{"id":615573,"date":"2026-04-20T01:38:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/615573\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T01:38:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:38:22","slug":"winnipeg-pups-hope-to-wag-their-way-into-a-role-in-local-legally-blonde-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/615573\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnipeg pups hope to wag their way into a role in local Legally Blonde production"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Listen to this article<\/p>\n

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The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A group of well-trained dogs gathered at a casting office in the Exchange District on Sunday, hoping to fetch a spot in the cast of an upcoming musical theatre production hitting Winnipeg’s largest outdoor stage this summer. <\/p>\n

On Sunday, 20 dogs auditioned for a role in Rainbow Stage’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical, which is slated to run at the Kildonan Park theatre from Aug. 13 to Aug. 30. <\/p>\n

The popular musical is based on the novel and film of the same name, which follows pink-loving sorority sister Elle Woods as she attends law school at Harvard University \u2014 all with her fashionable Chihuahua Bruiser by her side. <\/p>\n

Rainbow Stage announced its human cast for Legally Blonde: The Musical in a social media post last month<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kendall Betker, 13, auditioned her grandmother’s four-year-old Chihuahua named Sunny for the role of Bruiser. She said Sunny is perfect for the role because she’s got the right look and skills to make it big on the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"YoungKendall Betker, 13, says Sunny the Chihuahua, 4, is a perfect fit for the role of Bruiser in Legally Blonde: The Musical. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“I think she looks like Bruiser and she’s sweet and good with people,” Betker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said Sunny is a “fast learner,” picking up tricks like dancing, walking on her hind legs and jumping into a handbag in about a week. <\/p>\n

Betker said Legally Blonde is one of her favourite movies and she already has tickets to Rainbow Stage’s summer production. It would be fun to see Sunny \u2014 who has a bunch of stylish outfits just like Bruiser \u2014 starring in the show, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She’s hopeful she’ll see Sunny on stage this summer.<\/p>\n

“I feel like we might be one of the chosen ones,” Betker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ARescue pup Luka, a Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, auditions for the role of Bruiser Woods in Rainbow Stage’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical on Sunday. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix Luka, who is about five years-old, was also hoping to wag her way onto the cast list. Handler Amy Braunstein said the rescue pup is a friendly girl who loves people and has a great personality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Braunstein said Luka has the potential to be a superstar because her temperament could work well in the theatre. Plus, “she’s super cute and very, very sweet,” she said. <\/p>\n

“I think there’s probably a lot of cute Chihuahuas out there. So I think it just depends what they’re looking for,” Braunstein said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We’ll see if we’re the lucky chosen one.” <\/p>\n

\"AOwner Alicia Mitchell says Louis, a three-year-old purebred French Bulldog, has an outgoing and friendly personality that could make him a great fit for the stage. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Rainbow Stage was also seeking a French Bulldog who could play Rufus, the beloved bulldog of Elle’s friend and manicurist Paulette.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Three-year-old purebred French Bulldog Louis was hoping to sniff out a role.<\/p>\n

“He’s loving. He loves people. He’s outgoing and friendly and just lovable,” said owner Alicia Mitchell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It would be fulfilling just to do something like this with my dog.”<\/p>\n

\"ASabrina Gomez, right, says ‘it would be very cute’ if her five-year-old Boston Terrier-French Bulldog mix named Thor got the role of Rufus in Legally Blonde: The Musical. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Sabrina Gomez and Omar Angel decided to audition their five-year-old Boston Terrier-French Bulldog mix named Thor for the role after one of the show’s human cast members approached them at a dog park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pair thought it would be something fun and different to try out with their well-trained pooch, said Gomez, who is a fan of the movie.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It would be very cute” if Thor got the role, she said. <\/p>\n

Rainbow Stage’s artistic director Carson Nattrass said past productions like The Wizard of Oz used a marionette puppet, but it just felt right to cast a real pup for Legally Blonde: The Musical.<\/p>\n

“This musical is based on, of course, Legally Blonde the film and Bruiser the dog is such a huge part of it. We really think it’s a value added to bring a beautiful, loving dog onto the stage,” Nattrass said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ACarson Nattrass is the artistic director of Winnipeg-based musical theatre group Rainbow Stage. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Nattrass said it’s the first time Rainbow Stage has held “pawditions” since he’s been the artistic director and the process has left them “pleasantly surprised.”<\/p>\n

“We had no idea what to expect and all we’ve had is wonderful owners, wonderful dogs. And it just warms our hearts,” he said. <\/p>\n

Nattrass said there’s a good reason why so many people believe the old show-business cliche about never working with children or animals \u2014 it’s because a cute dog can easily upstage an actor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And in this production, that’s a good thing, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“They’re honest, they’re real, they’re sweet, they’re in the moment. And that’s what every actor strives to be. What a live dog does for a live performance is it just sparkles,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Dogs put their best paws forward for\u00a0Legally Blonde\u00a0musical auditions:\"\"<\/p>\n

Dogs put their best paws forward for Legally Blonde musical auditions<\/p>\n

At least 20 puppies registered to try out for the roles of Bruiser and Rufus in the new Rainbow Stage production of Legally Blonde. The Winnipeg production will hit the stage on August with the first appearance of live pets on set in years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-615573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}