What's In Your Freezer?

I have to confess, prior to becoming familiar with Broadway’s Little Women – The Musical I harbored a long time aversion, even fear of reading Louisa Mae Alcott’s famous novel. Countless times, on visits to bookstores, I would pick up the novel with the intention of purchasing it. Once I even made it through the check out only to have my purchase sit on my shelf for well over a year until a friend borrowed it. Frankly, I find this personal aversion to a piece of literature a bit silly, don’t you? An adult harboring a fear of a literary classic. Why one earth? Maybe my answer lies with Joey Tribbiani. After all he of Friends fame was so moved he had to put the book in the freezer – a place reserved for his favorite book, Stephen King’s terrifying novel The Shining. For Joey the intense emotions evoked by Little Women were on the same scale of overload as The Shining - just too much. And, well, (hem and haw) I guess somehow I must have suspected they might be too much for me averse as I am to putting myself in a good–cry mood.

Fortunately for me, not too long ago a friend took me to see Little Women – The Musical on Broadway. This gem of a show brings Louisa Mae Alcott’s masterpiece to life on the stage of the Virginia Theater and does it beautifully. Here I was face to face with my "nemesis" and I was happily moved beyond anything I could have expected. I loved it - both the show and all of the emotions that it conjured in my heart. It was one of those yummy experiences that I didn't want to end. Actually, I suppose it doesn't have to. It’s back to the bookstore for me, to pick up another copy of the book of (I never did get that copy back from my friend) then all that is left is to crack it open and start the next part of my journey. Just in case I have made a little space in the freezer.