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By Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
The Dover-Sherborn Drama Program presented “Little Women” by Matt Buchanan on November 1–3 at Dover-Sherborn High School. The fine cast of over 40 students was supported by an able crew of more than 50 students who handled all aspects of production. The main roles were played by two different sets of actors on alternating nights, and different actors also played the younger and older versions of Jo, Laurie, and Amy.
Marmee (Olivia Barrows), Amy (Jenna Eiten), Meg (Margo Memmott), Hannah (Arden Caldicott), Jo (Charlotte Buehler), and Beth (Claire Whitaker) gather around a letter in Little Women.
The complex production was skillfully directed and produced by Carmel Bergeron.
The play, based upon Louisa May Alcott’s 150-year-old heartwarming novel of the same name, tells the story of the Marsh family and the coming of age of its four daughters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The girls grow up with Marmee while their father is off fighting the Civil War. They learn by Marmee’s example about being kind, charitable, and forgiving, and Marmee encourages them to develop their individual talents. As the sisters become young women, they deal with illnesses and heartache, becoming stronger and more resilient as they each find their future.
Margo Memmott portrayed Meg as a loving and maternal older sister.
Both Charlotte Buehler as the younger Jo and Katherine Roer as the older Jo gave spirited and skillful performances, embodying Jo’s independence, creativity, and selflessness.
Claire Whitaker softly and soulfully portrayed Beth’s kindness, selflessness, and strength in the face of her illness.
Hannah (Arden Caldicott), Amy (Kjira Corning), John Brooke (Jack Bowen), Marmee (Olivia Barrows), Jo (Katherine Roer), and Laurie (Aiden Levinson) admire the new Brooke twins in Little Women.
Jenna Eiten did a wonderful job as the younger Amy, a perfectly immature and self-absorbed youngest child, while Kjira Corning portrayed the older Amy well as a measured, gracious, and loving young woman.
Oliver Morgens made a charming Professor Bhaer, with a heavy and endearing German accent and scholarly air.
The talent and dedication of Dover-Sherborn’s students was on full display, delighting those who attended. It will be on further display in March, when the drama program returns with its annual musical.
