Little Women

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is one of those literary masterpieces that really ought to be read by everyone. It is more than just a peek into the lives of a Civil War-era family from Massachusetts (I know several families from Concord and the portrayals here are spot on for a middle class New England family even in today's world). It's themes are broad and also deep. It is a story that has literally been turned into performances across the arts, from television to films and to the stage. The stage version is loved by directors everywhere and has had hundreds of successful productions. The play begins that memorable Christmas when Mother (Marmee, played by Helen Martin) leaves to visit her sick husband, and daughter Jo sells her beautiful hair to help finance the trip. It ends just a year later when the happy family is again preparing to celebrate not only Christmas but also the return of Rev. March from the war. In between these two events, we again live, laugh, love and cry with Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth as they go through the many trials and tribulations that have made this story a classic. There is a bit of drama on two levels, albeit not the action drama of a superhero story most audiences are used to these days, but that's the whole deliberate point of a theater production that emphasizes subtle character development instead of theatrics to make the point. Rather, the quiet drama of a family who is coping with the world at large and with each other in this TRP version, and it is very well done. A central character, Jo (Cate Jackson), is a natural, and little Amy (Louisa Darr) plays the last born in a perfect and typical teenager's way (although she's not!).

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