“Ohmigod, ohmigod you guys! Looks like Elle’s gonna win the prize!”
Those familiar lyrics ring out nightly as Hayley Podschun takes the stage as Elle Woods in the musical “Legally Blonde”, now playing through Sept. 6 at The New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park.
For the former Johnson County native, this production is more than another starring role. It’s a homecoming.
The last time Kansas City audiences saw Podschun on a local stage was in 2013 when she appeared at Music Hall as Glinda in the national tour of “Wicked”. More than a decade later, she’s thrilled to be performing for hometown audiences once again.
“It’s been really nice,” Podschun said. “I actually keep a list of who comes to the show. It’s so fun to see people I haven’t seen in years. I’m excited that I get to do this dream show for people who haven’t seen me perform in a long time.”
Where it all began
Podschun has been singing for as long as she can remember. She honed her dancing and performance skills at the Miller Marley School of Dance & Voice in Overland Park before auditioning for The New Theatre as a child.
Her first audition came at age 7 for “The Sound of Music”. She didn’t get the role.
A few years later, she returned and landed Baby June in “Gypsy”.
“That really ignited my career,” she said.
At just 12 years old, Podschun made her Broadway debut in “The Sound of Music” starring Richard Chamberlain. Although the production closed after four months, she returned home and continued training and performing in local productions, including Theatre in the Park’s “Alice in Wonderland” with current “Legally Blonde” castmate Mandy Morris.
“A lot of my training came from Miller Marley,” she said, “but a lot of my training was doing community theatre around town.”
After attending Blue Valley North for two years, Podschun transferred to Blue Valley High School, where she studied under longtime choir director Marsha Moeller.
“I have known her since first grade,” said Moeller, whose daughter Megan was Podschun’s childhood friend.
“She was an absolute delight to work with,” Moeller said. “She was so professional, always prepared and knew her lines. She was upbeat, positive and kind to everyone. She was wonderful to have as a student.”
From Kansas to Broadway
Following high school, Podschun attended a conservatory on the East Coast.
“I hated it,” she laughed. “I had more training at Blue Valley High School than in my first year of college.”
In 2005, she landed the national tour of “Hairspray”. When the tour ended, she was cast as Tammy in the film adaptation of “Hairspray,” starring John Travolta, before heading back to Broadway in the stage production.
“I went to the University of ‘Hairspray’,” she joked, her trademark bubbly personality shining through.
Her career has since included Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, national tours and regional theatre. One of her dream roles was Glinda in “Wicked”.
“My audition process was six years,” Podschun said. “I still perform for ‘Wicked’ at a lot of their press events. I feel like I did it on Broadway because I still get to represent the show.”
Along the way, she’s also shared the stage with hometown friends. She reunited with Mandy Morris in “Legally Blonde” and performed alongside Johnson County native Ryan Worsing in Broadway’s “Hello, Dolly!” starring Bette Midler.
Podschun has also earned multiple Helen Hayes Award nominations recognizing excellence in professional theatre in the Washington, D.C., region.
Her work extends beyond the stage in television and film with appearances in “Fleishman Is in Trouble”, “The Blacklist”, and as a guest host on HSN and QVC.
Returning to Elle Woods
For Podschun, “Legally Blonde” is a role she knows well.
She first played Elle Woods in Denver in 2012 and later portrayed Brooke Wyndham in The Muny’s 2022 production.
Returning to Elle years later has given her an entirely different perspective.
“I understand her so much more now,” she said. “Her feminism, the heartbreak she experiences … I’m older now and have gone through so much more in my life.”
The role is one of the most demanding in musical theatre, with Elle on stage for nearly the entire show.
“Vocally, it’s been fun to revisit her because I’ve had so much more training,” Podschun said. “Elle sings almost the entire show, but oddly I find it easier now. I know how to pace myself, when I can give more and when I need to preserve.”
So what does she bring to a character made famous by Reese Witherspoon?
“I am naturally a bubbly person,” she said with a smile. “I think I bring a little more bubbles to the show. But it’s still all pink.”
A director’s perspective
Director and choreographer Jerry Jay Cranford had never worked with Podschun before but was well aware of her reputation.
“What I enjoy watching is the confidence she brings to this show,” Cranford said. “It’s been such a treat to watch all of them work. What they bring to this production has been pure magic.”
Moeller couldn’t agree more after seeing her former student on opening weekend.
“Oh my God, she was fabulous,” she said.
Local talent shines
Podschun isn’t the only performer with Johnson County ties.
“The energy is still alive here, and the talent just keeps growing,” she said. “Everyone has been so fun.”
Shawnee Mission West graduate Lucas Lowry is part of the ensemble, portraying multiple roles. With more than 60 productions on his résumé, “Legally Blonde” marks his sixth appearance at The New Theatre.
A Starlight Theatre Blue Star Award winner in 2016, Lowry represented Kansas City at New York’s prestigious Jimmy Awards, an experience that cemented his decision to pursue professional theatre.
“Hayley’s been lovely,” said Lowry of his “Legally Blonde” colleague. “It’s cool to see worlds collide and work with someone who was in the Hairspray movie.”
After “Legally Blonde”, Lowry will perform with Musical Theatre Heritage and The Coterie Theatre.
Sharing the stage with Lowry is his former Wichita State University roommate, Austin Ragusin, a Blue Valley Southwest graduate. Also boasting more than 60 productions, “Legally Blonde” is his second show at The New Theatre following last year’s “Newsies”.
“I credit everything I do well on stage to Dan Schmidt, my high school theatre teacher,” Ragusin said. “I don’t think I’d have the instincts I do without him.”
Darcie Hingula is making her New Theatre debut in the ensemble while understudying three roles.
A familiar face to Johnson County theatre audiences, Hingula has performed with Theatre in the Park, Leawood Stage Company, Musical Theatre Heritage and several other local companies. She won the 2021 KC SuperStar high school singing competition before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Although now based in New York, she’s always happy to return home to perform. Working alongside Podschun has been a highlight.
“It’s been so wonderful,” Hingula said. “She’s such a nice person. It’s so meaningful to have someone in the leading role who is genuinely kind. She’s beyond a good person.”
Looking ahead
When “Legally Blonde” closes, Podschun will return to New York City, where she’s expanding her career beyond performing.
She has recently added keynote speaking to her résumé, working with her manager Kelly Bjorseth of Upside Speakers. Her signature presentation, “Whatever It Takes — The Broadway Attitude to Achieve Your Biggest Dreams and Overcome the Unexpected with Ease,” is already taking her around the country.
“I would like to do more speaking,” Podschun said. “It brings me so much joy.”
She’ll also spend time with her boyfriend, a Broadway music director who has worked on “Hamilton” and “Chess”.
Although her parents now live in Charleston, South Carolina, Podschun hopes this won’t be her last Kansas City engagement. Podschun doesn’t know exactly when she’ll be back.
“But I hope it’s not too long,” she said with a smile.
