they keep pushing it and they work so well together. There’s no ego in this cast.”

Day said a big challenge was being able to accommodate the live orchestra, which is larger than it has been in the past. In the past, the orchestra has performed either backstage or onstage, but Day talked to Band Director Patrick Martin about doing something different. Four rows of auditorium seating were removed to provide the band a space to perform in the house.

“There’s a floor we had to build because when we took those chairs out there were all these little prongs that stick out of the floor,” he said.

With a lot of moving set pieces, including a remote-controlled dog, it is certainly a more elaborate show than usual. Day said “Legally Blonde” will allow audiences to see what the department is capable of. Lambinicio said it will provide an opportunity to see the different levels of talent involved.

“There are 70 kids involved in this production in total, and that’s not even including the drama productions class that helped build the set,” she said. “There’s so much work put into this particular production, and it’s nice to have a combination of everyone coming together to team effort it all. I think it’s cool that so many people came together to make this really great product.”

“Legally Blonde: The Musical” will debut tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Benicia High School’s Performing Arts Building, located at 1101 Military West. Subsequent performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturdays, May 12 and 19 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, May 13 at 2 p.m. and Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for students and $20 for the Closing Night Gala. There is a $2 discount per ticket when purchased online at bit.ly/legallyblondebhs. There will also be a special Mother’s Day performance on Sunday featuring a raffle for mothers who attend the show. The production is rated PG. For more information, go to bhs.beniciaunified.org/performing-arts/theater-arts/.