In this photo, Emily Borden was on the stage during a break in rehearsal last Sunday for Legally Blonde. Photo by Donna MacKenzie
The last time Emily Borden was in a musical, she was a senior at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School and she had the lead role of Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie.
That was 10 years ago, but Borden will be onstage once again as she is part of the cast for Pittsford Musicals’ production of Legally Blonde The Musical which runs for four performances at Pittsford Sutherland High School this weekend: Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m.
“It’s been 10 years since I did a show in high school,” Borden said. “It was something that I enjoyed growing up. I had a lot of passion to perform and always looked forward to being in a show. Now that I am out of college and settled down, I thought it was time to get in touch with that side of me. I love Legally Blonde and I knew Pittsford Musicals did great shows. I felt it was time to try to get back at it. It’s a great show and I decided to go for it.”
Dipping her toes back into the audition and rehearsal process was both nerve-wracking and exciting.
Auditions were held in mid-January. Borden worked towards auditioning by getting back into singing every day and getting herself ready for a dance audition. Rehearsals started at the end of January. At first, rehearsals were spaced out and she did not have to be at rehearsal if she was not in the scenes or songs that were being worked on. As the directors began to string scenes and songs together, she had to be at rehearsal more frequently. Last week and this week, it has been and will be every night leading up to opening night.
“The audition process was fast-paced and jumping back into it was nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time. It felt good to spend the time preparing for it,” Borden said. “When I got the phone call telling me that I was in the cast, I was very excited and happy to be part of the show. Going through rehearsals, it has just been great having a community of people all just as excited as you are to bring a show to life. I have met so many people that I hadn’t known before, but we all share a passion and excitement for musical theatre.”
Borden is in the show’s ensemble and is one of the Harvard students and a perfume salesperson.
Based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the popular 2001 film of the same name, Legally Blonde hit the Broadway stage as a musical in 2007. It follows Elle Woods as she challenges stereotypes and scandal while pursuing her dreams. Woods appears to have it all until her boyfriend Warner drops her so he can attend Harvard Law School. Determined to get him back, Woods charms her way into the law school. Although she struggles with peers, professors and Warner, Woods also discovers her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world with the support of some new friends.
Borden traces her love for music and music theatre back to her parents, Mark and Lindsay, both music teachers. Mark Borden retired as HF-L’s high school instrumental teacher in 2020 and was the conductor for the high school’s musicals.
“My parents love musical theatre and, growing up, my sisters and I would get a hold of the CD soundtrack that my dad would bring home of the show that the high school was doing that year,” Emily said. “We would play the CD and learn the songs and just be obsessed with the show and would go to see the shows as kids. I couldn’t wait to be old enough to be involved. Once I reached high school, it was nice to have my older sister, Kelsey, on the stage crew, and my younger sister, Amanda, on the stage with me. It was very important to us as a family.”
Borden was in all four HF-L high school musical productions, starting with her freshman year in the ensemble in Oklahoma. As a sophomore, she was in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Her junior year, she was in Seussical. Borden snagged the lead role of Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie as a senior. The 2014 HF-L graduate went to Nazareth College (now Nazareth University) after high school and graduated with a major in visual communications design with a theater minor. She currently works as an art director for The Martin Group, an advertising agency, where she has been for about six years.
Although this is Emily’s first show with Pittsford Musicals, it is not the first time a Borden has been in a Pittsford Musicals’ production. Her grandfather, David Borden, portrayed Mr. Lundie in Pittsford Musicals’ 1995 production of Brigadoon.
Asked why music and musical theatre is so important to her, Borden said they bring her joy.
“Music in general brings out a passion that I can’t find anywhere else,” she said. “It is a release from the stress of the day-to-day, an escape. Theatre specifically gives you so many different experiences depending on the character you are playing; it broadens your experiences. It lets you feel so many different emotions, but in a healthy way.”
This will be Pittsford Musicals’ second production coming off a three-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. The organization’s production of Beauty and the Beast last year was its first since Cinderella in 2019.
“It’s nice to be part of Pittsford Musicals coming back,” Borden said. “I have very much enjoyed being part of this show and Pittsford Musicals. I like the cast members and the directors. The artistic director, Mitchell Canfield is easy to connect with and he has a unique take on the show. As part of the ensemble, he still makes you feel important and included and all the directors make you feel that way. Legally Blonde has so much energy and positivity in it and I think audiences will enjoy it.”
