Max Chapnick, of Northeastern University, has been in the news lately for possibly uncovering another of Louisa May Alcott’s pseudonyms. I was delighted to meet Max, not only to discuss his current work, but also to talk about the long, winding trail he followed to determine if Jo March’s thriller writing was something Alcott actually did. That trail begins in 1942 with Madeleine Stern and Leona Rostenberg, two of the most extraordinary women I’ve ever met.
Take one beloved band director with vision, add 25 blind marching band students;
mix well in Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House and voila! You have an extraordinary, never-to-be forgotten experience.
Completely unaware of the existence of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, Julie Nass and her daughters had developed a deep affection for Little Women, reading the book multiple times and watching all the movie adaptations as a family on their small Wisconsin dairy farm. The Little Women musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2005, was youngest daughter Hannah’s favorite.
“Little Womensaved my life…twice.” The woman who uttered these amazing words as I was leaving Orchard House late one summer evening had just landed at Logan Airport from Korea and drove directly here.