But Jess Barlow is not the least bit concerned about it as she prepares to play Elle Woods in the Ballarat premiere of Legally Blonde – the Musical .

On the contrary, Barlow was fulsome in her praise of Chloe, a pure-bred Chihuahua who will play Bruiser in the Ballarat Lyric Theatre production at Her Majesty’s until March 8.

“Working with a Chihuahua? It’s great really,” Barlow said as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. 

“Chloe’s such a good-natured dog really.”

Legally Blonde – the Musical, which opened on Friday night, has a cast of 24 humans and two dogs – Chloe and a British bulldog called Chester – and a crew of 45.

Barlow is no stranger playing a lead role in a stage production. She has been nominated six times for the Musical Theatre Guild Award for Best Leading Female, including performances as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors and Julia Gulia in The Wedding Singer. 

“It’s a huge role. There’s a lot of energy and you are on the stage all the time,” she said. “I did Milly years ago, which was similar.”

The 2015 production of Legally Blonde represents a big change for the Lyric Theatre from Phantom of the Opera in 2014.

Theatre president Michael Whitehead joked the company had run out of black paint last year so decided to use up some pink paint this time.

Either way, Ballarat Lyric Theatre patron Craig Revel-Horwood was excited about the prospect of a stage performance originally directed by his friend Jerry Mitchell, in Ballarat. 

“Legally Blonde is very tongue-in-cheek, a bit light-hearted and a lot of fun,” he said.

“It is a romp through all the different styles of comedy, with some great singing.”