Early in the musical, Jo tells her Aunt March, “I’ve got a fire inside me!” This fire burns with intensity as we see the four younger sisters acting out Jo’s “Operatic Tragedy” in their attic clubhouse with enthusiasm and determination to succeed. Jo's fire follows her throughout her life, seen when she refuses to accept rejections from small-minded publishers. Jo's relentless pursuit of her goals in spite of societal obstacles reminds us all, “We live for what we have inside us. We live to expand our minds, fulfill our dreams!”
Using the novel as their source material and Alcott's own life as their guiding light, Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein, and Jason Howland have created an inspired musical version of Alcott’s powerful story. Over 150 years after the novel's original publication, and inspired by the countless adaptations since, we are honored to tell Alcott's story in our own way. Our production embraces the relationship between Alcott and Jo, and our set is designed to replicate Alcott's childhood home, "The Orchard House," in Concord Massachusetts. Much of the production design is inspired by real images from the home, which is now a museum. Many of the details you see in furniture and props can be directly traced to the items from the house. Combining the nostalgia of Alcott's era with modern day technology, we will use the silhouette of the house as a projection screen to transport you into Jo's world.
With themes such as family, gender roles, coming of age, love, passions, and education, it's no wonder why the story is still so relevant 156 years later. Near the end of the play, Jo sings, “Sometimes when you yearn, you burn the air. And then you are not the same.” And when you come to share the experience of Little Women with us, you won’t be the same either.
Dan Lyng and Haley Stroup, Co-Directors
