University of Central Florida
04/14/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/14/2026 13:37
Theatre UCF Staged a Tech-Forward ‘Legally Blonde’ Musical for UCF Celebrates the Arts 2026
Elle Woods. Harvard Law. And… a robot dog?
At UCF Celebrates the Arts 2026, Legally Blonde took the stage with a twist audiences didn't see coming - one that blurred the line between performance and possibility.
The story still delivered the heart: College student Elle Woods chases love, faces doubt and ultimately discovers her own strength along the way. But this production layered something new into that journey: state-of-the-art robotics. At UCF, Florida's Technological University, innovation shows up in unexpected places - even onstage.
The result is a show that felt both nostalgic and forward-looking, where dynamic musical theater met emerging tech.
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)Musical theatre major Lyric Stratton played the perfect protagonist, Elle Woods, whose dreams of settling down after college graduation are cut short when her boyfriend, Warner, breaks up with her to attend Harvard Law. Devastated and determined to get him back, Woods pulls together an unconventional application and charms her way into Harvard Law.
(Photo by Nick Leyva '15)High-energy dance numbers powered the production from start to finish. In one standout scene titled "What You Want," Woods turns her Harvard application into a full-scale performance - trading a traditional essay for a show-stopping number alongside the UCLA cheer team.
The number featured 25 students on stage and took 13 hours to stage.
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)Three characters lead a Harvard admissions conference room scene, delivering sharp dialogue as they debate Woods' fate.
From left: Joey Fields as Winthrop, Tristan Haberland as Lowell and Jasper Allen as Pforzheimer.
(Photo by Nick Leyva '15)Just as the audience settled into the story, two robot dogs stepped into the spotlight. During the nine-minute number "What You Want," they appeared in a Harvard campus scene where engineering students - played by theatre majors Mia Freeman and Isabel Ramos - walked them around as UCLA cheerleaders looked on in awe. In a brief but striking moment, technology wasn't just a prop - it became part of the story.
Operated live on stage, the robots transformed the moment into a seamless blend of performance and engineering. Freeman and Ramos were trained by Mohsen Rakhshan, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and his graduate teaching assistant, Chinmay Dhanraj Nehate.
"We're seeing the incorporation of robotics into different things at an accelerated rate, including art. It's exciting," says Rakhshan, who closely collaborated with the production's director to bring the robots into the show.
The electrical and computer engineering department houses 15 state-of-the-art robot dogs, nine of which are in Rakhshan's Laboratory for Interaction of Machine and Brain. There, he and his graduate teaching assistant use them for both instruction and research - teaching an Introduction to Robotics course and training the robots to navigate the uncertainties of real-world environments.
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)During last year's annual UCF football Space Game, Michael Jablonski, an assistant professor of musical theatre in the College of Arts and Humanities, watched the ECE department's robot dogs in motion across the field. At that moment, he saw more than entertainment - he saw the potential for storytelling. A way to take something typically confined to classrooms and labs and give it emotion and meaning.
When planning Legally Blonde, a story rooted in breaking expectations, the idea came naturally: why not let innovation share the stage?
(Photo by Nick Leyva '15)Even with its high-tech twist, the show stayed true to its roots - including Bruiser, Woods' loyal (and stylish) Chihuahua, brought to life by a real dog named Marty McFly.
(Photo by Justin Rotolo)During "Whipped Into Shape," fitness guru Brooke Wyndham, played by theatre major Isabel Ramos, led her cellmates through a relentless workout. Accused of murder, Wyndham refused to reveal the truth when Woods visited - unless she could keep up - turning the moment into a high-energy number where actors sang while performing intense jump rope choreography.
(Photo by Drew Lofredo)In the climactic courtroom scene, Woods took the lead, defending Wyndham and using sharp instincts, wit and confidence to expose the real culprit. It was a defining moment where she proved she belongs, blending intelligence, intuition and boldness to win the case.
Front row from left: Lyric Stratton as Elle Woods, Isabel Ramos as Brooke Wyndham and Jaxon Ryan as Emmett Forrest.
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)Along the way, Woods stops chasing approval and finds her confidence, purpose and voice. This central theme drew Jablonski, Legally Blonde production director, to the female-driven story.
"This story showcases how a very strong, intelligent woman [Elle Woods] finds her way in a male-dominated world. She initially follows love, but through it, she finds a space where she fits perfectly," Jablonski says. "Through being misjudged and stereotyped, we come to see that she's far above the people around her in her thinking and in the way she brings humanity into her work as a lawyer."
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)What audiences saw was only part of the story. Behind every scene change, lighting cue, and musical number is a network of students, faculty, and staff working in sync - often just out of sight. Behind the curtain, more than 50 people managed lighting, sound and scene transitions in real time.
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)The music didn't just support the story - it drove it. Legally Blonde, presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, featured music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, with 23 total musical numbers. The book was written by Heather Hach.
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)Projection-mapped animations and imagery - created with QLab and delivered through two high-brightness front projectors - were precisely timed to the music, blending seamlessly with choreography and lighting to shape the show's visual rhythm.
"Each scene had its own visual identity, with projections adding specific details that help it stand out," says Tim Brown, associate professor of theatre design and technology. "The goal is to support the show's fun, colorful world in a clear and energetic way."
(Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)Costuming defined each character with bold color and precise detail. Huaixiang Tan, a professor of costume and make-up design in the School of Performing Arts, led the design, with support from assistant costume designers Sabrina Cervilla and Aisha Bader-Ortega. The production featured more than 100 costumes, each the result of hundreds of hours of craftsmanship.
(Photo by Daniel Schipper)In the Theatre UCF scene shop, students began using hands-on technical skills to build and refine set pieces in January.
(Photo by Daniel Schipper)Built through layers of paint, planning and precision, the set came together as a large-scale collaboration among more than 40 students.
(Photo by Daniel Schipper)Designed for transport, much like a touring production, the set added an extra layer of complexity and was built to be assembled at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. It was completed and delivered on March 30.
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