BHS production of 'Little Women' transcends time, retains relevance
Walking down the Batavia High School hallway as the Drama Club prepares for dress rehearsal, it's notable how there’s a surprising number of males in a show about women.
That’s because there are also very important male roles, director Caryn Wood says.
“Teddy is a very excellent example of a very important male role. John Brooke, obviously, how he affects (the story), and you see how they all interact and what the effects of those relationships are. And so, yeah, there's a bunch of men in the show too," Wood said during rehearsal Monday at BHS. "And so, I just think it's a wonderful story, and I think that these kids are rising to a challenge. It's hard because it's such a classic, and they have their own expectations. Because the characters are. But then there's the movie that came out in the 90s from one Winona Ryder, which was part of my childhood, and there's so many different versions, and they can all kind of meld and become one, almost.
“And so we're just trying to do a classic is not a crazy way, very intimate because it's a black box,” she said. “You're very close to the actors, and a story that is so much about the relationships. I think it's awesome to do it in such a close, intimate proximity, like a black box theater.”
“Little Women,” about the lives of four sisters — Jo, Amy, Beth and Meg March and their mother, Marmee — after dad goes off to the Civil War front, debuts at 7 p.m. Friday and continues at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at BHS, 260 State St., Batavia.
For anyone unfamiliar with black box theater, it’s about as up close and personal as you can get in theater — on stage with the actors, action and sets. Jeremiah Childs, 17, who has the role of Teddy, aka Laurie, enjoys sharing the spotlight with an audience, he said.
“It’s interesting, being that close to the audience,” he said. “You can hear everything and see everything. So if they laugh, you can see the laughter. If they do a face, you can see the face. I like it.”
His character is similar to his own personality, but there was a challenge he’s had to deal with, he said.
“Laurie is a lot like me: he’s funny, he's very out there, he likes doing what he does. He has some traditional values,” the 12th-grader said. “But with Jo, Jo tries to break him out of that, and he just can't. And they don't end up together, which is kind of sad. But if you watch the movie later on, they do end up together, but he's very fun, he's very charismatic. He's very loving, and he desperately wants to get into this March family.”
Jo March serves as the head of the family and works as a surrogate father in his absence. Kelsey Kirkwood wanted the role when she auditioned and was elated when she won the part, she said.
“I’ve just been in theater for a very, very long time, and I could tell that I’d been working my way up. And so when I got picked for her, I was really excited,” she said. “I’ve been in shows since, I think I was like eight, so probably third grade, and then I’ve been doing the shows here at the high school since ninth grade. I definitely want to keep going with it in college, but more so just for fun.”
So tell us about Jo., and are there more similarities or differences between you?
“Jo is very, very, I can’t think of that word for her. She's very not spiteful, but she knows her way. She's very set in her beliefs, and she just goes against the social norms, which I think is pretty cool, because that was a little difficult to do in her time,” 17-year-old Kirkwood said. “I relate to her a lot because she kind of, I wouldn't say I'm defiant, but she's kind of defiant, and she knows her own way, and she definitely is passionate about what she believes in, and she fights for it, which I think is pretty cool.
“When father goes away, Jo kind of takes over for him and ends up being like the quote, unquote, man of the house,” she said. “And so she just kind of, she tries to keep everything in order, and she's not always great at it, but she tries.”
There are 22 students in the cast and five student crew members for a traditional and familiar adaptation of the story, Wood said. So if you have ever read the book or seen any of the movies, this will seem fairly customary, with one catch.
“One thing we're doing a little differently is that ... because it's supposed to be during the Civil War, but so many of the themes are so applicable of Little Women, obviously, there's some feminism, and women leaving home to find work, and the transition to working outside the home, Jo has a desire to make a living for herself, to support herself in the future, and she isn't sold on the idea of marriage, necessarily, and so many of those themes and ideas are still so relevant even today, more than 100 years later. So we're taking it out of any one time period, and we're kind of making it of any time period," she said. "You'll see costumes like modern clothing. So there's some modern clothing in there, and then many of the women are in clothing from various time periods. We've got some 60s, 50s, there's a 50s housewife kind of look on one person. There's almost a regency kind of look on another girl. There's almost a Victorian look on another, so we're just mixing up all the time periods because it is so timeless, it’s such a classic story that could almost fit in any time.
"So instead of making it any one specific time, our costumes should reflect the character and the person more than necessarily the time period itself," she said. "And so that's something unique that we're doing.”
The common thread is a familial bond in a "coming of age" classic, clothing style notwithstanding, as these little women deal with the ups and downs of life.
Sophomore Willow Rozell plays Meg, and despite her nervous demeanor backstage, the 15-year-old can more easily slip into character once the quiet on set cue is given. She described a varied experience for patrons.
“Oh, I think it's going to be fun, but it's also going to be sad. We definitely have a mixture. It’s supposed to be serious but fun, too,” she said, adding what she thinks is the show’s message. “I think family, specifically sisterhood, is really important, and to unite with that is a really important thing in the show.”
Tickets are $9 in advance and available at www.cur8.com (search BHS) or $10 at the door.
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