THE PROFESSOR IS IN

Kimball's Tom O'Brien will step onto the stage again this week in the Theatre West production of "Legally Blonde."

Legally Blonde runs July 14-16, and then July 20-23 in the Judy Chaloupka Theater at WNCC in Scottsbluff.

In recent weeks, O'Brien and the rest of the cast have been hitting the rehearsal schedule hard. O'Brien plays the part of Professor Callahan, who is a "villainous and conniving" law professor at Harvard Law School. His character routinely picks on and humiliates law student Elle in front of the entire class. "Blood in the Water" is Professor Callahan's song in which he tells his law students they need to be "ruthless and spineless" in order to be successful and advance in the profession.

"My part is important, but I'm not in any of the big group songs and dance numbers, which requires more practice," O'Brien said. He also mentioned that his employer, Clean Harbors Inc., has been "very accommodating" to his rehearsal schedule.

O'Brien related that "Theatre West puts on very professional quality productions. They hire professional performers from all over the county to play many of the bigger parts but also use local community members and students for most of their shows."

Since he won the "Voice in the Valley" competition, Legally Blonde is O'Brien's first Main Stage Production with Theatre West, although he has participated in the "Broadway in the Bluffs" fundraiser.

With a resume stacked with 20 years of professional singer/actor experience, O'Brien is again ready to hit the stage. He graduated from KHS in 1982 and then UNL with a vocal music degree in 1987. O'Brien did operas, musicals, recitals, and choral performances in college.

Professionally, O'Brien was employed by the St. Louis symphony chorus and toured and recorded for eight years with a cappella octet and musical theater productions, among other performances. After a successful singer and acting career, he returned to Kimball in 2007.