Beloved American author Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) will return to life in a special Living History presentation on Sunday, March 15, 2:00 p.m. at The Shakespeare Club.
Performance artist, author, and educator Valerie Weich will portray Alcott, whose novels Little Women and its sequels continue to win new generations of fans. As the famed author, Weich will speak on Alcott’s views about her fame, as well as discuss women’s inequality and women’s suffrage, her experience as a Civil War nurse, the abolitionist movement, and transcendental philosophy.
This program is presented by Pasadena Museum of History; funding is generously provided by the Living History Centre Fund.
Tickets are $12 General; $10 Museum & Shakespeare Club Members. Pre-paid reservations are required and available online at https://louisamayaclott.bpt.me or by calling 1.800.838.8006. The Shakespeare Club is located at 171 South Grand Avenue, Pasadena. Free parking is available in the Shakespeare Club lot and on the street.
About the Performer
Valerie Weich made her debut as Louisa May Alcott for Pasadena Museum of History in April 2003, in an original, one-woman presentation, The Late Louisa May. She subsequently developed the performance into an educational outreach program (Literary Lives) and has since performed for more than 8,000 students in the Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Alhambra, and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. She has also made numerous appearances in a variety of venues for audiences of all ages.
Weich has also portrayed Pasadena arts patron Eva Scott Fenyes (1849-1930) for PMH and is developing a one-woman presentation, Frankenstein’s Mother: An Evening with Mary Shelley. She curated her first art exhibition at the South Pasadena Public Library in October 2018, Frankenstein Meets Little Women: A Monster Mash that included eleven artists celebrating the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein and the 150th anniversary of Little Women.
A member of the Horror Writers Association, Weich is currently a Bram Stoker Award® nominee in the Short Non-Fiction category. Her article titled “Lord Byron’s Whipping Boy: Dr. John William Polidori and the 200th Anniversary of The Vampyre” was published in Famous Monsters of Filmland, No. 291 (October 2019). She is also a nominee for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award.