BWW Previews: Shepherd University Scene Stealers to Premiere LITTLE WOMEN

Little Women, a contemporary musical featuring the timeless story of the four March sisters, will premiere this Friday at Reynolds Hall on the campus of Shepherd University, produced by Shepherd University's student-run musical theater group, Scene Stealers.

Directed by Megan E. West and musically directed by Paul Cabell, Little Women is based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott. The four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, are coming of age in Concord, Massachusetts during the Civil War. While their father is away in battle, the sisters are raised by their devoted mother, Marmee, and are facing romantic and financial complications. At the heart of their story is Jo March, an independent and spirited young woman who is determined to become an author, and her memories of her family inspire the basis for her first novel.

Little Women is produced by the Shepherd University Scene Stealers, the student-run musical theater performance group. The show is entirely organized, rehearsed and run by students, which means students are responsible for scheduling and running rehearsals, obtaining props and costumes, confirming locations, advertising the show and many other duties. The Scene Stealers organization was founded in 2011 and this is the ninth musical production the group has produced. Though the group has focused on more contemporary stories for their past few productions, the students are excited to bring the characters from the beloved novel to life on stage.

"I play Amy March and my favorite thing about the part is getting to be Jo's worst nightmare. I love how unique our relationship is in Little Women" said Kira Nothrop on playing Amy.

"We bring life to these characters and tell the story from our hearts. Playing Meg is literally a dream come true. I always admired her and wanted a big sister just like her. Being able to bring life to this character from my favorite childhood book is amazing. This has been one of my favorite stories for as long as I can remember, so seeing it all come to life around me is a wonderful feeling" said Sydney Clark about playing Meg

"In the show we all have two roles. We have our real characters, who we play for the majority of the show, but then we also have our imaginary characters, as characters in Jo's fantasy world of the Operatic Tragedy. In those scenes get to play 'The Villainous Aristocrat - Braxton Prendregrass.' I love any chance I get to play the bad guy, especially one as overblown and melodramatic as Braxton" said Austin Susman, who plays John Brooke.

In addition to coordinating the production details, the students are eager to perform and bring the March family and all of the characters to life this weekend.

"We are an entirely student cast, but there's nothing about this show that screams 'student production'. Everyone does an amazing job. Between this talented cast and the beautiful music, I've lost count of the times I've almost come to tears in rehearsals" said Susman.

"Scene Stealers always has and always will be unique. We are a completely student run organization and we all work really hard wearing multiple hats in the organization. We all grew close like a family, which makes our musical about the four March sisters so fantastic, because we are all already a family" said Nothrop

"Whether you grew up loving the story or you know nothing about it, this musical has something for everyone. You fall in love with each of the characters and their individual stories. It is the classic tale that everyone loves so much, yet with a new twist. The music is incredibly beautiful and catchy, and the story will warm people's hearts" said Clark.

The Little Women cast also features Jenn Dickey as Jo March, Morgan Huyett as Beth March, Hannah French as Marmee, Cullen Byers as Laurie, Gill Levy as Professor Bhaer, Alaina McDonald as Aunt March and Henry DeBuchananne as Mr. Laurence.

Little Women will run April 17 and 18 at 8:00 PM and April 19 at 3:00 PM. Performances are located at Reynolds Hall on the campus of Shepherd University, 109 N. King Street in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for non-Shepherd students and $7 for Shepherd students with a valid Rambler I.D. Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved in advance. To reserve tickets, please visit http://scenestealers.weebly.com/.

Photo Credit: Shepherd University Scene Stealers

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