“Little Women” is a Broadway musical originally performed in 2005 that includes whimsical music, an interesting story line with characters anyone can relate to, and has strong unique women of all ages to portray this late 1800s lifestyle. Originally, “Little Women” was a two volume novel written by Louisa May Alcott in 1868; however, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein, and Jason Howland made this glorious story into a musical production. Recently, I watched the musical in order to prepare for our musical auditions here at Corry High School to learn from the four sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. In my opinion, the music, plot, and theme of the whole musical is easy to understand while easily being able to stay entertained (which is why it is also a great show for us to do this spring!)

It was 1866 in Concord, Massachusetts and the March family was listening to one of Jo’s written stories. Since Jo is the biggest dreamer, and is the most outgoing of the sisters, throughout each act she continues to pitch her stories to Professor Bhaer in New York City. As Christmas and the Valentine’s Day Ball goes by, Meg, Amy, and Beth all suddenly have a life of their own while Jo remains hoping to become a published author. As her Marmee (mom), Aunt, and sisters all believe she should find a suitor and become a stereotypical housewife, she makes clear that she will travel the world and make all of her dreams come true on her own. Not long after, her best friend, Laurence, had recently popped the question, which only made her want to move away from home and be independent even more. As the plot comes full circle in the midst of Jo’s career goals, her sister Beth becomes terribly ill and everyone’s lives have changed. Will Jo succeed in everything she has ever dreamed of? Will her sister Beth make a full recovery? What does Marmee, her Aunt, and all of her sisters think, and how do they live their lives so differently? Watch to find out!

Throughout the entire show, each scene and song performed is very unique, classical, and has a specific style in order to portray the correct feelings and situations during that era. Sutton Foster, Maureen McGovern, Janet Carroll, Danny Gurwin, John Hickok, Amy McAlexander, Megan McGinnis, and Jenny Powers all do a magnificent job while singing and portraying their characters lifestyles very accurately. One of my favorite things about the whole production is that the show was written to be performed by a cast of 10 when there is actually 18 individual roles to play. This means that not only did most of these actors take on a lead role, but they also performed as numerous supporting and ensemble characters.

With this, there are many lessons to take from this 4 out of 5 starred classic which includes: with time comes changes; be who you want to be and reach for all of your own personal goals; do what makes you happy and you do not have to be like someone else; family is everything’; and finally, always be grateful for the things and people you have in your life already. Personally, while taking lots of information from this musical recently, it has helped me stop and look around for a while instead of missing some of the most important small moments in life. Overall, I highly recommend watching the musical yourself at home and/or seeing it performed at Corry High in May of 2021!

*This Broadway musical is rated PG-13 for some adult humor/references and actions.