Spreckels Theatre Company to Stage LITTLE WOMEN - THE MUSICAL
By: BWW News Desk Nov. 06, 2017
Spreckels Theatre Company will present the musical version of Little Women, bringing to life semi-autobiographical classic by Louisa May Alcott.
Set in Concord, Massachusetts, and New York City during the Civil War, Little Women the Musical is a touching and uplifting adaptation of the classic 1869 American novel by Louisa May Alcott-a pioneer work on Girl Power. The story charts the struggles and triumphs of aspiring writer Jo March, her mother and three sisters-Meg, Beth and Amy.
Like any great writer, young Jo is racking up a lot of rejection slips. A fellow resident in her boardinghouse, Prof. Bhaer, tries to mentor her but she angrily gives him the boot. Could this be the beginning of love?
Flashback to three years earlier, when the sisters are all abuzz over the Valentine's Day Ball, where all sorts of vital plot points will have their genesis. Jo will meet rich young Laurie, who falls hard for her. Left at home, bratty Amy acts out a writer's worst nightmare. Meg meets Laurie's tutor and her future husband, Mr. Brooke (when they later go ice skating, Amy will tag along, with dire results).
Father is away, serving as a chaplain in the war, so mother ("Marmee") must steer the girls through these dangerous shoals of career and courtship alone. At every key moment of quandary, joy and sorrow, the characters burst into song-and there is plenty of dancing as well.
Why did Alcott call her novel Little Women? One theory is that she meant it in the Dickensian sense - that transitional period in a girl's life when she is growing into womanhood. When the curtain falls, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy will all be deeply changed. And the audience will laugh and cry with them all the way.
With book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, Little Women enjoyed a long Broadway run in 2005 and has become a treasured part of the American musical canon.
The Spreckels production team includes veterans of many hit musicals staged at Spreckels: director Michael Ross, music director Lucas Sherman, choreographer Michella Snider, sound and light designer Eddy Hansen, and costume designer Pamela Enz.
IF YOU GO:
LITTLE WOMEN-THE MUSICAL
When: Nov. 24-Dec. 17. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Sundays, 2 p.m. Saturday Dec. 9 & 16, 2 p.m.
Where: Bette Condiotti Experimental Theatre at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park.
Box Office: (707) 588-3400. Hours: Thurs-Sat, noon to 5 p.m., and one hour before show. Online: spreckelsonline.com
Founded in 2010, the Spreckels Theatre Company resides at the Dorothy Rohnert Spreckels Performing Arts Center, owned and operated by the City of Rohnert Park. The Center includes two theatres, the 550-seat Nellie W. Codding Theatre and the 99-seat Betty Condiotti Experimental Theatre. Completed in 1990, the $10 million Center was financed through a bequest by Fred Rohnert, community development agency funds, annexation fees, a contribution from Pacific Gas & Electric, federal revenue sharing funds and City funds.
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