"I'm having a blast."

Lindel Hart, Owner/Director of Hart Yoga in Shelburne Falls, steps out of his role as yoga teacher and into the role of Callahan, a Harvard law professor and ruthless attorney, in Legally Blonde the Musical. Produced by Ja’Duke Center for the Performing Arts, Legally Blonde the Musical makes its Western Massachusetts debut at Greenfield High School on March 2, 3 and 4, 2012.

Based on the hit 2001 movie starring Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde the Musical earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations. Elle Woods, a blonde California sorority superstar, applies to Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend and discovers that her bubbleheaded appearance and demeanor mask hidden legal acumen. The show is an upbeat, high-energy romp through Elle’s Harvard career and personal transformation.

“It’s one catchy song after another,” says Hart, who previously appeared in Ja’Duke’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone last fall. “And we’ve got a really strong cast of talented actors, including a number of Mohawk students and alumni.” Shelley Roberts (as Elle), Juniper Holmes (as Paulette) and Justin Begin (as Warner) are three Mohawk grads with leading roles in Legally Blonde.

Hart is enjoying his return to the stage after two decades away from theatre. “My husband Rod started working with Ja’Duke several years ago, and director Nick Waynelovich had been trying to get me into a show for last year or so. I loved The Drowsy Chaperone when I saw it on Broadway, and when Nick decided to produce that show, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be part of it. I got hooked, and here I am in my second Ja’Duke production!” Lindel and Rod Hart appear in the two leading male roles in Legally Blonde.

Lindel Hart spent the early part of his performance career in Pittsburgh, PA, after majoring in voice at Carnegie Mellon University. He later moved to New York, working off-Broadway and touring Europe as a performer. “I’m having a blast!” he says of his experience with Legally Blonde. “It’s definitely stretching me as a singer and actor to perform in ways I haven’t before. And I love the challenge of balancing my active teaching schedule at Hart Yoga and at Deerfield Academy with rehearsing and being a parent and husband. We sometimes take our 6-year-old son Hugh with us to rehearsals, and he loves it! He had the songs memorized before we did!”

Nick Waynelovich, the former music teacher at Mohawk Trail Regional High School, has established himself as a producer and director of high-quality theatre in the area. Legally Blonde the Musical performances will be Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, at 7 PM; and Sunday, March 4, at 2 PM at the Greenfield High School Auditorium, 1 Lenox Avenue in Greenfield. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.jaduke.com/.