Legally Blonde Cast Joins City Harvest in Fighting Hunger

On Monday, June 4th, the cast of Legally Blonde will team up with America's Second Harvest and City Harvest to fight hunger.

The cast of Legally Blonde will rescue over a hundred pounds of food with City Harvest, the world's first and New York City's only food rescue organization, as part of America Second Harvest's national campaign "Goin' Home for Hunger."  The food, which will be donated by the Olive Garden, will feed some of the 260,000 hungry New Yorkers that City Harvest helps to find their next meal each week.  St. Clement's Food Pantry in midtown Manhattan will use this special donation to help feed some of the 500 clients it serves each week.

The cast joins a list of celebrities who are participating in the Goin' Home for Hunger campaign:  Nick Lachey (Cincinnati), Simon Cowell and Scott Wolf (Los Angeles), Scott Hamilton (Nashville) and others will visit America's Second Harvest member food banks in their hometowns to bring attention to the reality that hunger exists in all communities across the United States.  

According to press notes, "over 35 million Americans are 'food insecure'-- meaning they don't know where their next meal will come from.  Almost all of these people work, but yet they still do not make enough to feed their families, which includes more than 14 million children. Currently 1.6 million New Yorkers live in poverty, unable to afford the basic necessities such as rent and medical care and put food on their tables."

America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger-relief charity, is a Network of more than 200 food banks that reaches 50,000 agencies who, in turn, feed more than 25 million Americans each year.

Now serving New York City for 25 years, City Harvest is the world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city's hungry men, women and children. This year, City Harvest will collect 20 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers and farms. This food is then delivered free of charge to more than 600 community food programs throughout New York City using a fleet of 16 trucks and volunteers on foot. Each week, City Harvest helps over 260,000 hungry New Yorkers find their next meal.

Heading the cast of Legally Blonde is Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods. Joining her are Christian Borle as Emmett, Orfeh as Paulette, Richard H. Blake as Warner, Kate Shindle as Vivienne, Nikki Snelson as Brooke and Michael Rupert as Professor Callahan. Also featured in the cast are: Annaleigh Ashford, April Berry, Paul Canaan, Lindsay Chambers, Beth Curry, Tracy Jai Edwards, Amber Efe, Gaelen Gilliland, Jason Gillman, Becky Gulsvig, Rod Harrelson, Manuel Herrera, Natalie Joy Johnson, Andy Karl, Nick Kenkel, Michelle Kittrell, Leslie Kritzer, Dequina Moore, Rusty Mowery, Kevin Pariseau, Matthew Risch, Jason Patrick Sands, Noah Weisberg, Kate Wetherhead.

At the helm of the creative team of Legally Blonde is Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, who makes his Broadway directorial debut and will also choreograph. Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach. James Sampliner serves as music director.

"Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take 'no' for an answer.  So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style," state press materials.

Visit www.cityharvest.org for more information.  Visit www.legallyblondemusical.com for more on Legally Blonde.

Photo of Laura Bell Bundy by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.