CEDAR CITY — Little Women performed by American Crossroads Theatre (formerly SimonFest) is a passionate and emotional portrayal of the famous story by Louisa May Alcott. Set in Massachusetts, the story centers the four March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy – and their mother, Marmee, as their father is away fighting in the Civil War. This coming of age tale sees these very unique women meet familial challenges, new and unlikely friendships, and the trials of finding their place in the world.
Performed by a small troupe, Little Women at American Crossroads Theatre Company is an enthusiastic performance which brings strong harmonies, chemistry, and energy to the stage. These actors seem to genuinely be having a great time with each other on stage. This is contagious, and the audience feels the fire and this cast’s love for their story and characters.
A strong highlight of this performance is listening to the March sisters sing. With Juliet Elise as Jo, Hannah Evans as Meg, Mary Kate Schoessling as Beth, and Marquessa Farnsworth as Amy, these women blend their voices to create beautiful harmonies. When singing together it is impressive that not one voice stands out or upstages the others, and when singing alone each woman has clear and strong unique vocals. Not to be outdone is Kristina Harding as Marmee. She brings deep emotion and depth to each of her songs.
There are some big songs in this production. With wide ranges and grand finishes, these songs can be intimidating, to say the least. Even if a note is missed or not quite right, these actors bring strong stage presence and passion to each song. Music Director Dr. Lawrence Johnson has done an excellent job working with this cast and helping them to adapt and sing with heart.
Even though these women all belong to the same family, they are all very individual with different hopes and dreams. Elise, Evans, Schoessling, and Farnsworth bring to life these women by making unique acting choices without flattening them into caricatures. I appreciate that while performing scenes, dances, and songs, they add in choices to make who that character is and how they relate to their sisters.
An example is Juliet Elise’s Jo. Jo’s brashness and stubbornness is important to the character, and this is evident in the way that Elise moves around the stage – quickly and without hesitation. She lifts her skirts in a “not quite lady-like” manner, and shows her gumption by not second guessing a movement. We see, potentially the most change in age in Farnsworth’s Amy from a young girl to a young woman. Instead of acting small to portray a young girl, she smartly lets the younger, more impulsive movements and moments shine. As a young woman she is much more refined, carrying herself carefully and daintily. Evans’ Meg carries herself with grace at almost all times as the oldest child. Finally, with Schoessling’s Beth, she is much more careful, and seems to care for her sisters usually by being the first to initiate physical contact.
The chemistry of the sisters is delightful, but especially between Elise and Schoessling, Jo and Beth. The scene and song surrounding “Some Things Are Meant to Be” are a stunning display of sisterly care and love. These two actors bring a closeness in physicality during this song that really helps to portray the intimacy and importance of the moment. Another pair that brings depth is Schoessling and John Blasko, as Beth and Mr. Laurence. They bring sweetness in the scene, “Off to Massachusetts.” Their personalities differ, but the juxtaposition of the two work to create an authentic relationship. They show this friendship grow through their physical choices; from a scared Beth and stern Laurence, to a softening for each of them. Finally, that of Farnsworth and Silas Hagelberg, Amy and Laurie. These two matched energy as their relationship developed, better than any other pairing onstage. The actors feed off of each other and bounce back and forth – listening to the others acting choices to then play off of it. It was sweet to see their young love flourish in such an excited and sweet way.
Directed by Richard Bugg, this adaptation of Little Women focuses strongly on characters. I appreciated how each person on stage has an individual purpose that they are working and fighting for. This is a clear indication of good character work with Bugg. Though these actors are connecting and fighting for their objectives, I end up missing a lot of that because of blocking. Much of this production has the actors get important realizations, have emotional moments, etc. facing away from the audience. This is frustrating because I want to share those moments with the characters, but instead feel separated from them. A similar lack of intimacy exists in the sisters’ blocking; the places they are “supposed to be” often leaves them not close to each other, with very clear blocked physical moments. However, the use of vignettes in both the beginning of Act 1 and 2 create beautiful stage pictures that really draw the audience in at the start of both acts. This production also has wonderful pacing – never dragging. The cast earns their slow moments by keeping the pace and feeling the ebb and flow of each scene.
This is a large stage, especially for such a small cast. Randy Lawrence Seely and Tyson Chanticleer created the March home to fill the stage. It lends itself very well to the size of the space, but because of its vastness it was sometimes confusing when characters mentioned how “small” the house is. The majority of the set was in the back half of the stage as well, which leads to much of the action happening far from the audience. However, the lack of large scene changes benefits the show immensely. The only scene changes occur with small flats being moved on and off stage, and this helps with pacing and helps bring these smaller scenes closer to the audience.
Lighting was done by Ariana Warren. There are moments – such as when Jo returns to the attic and speaks with her mother after a familial loss, and during the vignettes at the beginning of both acts that told Jo’s stories – where the lighting is subtle, but also powerful. In the first instance, the lighting is warm and then lets Jo move into a spotlight as she finds her strength. For the storytelling vignettes the lighting helps the audience to focus on the story. These subtle moments were the most impactful because they do not take away from what is happening in the scene. There are other moments that seem to change quickly and drastically distract from the scene. This happens in the middle of scenes – one between Jo and Aunt March – and songs – one during “Some Things are Meant to Be.” These seemed to distract and upstage what was happening during the scene.
Choreography done by Becca Hollis helps to enhance the individuality of the characters while also using their skills to create lovely moments. One such moment was right before Meg and Jo go off to a dance and the three oldest sisters and Marmee sing and dance to prepare for the dance. This is such a happy, lighthearted moment that feels like peaking into a family home. Another moment is when Laurie and Amy sing about their engagement. This dance showcases their young love and excited spirit.
As I sat in the audience and listened to those around me, specifically the young girls, I was reminded of the importance of this story. It shows us that there is no one path or set of ideals you must follow in order to be loved or find love and to find success. It reminds us that you can be silly and kind, and also be stern while being soft. It reminds us to live and to love and to take chances and follow our dreams. Little Women performed by American Crossroads Theatre is a delightful evening (or afternoon) for all ages; I recommend bringing the whole family to see this show.
