Union County Locals To Star In Little Women Musical

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Two Union County residents, from Westfield and Summit, will be performing in Pixie Dust Players's upcoming performance of Little Women.

The production of the Broadway musical opens Feb. 8 at the JCC Metrowest, at 760 Northfield Ave, West Orange.

"When Pixie Dust Players decided to expand its season to produce a show for an all-adult cast, we knew that it had to be a beloved, family-friendly, and well-known story that would excite the surrounding community of adult theatre performers as well as local audience members," said director Matt Dranzik. "Little Women is not only the story of Jo March and her dreams of becoming a famous writer, it is a story about the connections between family, friends, and loved ones, which I believe we are all still finding again after the various isolations of the pandemic."

Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868–69 semi-autobiographical two-volume novel, the story centers on the four March sisters— traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy, — and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the Civil War.

The story is woven together as vignettes in which their lives unfold and exciting recreations of the melodramatic short stories Jo writes in her attic studio.

For his part, Dranzik calls the show "holistic", having comedy, conflict, romance and tragedy. This show has a little bit of everything and the flexibility to be produced in a way that is accessible to any audience and theatre.

And Dranzik has used that flexibility to make the piece his own. Dranzik has an MFA in Physical Theatre and he has worked on productions across the US and Europe, and found a home in NJ managing and teaching in a circus school in Hillsborough for nearly five years.

Ian Federgreen, the Westfield resident who plays Professor Bhaer in the production, noted that those familiar with the source material and those not familiar have something to look forward to.

"If people know the story, I think they will be gratified by the addition of this gorgeous music," he said.

Federgreen's character lives a quiet life in New York and is a romantic foil for the leading lady."He is at first annoyed by Jo until he realizes he's in love with her- then he is very annoyed," Federgreen said. "I think he's never experienced or maybe even imagined romance, so it's new and overwhelming to him."

Summit's Robin Kogan is a production assistant on the show and she said that the show is going to be a show to remember.

"Our audience can expect a funny, clever, and heart-touching production detailing the lives of four 'astonishing' women," Kogan said.

Pixie Dust Players, currently housed in the JCC Metrowest in West Orange, recently celebrated their 15th anniversary. The group has produced dozens of show for casts of all ages in that time, including working on pilot productions with luminaries like Stephen Schwartz and massive entertainment companies like Disney and Dreamworks. Little Women will mark their first adult production since 2019. And the choice was deliberate.

"Our goal is to tell the story of every character in the Little Women family, and have our audience laughing, crying and leaving more excited than when they arrived," Dranzik said. " With two casts of incredible actors alternating shows, every performance will be a new experience and entice audience members to come a second time."

Dranzik said any theatre can produce a good show with the right cast, crew and resources.

"But this production will be something memorable, something that every audience will take home in their hearts and minds," he said. "So come hear our story this Feb. 8 to 18 at the JCC MetroWest. Be part of the experience and leave with something more."

Little Women bows Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and runs Feb. 10, 15, 17 at 7:30 and Feb. 11, 18 at 1 p.m.

For tickets, visit: jccmw.booktix.com/dept/Main/e/LittleWomen

— Submitted by Pixie Dust Players