Coolidge sends Marblehead High’s ‘Legally Blonde’ cast a video message NAMES
B oston native and Emerson alumna Jennifer Coolidge created a video celebrating Marblehead High School’s production of “Legally Blonde.”
Coolidge played Paulette — a manicurist who becomes friends with sorority-girlturned-law-student Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) — in the 2001 film.
She begins the video saying, “Hey Marblehead High School, it’s Jennifer Coolidge, and I just want to say congratulations on doing ‘Legally Blonde’ this weekend.”
“I’m so excited for you. It’s such a great show.”
She specifically calls out student Chloe Curtis, who was cast as Elle. “What an epic part, oh my god.”
“This is certainly a high note for my high school musical career,” Curtis told the Globe via Instagram direct message, “as I prepare to head off to Emerson College, which happens to be the alma mater for both my mother and Miss Coolidge.”
Coolidge also congratulates Georgia Lloyd “for getting the part of Paulette, of course.”
Lloyd said Paulette is their favorite role they have ever played. “Jennifer Coolidge made the character so iconic, and I had a blast finding ways to bring that to our production,” they told the Globe via Instagram direct message.
Coolidge continued, “‘Legally Blonde’ brought me so much luck and so many great things happened to me after ‘Legally Blonde,’ and I just have a good feeling about this for all of you.”
After the film came out, she played evil stepmother Fiona in “A Cinderella Story” in 2004 and recently got a lot of buzz playing Tanya McQuoid in two seasons of “The White Lotus.”
Coolidge tells the students that the show could be a big step for them as well. “It might be the beginning of many careers.”
She had planned to attend the show last weekend, but ultimately wasn’t able to make it.
Before signing off, Coolidge adds that there is “one last thing” she has to tell them: “Bend and snap!” It’s an iconic line from the film and the name of a trick Elle teaches Paulette.
“[Coolidge] really has taught me to never shy away, to go at it at 100 percent, and that I am capable of flourishing beyond my small community,” Lloyd told the Globe. “Opening night, before I went on stage, I definitely thought, ‘For Jennifer.’”