The show was to have kicked off at the theatre on Tuesday, August 30th, but the tour will now open on September 2nd. The August 18th fire fortunately left no human injuries (no one was in the theater at the time), but some set pieces were singed and water damage also occured. The fire supposedly started when a halogen lamp set some drapes aflame. "Thank goodness the system worked like it was supposed to," he said.
"The sprinklers came on and contained it to a very limited area. It
could have been a lot worse," stated Joe Kobryner, the show's Broadway/San Diego general manager. Little Women will move on to the Orange County Performing Arts Center from September 6th to 18th after its San Diego engagement.Little Women stars Maureen McGovern as the March family matriarch Marmee; she originated the role in the Broadway production (and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award). Joining her are Kate
Fisher as Jo and Stephen Brian Patterson as Laurie, Renee Brna as Meg, Autumn
Hurlbert as Beth, Gwen Hollander as Amy, Michael Minarik as John
Brooke, Andrew Varela (who understudied the role on Broadway) as
Professor Bhaer, and Louisa Flanagan as Aunt March, with Robert Stattel
reprising his Broadway role as Mr. Laurence. Little Women,
set during the Civil War, concerns the efforts of the March women to
keep up their hope and family spirit in the wake of the father's
absence. Little Women's tour, which is produced by Ken Gentry in partnership
with Randall L. Wreghitt and Dani Davis, will make its way to 30 US cities,
including San Jose, Columbus, Chicago, Atlanta, Birmingham, Ft.
Lauderdale and Washington, D.C.
With music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein, and a book by Allan Knee, Little Women
(based on the much adapted-novel by Louisa May Alcott) opened at the
Virginia Theatre on January 23rd after starting previews on December
7th, 2004. Directed by Susan H. Schulman and choreographed by Michael
Lichtefeld, the show closed on May 22nd after running for 137
performances and 55 previews. Sutton Foster, who starred as Jo,
received a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. A cast album
is available on Ghostlight Records.For more information, visit www.littlewomenonbroadway.com.