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Little Women (musical)

Set against the background of the American Civil War, it dramatizes the story of the March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Scenes move rapidly between locations and through time, telling the stories of all four girls, each of whose experience and distinctive personality are vividly portrayed.

  • Full Length Musical
  • Drama
  • 90 minutes

  • Time Period: American Civil War Era
  • Target Audience: Adult, Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18), Children (Age 6 - 10), Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Area Staging

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, College Theatre / Student, High School/Secondary
This spirited musical adaptation is a richly textured celebration of life, love and the family. Set against the background of the American Civil War, it dramatizes the story of the March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Scenes move rapidly between locations and through time, telling the stories of all four girls, each of whose experience and distinctive personality are vividly portrayed.

Memorable music and lyrics include An Operatic Tragedy, a melodramatic mini-opera performed by the March girls in their parlor for friends; The Violet, Beth's tender theme evocative of the Civil War era; Aunt March, a clashing of personalities between Jo and grouchy Aunt March; Polka, sung at a rousing New Year's Eve ball; Together, a quartet sung by the March sisters; Amy's Continental Tour and Laurie's Continental Tour, punctuating their European tours; and The Great River of Life, an inspirational family celebration finale.

Underlying the play's story and music are Louisa May Alcott's timeless themes of coming of age and the importance of honesty, hard work, true love, home and family.

The play contains elements making it suitable as a Christmas/holiday production with holiday-related lines that can be omitted if desired. Productions of this fresh, new musical will be unforgettable to audiences reliving this timeless story and to cast members as they assume the roles of familiar characters who have captured the hearts of readers for nearly 150 years. 

REVIEWS:

"Little Women was a perfect show for Dallas Children's Theater's TEEN SCENE players. It offered a fresh look at the classic material with major roles for experiences actors and singers along with many other smaller but well developed and fun characters for less experienced performers. The play may be produced with simple sets, and the excellent accompaniment CD made the show easy to produce. Response to the production was overwhelming, with audiences (even teen student audiences) on their feet at the end of every show. In fact, DCT has produced Little Women twice!"

Nancy Schaeffer, Director of Education, Dallas Children's Theater

  • Casting: 25M, 40F
  • Casting Attributes: Reduced casting (Doubling Possible)
  • Casting Notes: May double to 9m, 13w.