Little Women: The Broadway Musical

Little Women is one of the most perfectly constructed musicals based on a famous book. The musical’s construct is such that it manages to squeeze the key incidents from the book into a two hour musical, with enough songs to cover and explain events in a way that is precise and at times quite blindingly theatrical.

The book of the musical encapsulates a wonderful sense of community and family. With so many young characters it has achieved a degree of cult status in the school and youth theatre markets.

The Australian premiere was presented in 2008 by the Kookaburra company with a cast of experienced professionals.

The new production at the Hayes does not have that benefit (apart from Peter Carroll as Mr Laurence), but it is good to see some young and lesser-known talents given a chance to shine. The production manages to capture the heart and community of the piece and the feeling of goodwill it mostly engenders from the audience is pleasing.

It is a show full of gentle simplicity. However, the director Amy Campbell and costume designer Lily Mateljan added a degree of complexity and modernisation in the look of the musical which was at times distracting.

The girls spend the first act barefooted, even when going to the ball, making them all look under dressed and at times scruffy.

Act Two sees shoes (thankfully), obviously an attempt to make the girls seem younger at the beginning of the story.

The character of John Brooke is dressed in a suit that looks like it has been made of swan feathers.

Laurie, the young male lead, spends the whole first half wearing a sort of tea-towel tucked into his pants for no apparent reason.

The actors are over decked with extravagant colours that take away from the simplicity of the piece.

The set is decorated with confetti type paper and the stage at the end of the show looks decked in what seems like leftovers from a children's Christmas party.

Of the performances, Shannen Alyce Quan is radiant as Jo, capturing the buoyant charm of the character and Lawrence Hawkins is a youthful and suitably immature Laurie. Clearly both were cast for their strong acting abilities.

Emily Cascarino as Marmee and Tyran Stig as professor Bhaer give the show its best vocal moments, with Cascarino stopping the show with her heart felt and passionate "Days of Plenty" and Stig adding so much to the beautiful Umbrella duet with Jo (well until they are overwhelmed by a colourful bouncing stage gimmick).

Musical direction by Gianna Cheung is superb, with the use of a small orchestra complimenting the action with great style.

The set of the show is a series of tightly pulled strings which the characters often bump into and tangle themselves in, again an odd and perhaps complicated choice.  Although a far from perfect production of this lovely show, it does capture the heart and soul of the March family and Jo's considerable adventures even if it is often offset by unnecessary distractions that work against the text.

Les Solomon

David Spicer adds his thoughts on opening night.

We are used to seeing opera productions update the period of the work – whilst staying faithful to the text – but it is not so common in musical theatre.

The creative team’s bold re-imaging of the look of Little Women might not please all purists (such as Les) but hats off to their courage, the boldness of their convictions and spectacular realisation.

Whether or not you agree with the context for the costumes, some of Lily Mateljan’s pieces  were works of art in their own right. I liked the use of strings as a set – as it suited the avant-garde interpretation and was beautifully lit.

I found the production to be well paced, with sharp choreography and great acting that drew instant appreciation from an opening night audience filled with musical theatre stars.

It feels like another Hayes Theatre production which will quickly sell-out.

David Spicer

Images: Grant Leslie Photography