Review: LITTLE WOMEN at Actors' Shakespeare Project

Louisa May Alcott’s novel “Little Women” has proven so enduringly popular since it was first published in 1868 that it has been turned into two plays, a musical, an opera, 11 different feature films and TV movies, three Japanese anime versions, and even a 12-part Korean streaming series.

Through March 1 at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, Actors’ Shakespeare Project is presenting a lukewarm update of the 1860s-set “Little Women” by oft-produced playwright and actor Kate Hamill, who’s made a cottage industry of adapting classic novels, including “Emma,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and “Vanity Fair,” for the stage.

Hamill’s adaptation was first presented off-Broadway by Primary Stages at the Cherry Lane Theatre, where Hammill played Jo, with the story, inspired by Alcott’s own childhood in bucolic Concord, following the lives of the March sisters, vain Meg, quick-tempered Jo, shy Beth, and selfish Amy.

The world has changed a lot, of course, since Alcott first penned this Civil War-era story, and it has continued to evolve in the seven years since this Hamill update, which takes a cautious approach to modern-day gender roles, political leanings, poverty, and what true love really means for the March sisters as they try to balance their true feelings and identities with society’s expectations. While clearly hoping to refresh Alcott’s best-known work by revisiting it through the prism of contemporary mores, Hamill’s approach is too tentative to allow its new points their full due.

In this adaptation, Jo March, the sister who dreams of being a novelist, doesn’t want to be like other girls. Indeed, she’s not even sure she wants to be a girl at all. Jo is self-focused and takes a rough-and-tumble approach to life, pondering just what her future might bring and what it will mean for her and her sisters as they grow up.

Hamill has written Jo’s friendship with the family’s young neighbor, Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, as tender and true, but how true is the question when it comes to the gender ambiguities in this telling. A more developed presentation of Laurie’s own sexual identity would be a start and additional feminine coding to go along with the character’s painted fingernails might also help.

If the many iteration’s of Alcott’s original story and the attentive audience at the show’s recent Watertown press opening are any indication, however, “Little Women” lives in the hearts of children, their parents, grandparents, and perhaps great grandparents, too, who cherish the chance to see it come alive. At this point, however, new adaptations of her beloved novel – be they for the big or small screen or for the stage – need to commit to being just that, new. Unfortunately, Hamill’s adaptation falls short and ultimately feels little more than fitful.

In her ASP debut, director Shana Gozansky does her best to navigate around those deficits by deftly blending the story’s humor and pathos through effective use of a strong cast, including Aislinn Brophy as Jo, Sarah Newhouse as Marmee and Aunt March, Olivia Fenton as Meg, Chloe McFarlane as Amy, and Kaila Pelton-Flavin as Beth, with Jonah Barricklo as Laurie, Amy Griffin as Hannah and Mrs. Mingott, Chris Stahl as Mr. Brooks as well as Mr. Dashwood and Parrot, and Vincent Curry as Robert March and Mr. Laurence.

Stand-outs include the heart-tugging Brophy, impressive as the conflicted second-born sister in search of mooring, and Barricklo, as her eye-catching but unassuming friend who may or may not want more. Fenton and Stahl also pair winningly as Jo’s willful older sister and her besotted suitor. McFarlane is a delight as the over-the-top youngest sister whose exuberant reactions to pretty much everything add youthful energy throughout.

And while her role may be small, Pelton-Flavin is deeply affecting as the shy and always kind sister who tragically succumbs to scarlet fever. Her loss is felt in every part of her family’s hearts and every corner of the March house, which her gentle presence seems destined always to fill.

Scenic designer Jenna McFarland Lord’s multi-tiered set for the March house and a neighboring residence enhances the proceedings and shows that the now financially strapped March family once enjoyed material comfort. And while the primary floor covering was, according to design details shared at a recent post-show talkback, based on wallpaper of the period, the result is distractingly bright. And because the stage platform is painted rather carpeted, it is also noisier than any creaking planks of an old house.

Costume Designer Zoe Sundra has created impressively detailed, period-capturing costumes, with flair added by Rachel Padula-Shufelt’s well-coiffed wigs. The overall look of the production also benefits from the mood-setting work of lighting designer Deb Sullivan and sound designer Julian Crocamo.