Becky Gulsvig has been awash in pink, onstage anyway, since she began playing various roles in the cast of the musical Legally Blonde during its Broadway run from mid-2007 until the fall of 2008.

When the national tour hit the road, Gusvig graduated to the lead, donning Elle Woods' pretty-in-pink wardrobe and perky can-do attitude. That tour brings Elle and her posse to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday for a two-week run.

Based on the smash-hit 2001 movie starring Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde the Musical tells the same story of a seemingly shallow Southern California sorority girl who gets dumped by her longtime boyfriend and decides to follow him to Harvard Law School. There, Elle taps into talents she never knew she had, and the world learns not to judge a book by its fuzzy pink cover.

Gulsvig has two traveling companions, husband Tyler Fisher (who sells Legally Blonde merchandise at the shows) and their dog Greta (who is much larger than Elle's Chihuahua Bruiser). We caught up with the star by phone in her hotel room during the musical's recent tour stop in chilly Detroit.

Q. You've done a lot of musical theater, both regionally and on Broadway. Is heading this tour the most rewarding and difficult role you've had?

A. It's definitely rewarding and difficult. It's a really great part, very challenging, yet I can relate to it. It's fun to do. I get to sing and dance and act, get to show every range of emotion. I've played the bad guy, so it's good to have the audience on my side.

Q. Can you describe how you see Elle?

A. She's a good role model. She's positive. She sets a good example. But she learns a lot too.

Q. How do you take care of yourself on the road?

A. It's physically very exhausting, plus the traveling is hard. I only leave the stage to change costumes. I'm basically onstage for 2 ½ hours straight. You have to learn how to make it happen, even if you're not feeling it on a particular night. I'm traveling with my husband and our golden retriever, Greta. If they weren't with me, I couldn't do it.

Q. When a character is based on one created in two immensely successful movies, how do you make her your own?

A. She has to come from the heart. I try to put a lot of myself in her. I can relate to her and her spirit -- if not to her high heels. I try to have fun, and she takes it from there.

Q. What to you think the music adds to telling Elle's story?

A. I love our score. I think it's brilliant. It does such a good job of telling the story -- it just rockets the story forward. The music is so catchy. I dare you to walk out the door and not be singing the songs.

Q. What things from your own life do you draw on to play Elle?

A. As an actor, you always have an uphill battle -- as an actor and a woman, always having to prove yourself.

Q. What do you think of the work that [director-choreographer] Jerry Mitchell did?

A. He's the best Elle Woods who ever was. He's done an amazing job of creating this ``joy machine.''

Q. How often do you wear pink when you're not onstage?

A. I don't need that much pink in my personal life!

Q. What do you say to guys who think Legally Blonde is a ``girl show?''

A. We get guys coming to the stage door all the time. They say, ``I don't like musicals. I didn't want to come, but I had so much fun.'' There's something for everyone.

Christine Dolen is The Miami Herald's theater critic.

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