|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synopsis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The new musical based
on Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale about the lives and loves
of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as they grow
up in the years following the American Civil War. Co-produced with
the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra. Appropriate for all ages. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In his book, Love and the
Soul: Creating a Future for Earth Robert Sardello suggests
that a result of a “. . . crisis in life, in which one feels
that life can no longer be lived in the same manner as it had
been, is to literally turn us inside out…Purpose, then,
is never what we think it might be, as if we could control who
we are. Thus, coming to a sense of purpose involves the act of
continually releasing whatever and whoever we think we are…”
In Little Women the ability to release into a moment of opportunity is the key to each character’s transformation. And from their newfound purpose characters are: Astonished: Realizing that the only constant is change Astonished: Discovering how change challenges relationships, creates new relationships, and reinforces relationships. Astonished: Accepting that following passion can take you to places beyond your dreams and goals. Welcome to our production of “Little Women,” a story that continues to challenge us to accept our own potential to become … astonishing. --Denise Myers, Director | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes from the Dramaturg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“I’m
not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.”
Louisa May Alcott
At 4:30 AM on April 12th, 1861, the Confederate army opened fire upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Only weeks after Abraham Lincoln became President, the Civil War had begun. The ship of American culture was about to sail through some very heavy storms. Termed by William H. Seward as the “irrepressible conflict”, the Civil War lasted until the spring of 1865 and became the definitive event in American History. But somehow, in spite of the massive amount of bloodshed and hate that radiated from both sides, America survived, and that survival lead to the transformation of an entire country. Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832 but spent most of her life in and around Concord, Massachusetts. From an early age, Louisa was a passionate writer. She had early success when many of her poems and short stories were published in magazines, and her first novel, Flower Fables, was published when she was 22 years old. Originally, her novels were penned under the name A.M. Barnard. It was not until much later in her life that she used her own name, Alcott died on the sixth of March 1888, and is buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Concord, Massachusetts was founded in 1635 and is, as a result, one of the oldest cities in America. The birthplace of the American revolution, home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Walden Pond, this city remains a center of American history and culture. Alcott’s pioneering novel Little Women was published in 1868 and was an overnight success, selling nearly 2,000 copies. Alcott drew inspiration from her own family, creating characters from her own sisters and neighbors. Little Women follows the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in their early teens through the end of the American Civil War and follows the women in their careers and marriages. Surely one of the most popular books for young women during its time, it has remained one of the most beautiful portraits of coming of age in literature in addition to being a prominent work of early feminist writing. Alcott uses Jo and the March family as a microcosm for American home life. By taking the everyday joys, challenges, and sorrows of one family, Alcott highlights the beauty and complexity of the struggle to remain a family, and in turn, a country, even in the face of adversity. --Kate Adams, '09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
