About the Play:

Little Women is a full-length dramatic comedy adapted for the stage by Kate Hamill, based on the beloved novel by Louisa May Alcott. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – they are America's favourite sisters, beloved from the moment they appeared on the pages of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women. In this fresh take on a classic coming of age story, the beloved March sisters grow up against the backdrop of the Civil War.

Little Women is a tale of headstrong women growing up during a tumultuous time in American history – the Civil War. With a story that begins and ends with Christmas celebrations, Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel of the March sisters is a tale that has been cherished by families for generations. This adaptation presents the classic story in a new way that resonates with modern audiences. Jo March, the second-oldest sister, is the story's main protagonist. She doesn't want to be like other girls; in fact, she's not even sure that she wants to be a girl. Jo is ambitious, rough around the edges, and convinced that one day she will be a great novelist. Most of the story is centered around her struggles with growing up and the newfound womanhood that comes with it. Stories are also told with sisters Meg, who tries to embody what society deems acceptable of a woman; Beth, who grapples with mortality and self-sacrifice; and Amy, who struggles to be seen as a woman like her sisters often are. As the nation is torn apart by civil war, Jo and her sisters struggle with what it means to grow up. Gender roles, political beliefs, poverty, and even love itself threaten to break family ties, as the March sisters try to reconcile their identities with society's demands. How do you stay true to yourself when the world wants you to become a perfect little woman? Little Women is a brand-new version that honours the spirit of Alcott's original while freshly interpreting it for a new era.

Little Women premiered in 2018 at The Jungle Theater in Minneapolis and was remounted off-Broadway in 2019 at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Since then the play had regional premieres at professional theatres across the US and has been mounted by high schools, colleges, and community theatres.

Cast: 6 female, 3 male

What people say:

"Ms. Hamill's feminist-friendly spin on the classics never fail to sound an engagingly original note… an ingenious compassion of Alcott's novel that is by turns funny and painfully poignant…it touched me to the heart." — The Wall Street Journal

"…Jo has always been the most compelling character by far in Louisa May Alcott's coming-of-age novel Little Women. In reworking it for the stage, Kate Hamill…has done the dramatically sensible thing and placed Jo at the center…the silly, malaprop-prone Amy blossoms fully into her horridness, becoming an excellent foil for Jo…Meg, [as] a frazzled young mother, gets a gorgeous scene of near despair…with just the right comic touch." — The New York Times

"Kate Hamill's adaptation of Little Women…is a sublime example of how to make 19th century works relevant to modern audiences. Unlike recent adaptations, which have merely transposed Alcott's characters to different eras, but retained the book's whiteness and outdated 'all-American girl' values, Hamill understands that Alcott's core beliefs, if not her specifics, were invitations not to tea parties and cotillions, but to invite all women to revolution." — TalkinBroadway.com

About the Playwright:

Louisa May Alcott (1775-1817) was an English novelist whose penchant for witty social commentary, celebrated romantic plots, and feminine perspective make her one of the most celebrated authors in British literature. Her novels deal primarily with the social lives of English landed gentry, especially the expectations of and about women, and the necessity of securing a good marriage. Although Austen herself never married, novels like Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Emma are considered classics of the early nineteenth century romantic genre and are still widely read today.

Kate Hamill is an American actress and playwright. As playwright, she is known for her innovative, contemporary adaptations of classic novels for the stage, including Sense and Sensibility (in which she originated the role of Marianne).