W-C students perform a scene from Little Women during a recent rehearsal. Photo by Amanda Petrella-Christ
Almost everyone of any generation knows Louisa May Alcott’s 1868-1869 semi-autobiographical two-volume novel Little Women either by reading the book and/or seeing the 1949 film based on the book or perhaps the straight play that was originally produced in 1912 with several revivals since then.
In 2005, Little Women was turned into a Broadway musical and the Wheatland-Chili Drama Club will be presenting the musical this weekend on Thursday, March 27 at 5 p.m., Friday, March 28 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 29 at 2 p.m. at the Wheatland-Chili High School auditorium.
“I did not know the show well, but I was talking with colleague Nick Roache (vocal music teacher at TJ Conner Elementary School in Wheatland-Chili and vocal director for the school’s spring musicals) and he said the music was beautiful. So, I did some research about the leads who carry the story and the size of the ensemble that the show could have,” artistic director Amanda Petrella-Christ said. “I had read the novel and grew up with the story and I also wanted something with serious themes that could help students grow as actors and as humans that musical comedy doesn’t necessarily help them reach. The ensemble size fit our numbers and the smaller cast means I could spend time with actors researching the characters. The novel is based on Alcott’s family and we have middle school kids in the program so this show connects with their curriculum. I am excited the way things have come together.”
Wheatland-Chili students in the cast are Finlay Brouse—Woodruff, Bethany Bucher, Ella Cullum, Audrey Cullum, Autumn Davis, Brooklyn Desmond, Liliana Desmond, Elizabeth Fugle, Amanda Kohn, Madeline LaVair, Kaitlyn Miles, Derek Phillips, Madeline Russell, Katie Smith, Samuel Steele, Luna Sweet, Claire VanKuren, Tessa Yare and Colden Young. Students on the crew for the show are Amelia Covington, Noel Crowley, Grace Hall, Benjamin Hebrock, Paige Hershey, Keith Nicolosi, Isani Rattray, Nathan Rhoads, Maryn Taylor, Willow Taylor, Anton Teeter and Whitney Thrush. In the pit orchestra are students Cora Baird, Olivia Musson, Dillon Nelson and Freddie Woerner.
Smith, a junior, grew up reading the book and seeing the movie, saying Little Women has been a favorite through generations of her family. She plays Jo March in W-C’s production.
“At first when I heard that it was going to be our spring musical, I was a bit uncertain,” she said. “When you think of Little Women, you don’t think of it as a musical. What drew me to the character is Jo’s confidence and it has been fun being her for hours on end and get into her mindset.”
Brooklyn Desmond, an eighth-grader, plays the male role of Professor Fritz Bhaer. She is excited to perform in her third show.
“Last year, we did Seussical and I had a great time,” she said. “It was such a good experience and both previous shows I have done were so much fun and I made so many friends, so trying out for this show was a no-brainer.”
Petrella-Christ said she is drawn to the novel and now the show because of its universal themes.
“I think the reason the book has remained so popular over the generations and why this show is popular is it reminds us to cherish relationships over material things and it reminds us of what we are capable of, even in the face of adversity. It has those universal themes of growing up, jealousy, love, illness, war and death.”
Little Women does present some challenges, however, particularly for a small school such as Wheatland-Chili.
For Petrella-Christ, one of the biggest challenges was costumes.
“As a small school, we do not own costumes like that and the challenge was financially how we could do it since it is period costumes and there are a number of wardrobe changes for the cast members,” she said. “We reached out to friends and contacts. We borrowed costumes from School of the Arts and we also borrowed things from Genesee Country Village and Museum such as an authentic Civil War soldier’s uniform from their re-enactment collection.”
The show has also presented challenges for the student actors, ranging from learning so much dialogue and songs to learning a foreign accent.
“My character is German and singing with an accent has been challenging,” Brooklyn Desmond said. “It was definitely something outside my comfort zone.”
Smith has enjoyed playing the role of Jo March, her first female lead at the school. She was not involved in the production of Seussical last year, so she says this is kind of her big comeback.
“Last summer, I was involved in Geva Theatre’s Intensive Theater program,” she said. “You work with professional actors who give advice about learning more about your character. It was a terrific experience. Coming back to the school musical, it was regaining the love for theatre that I had before. It is just so much fun.”
The students’ experience with Little Women won’t end with its final show on March 29 at 2 p.m., however. W-C’s production will be in the Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s Stars of Tomorrow program, a celebration of high school musical theatre in the area, on May 9. Tickets for Little Women can be obtained by going to wheatlandchili.org and clicking on the tickets link.
