Breaking blonde: Legally Blonde breaks stereotypes

By: Kiyomi Kishaba

A play normally cast in white and pink adds more color to the stage.

When Justin Huertas received an audition call for a stage production of Legally Blonde, he expected the role of Sundeep, a problematically stereotypical Indian character. To his surprise, he was actually being considered for the lead role of Emmet, a character classically played by a white man.

With a childhood full of creativity including art, cello, acting, and singing, Huertas found the perfect match for his skills when cast in his high school’s spring musical. Switching from an intended cello major to theatre, Huertas fully immersed himself in PLU’s program.

Professor Jeffrey Clamp described the program at the time as “the Macgyver school of theatre,” allowing Huertas opportunities to incorporate the cello into roles he played, expanding characters such as the Emcee in Cabaret, and initiate projects himself.

“He was a very motivated and creative student,” Clap said, “surrounded by a lot of motivated and creative people.”

However, Huertas found he was never in the spotlight. Roles were limited to “the plucky best friend, the sassy emcee, the observant clown on the periphery”; his race limited him from assuming “the hero, the romantic lead, or the underdog overcoming obstacles.”

In high school and PLU, that was simply the way it was, and Huertas didn’t question it. Even after being cast in a PLU production of Legally Blonde and falling in love with the leading role of Emmet, Huertas put this dream role aside, knowing the character would always be filled by a stereotypical white man.

But after graduating and engaging in the theater community in Seattle, Huertas recognized the absurdity of these casting trends and rejected the boundaries he previously accepted. He composed his own musical entitled “Lizard Boy”, depicting himself as a superhero.

“I’ve realized the only thing stopping me from playing the hero is my submission to these outdated points of view,” Huertas said, “None of the heroes I grew up with looked like me, they were all white guys, so this was my way of creating a superhero who’s brown for other kids like me to look up to.”

“Lizard Boy” went on to reach great success, winning four of Seattle’s Gregory Awards after it’s premiere in 2015 and the San Diego’s Craig Noel Award for Leading Actor in a Musical the next year.

Huertas continued to compose for other adaptations of shows, such as Howl’s Moving Castle, as he pursued musical theatre roles in Seattle. Huertas earned his dream role of Emmett in the Showtunes Theatre Company’s Legally Blonde, performing alongside an African-American leading lady cast as Elle, another classically white character.

“We’re all the heroes of our own stories,” Huertas said, “and that includes people of color, queer people, differently abled people, and non-binary and trans people.”

Huertas continues to fight for representation onstage, composing and writing more productions with inclusive roles.

“Why should tall, athletic, straight, white men be the only ones to play heroes on stage?”

To aspiring performers and composers, Huertas says to always keep in touch with your creativity. “Whatever you do,” Huertas said, “just stay connected to your art everyday.”