Every ten years, the Concord Players produces Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. This year, for the first time, they put on the musical version, based on the 2005 Broadway musical. To accompany the show, which closes May 13, there was a Birthday Bash kick-off in November, a film festival in February, and a Tea in March. In addition, to try to engage some younger members of the community, the Players hosted an essay contest. They asked 6th- to 12th-graders from schools in the metrowest area to answer a question about a deeper aspect of Little Women. Two winners were chosen and one, Aaron Wang, is from Acton. Aaron is a 7th grader at the RJ Grey Junior High School. The title of his essay was “Breaking the Gender Mould: How Jo March in Little Women Challenges and Defies Female Stereotyping”.
As the play’s producers presented Wang with his award, they said his essay rose to the top of an impressive group of entries, and they commented on his mature writing style and the historical evidence he gave to support his claim. Wang’s essay and the other winning essay are available to read at www.concordplayers.org. The website quotes Wang: “It is quite an empowering feeling when you can break gender stereotypes and be unique from others, and that’s what I like most about this novel and its characteristics of Jo.”
The Concord Players trace their history to 1857 and the Concord Dramatic Union, which Louisa May Alcott and her sister, Anna helped to found. In 1872, the Union became the Concord Dramatic Club and, ultimately, in 1919, the Concord Players. In 1932, in celebration of Louisa May Alcott’s 100th birthday, the Concord Players could do no less than perform a dramatized version of the novel. The show was such a success that they vowed to perform the play every ten years and–with the exception of 1942, because of WWII–they have.