He wants to be the next Steve Jobs. She wants to show her ex-boyfriend that she’s just as capable of being a “serious Princetonian” and not some dress-up Barbie from AliExpress.
This sets the stage for Princeton South Asian Theatrics’ eccentric retelling of Legally Blonde, promising low-rise jeans, flip phones, and MySpace accounts, and Y2K back in full swing. Reese Witherspoon’s iconic pink-leather-suit-wearing Elle Woods is reimagined as Navvi (Vasu Venkat ’26), draped elegantly in a hot pink chunni, a shawl-like scarf traditionally worn in India.
The set was not very exciting, mainly consisting of a few chairs, the occasional whiteboard, and two wooden tables. Photos from various Princeton locations projected onto a screen served as the backdrop to each scene. It wasn’t much, but in the end, the cast was able to perform well without relying on many elaborate backgrounds or props to move the story forward.
I admired the unapologetic absurdity of Legally Brown’s main leads, which they established early on. Like Elle, Navvi is hyperfeminine, great at fashion design, and a bit spoiled, although her personality has a slightly exaggerated edge. Her boyfriend, Arjun (Mihir Tadeparti ’29), is presented as a deeply unserious “serious” character. He emphasizes his need to “stop goofing around” and focus on his career while acting as the story’s main antagonist, staging several melodramatic meltdowns at Navvi’s expense — the ultimate picture of a carefully-curated nonchalance.
The show begins with Navvi preparing to celebrate her third anniversary with Arjun, whom she anticipates will propose to her before his calculus test. Arjun realizes that if he plans to go to Princeton and work at “Goldman Stanley,” he needs a serious girlfriend by his side. Unfortunately for Navvi, her proclamation of being “seriously in love” isn’t enough to save their relationship. They part ways, and Navvi makes it her mission to show the world that she can be a “serious Princetonian” too.
I appreciated how the show’s humor successfully appealed to its intended audience of chronically online Princeton undergraduates. The references almost always landed, and the audience seemed to enjoy the tone of the show. One of the most memorable character anecdotes is when Navvi’s dad reminisces about helping a slutty-bunny costumed President “Ricegruber” meet his wife at Capmandu. The next day, Ricegruber takes a “fat dump” in the new Art Museum next to the Monet, which later sells for a whopping $6.7 million.
But Navvi doesn’t need her father’s connections to waltz into Princeton. In a thrilling scene that mirrors Elle’s first day at Harvard Law School, we follow Navvi on her first day in PHY 105. Though she initially feels confident that she looks the part, when she comes to class unprepared, her classmates taunt her, and the professor makes a sly comment about dropping down to Physics for Future Leaders.
Navvi’s streak of bad luck doesn’t end here. She gets rejected from Princeton Student Ventures and falls for a seemingly well-intentioned invitation to a “costume” party for Diwali at Carl A. Fields, where she shows up in an ogre costume and is humiliated by Arjun’s new girlfriend, Vibha (Srina Bose ’29).
The real action begins when Navvi — despite her measly 32 connections on LinkedIn — lands an internship with Professor Fox (Supraj Gunda ’27), who wants to embark on an ambitious project to create the next ChatGPT. She’s offered $8.75 an hour and a DeepSeek subscription. Clearly, things are looking up.
At the internship, Navvi meets Rahul (Eshan Ankulkar ’27), who is a total douchebag, a self-proclaimed major in “rizzonomics,” and Arjun’s best friend. He reveals that Navvi only got the internship because Arjun talked to Fox. This, of course, is only part of his plan to help build his own ego, shake Navvi’s newfound confidence, and ultimately frame her for plagiarism.
Yet, the absurdity doesn’t end there. Navvi has a final battle with the Honor Committee, as Rahul and Arjun build the case that Navvi would do anything to score a fancy job with an elite professor — even plagiarize Arjun’s essay.
Despite their former differences, Vibha realizes the faults of her now ex-boyfriend and volunteers to be Navvi’s character witness. Although I wish it were Vibha’s striking defense that “the opposing counsel’s statement is irrelevant and Rahul has no game” saved the day, Ricegruber explains that Rahul and Arjun were hitting on him at Capmandu, ultimately destroying their airtight alibi and putting Navvi in the clear.
So, how does this story end? Arjun, who interned at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the previous summer, gets deported and sentenced to academic probation. Navvi goes on to become valedictorian of the Class of 2026, and Vibha and Navvi live happily ever after as lovers.
By the end of the show, the stage was covered in a sea of paper balls and paper planes. When Arjun makes Legally Brown’s second “6 7” joke, I almost joined in on the heckling too. Though it was a bit distracting, the joy on everyone’s faces and the audience interaction gave the show a special charm.
While South Asian Theatrics promised “low-rise jeans, flip phones, and MySpace accounts, and peak Y2K”, they failed to deliver on that promise. But Legally Brown was bizarre and fun in all the ways that mattered. The writers have a special talent for blending brain-rot, relatability, and cultural appreciation into a cohesive and uniquely funny story.
Amaya Taylor is a contributing writer for News and The Prospect and a member of the Class of 2028. She can be reached at amayataylor[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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