Essex County Actors Will Shine In ‘Little Women’ Musical

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Thespians from several Essex County towns – including Millburn and Maplewood – will put their acting chops on display at an upcoming musical production of “Little Women” in West Orange.

Based on the beloved book, the Pixie Dust Players production of the musical will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the JCC MetroWest Maurice Levin Theater, 760 Northfield Avenue in West Orange.

The show will also run on Feb. 10, 15 and 17 at 7:30 p.m., and on Feb. 11 and 18 at 1 p.m. Learn more or purchase tickets here.

The localized version of the classic musical will appeal to people who have already carved out a place for it in their memories – or those who don’t know the story at all, organizers say.

Here’s how the Pixie Dust Players describe the production:

“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.”

In a unique twist, the Pixie Dust Players production will include two casts of actors, who will alternate shows and turn every performance into a “new experience,” organizers said.

Millburn native Lindsay Maron is no stranger to the story of “Little Women” or its music, as she played the role of Beth 10 years ago – and now is getting a chance to play Jo.

“Getting a chance to revisit this show from a new perspective is so exciting and rewarding,” she enthused.

The cast also includes Julianne DiPietro of Maplewood, who is playing the overbearing matriarch of the March family, and Willa Maurette of Millburn, who is playing the youngest of the sisters.

The Pixie Dust Players, currently housed in the JCC Metrowest in West Orange, recently celebrated their 15th anniversary. The group has produced dozens of shows featuring casts of all ages in that time, including working on pilot productions with luminaries such as Stephen Schwartz and entertainment icons like Disney and Dreamworks.

“Little Women” will mark their first adult production since 2019 – and the choice was deliberate, director Matt Dranzik said.

“When the 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, Dranzik explained.

“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,” Dranzik added.

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