First Stage's Young Company Presents Adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN This March

First Stage's Young Company will present LITTLE WOMEN, a modern-retelling of the classic novel by award-winning, contemporary playwright Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

The play is directed by popular Milwaukee actor, director and First Stage alum Karen Estrada, recently seen on stage in First Stage's charming production CARMELA FULL OF WISHES. This fresh adaptation of the beloved book centers around the women of the March family. Jo March isn't your typical Victorian lady. She's ruthless and headstrong, and destined to be a great American novelist. As Jo and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent and imaginative young women, while reconciling their own ambitions with society's expectations. Alcott's celebrated coming-of-age novel comes to stage in this modern and relevant adaptation. Sponsored by United Performing Arts Fund.

LITTLE WOMEN runs March 24 - April 2, 2023 in the newly renovated, theater-in-the-round Goodman Mainstage Hall, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, located at 325 W. Walnut Street in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets are $15. Tickets are available online at firststage.org or through the First Stage Box Office at (414) 267-2961. Performance runtime is approximately two hours and 15 minutes with a brief intermission. Suggested for families with young people ages 12+.

From Director of the Young Company Matt Daniels: "Kate Hamill's adaptation of this essential American story manages to be startlingly modern even as it explores a long-gone era. This play is about whip-smart, resilient, sparkling young women looking to make their mark on a world that may not be ready for them. Sounds like an ideal match for YC's excellent performers! This version of the story is intimate, beautiful and surprising, just as Alcott's novel is to anyone who picks it up for the first time."

Added Director Karen Estrada: "Everyone identifies with a character in Little Women. Those who love the story can endlessly debate character choices and events from the book; furthering that with spirited discussion regarding which of the many, many adaptations best capture these classic scenes. Fans of Alcott's Little Women have done so across all the years, languages and cultures that have access to the story. They sympathize because the March sisters and their friends' coming-of-age story elements are both familiar and beautifully composed; they are learning how they identify as young adults and doing so while balancing their place in the wider world, within their family dynamic and against their own ambitions. Their stories are funny and heartbreaking and confusing and poignant. These actors (and to some extent all of us) are in that place too - learning who they are and who they want to be in the wide world. The story is immediate and timeless, intimate yet funny and absolutely lovely."

This is a Young Company Performance Project - an actor-driven presentation using elemental production values. By stripping down to a nearly bare stage, the connection of actor to audience is enhanced, and the words of the play come alive in exciting ways, allowing First Stage's award-winning students to showcase their graduate level skills with full-length material, from Shakespeare to American classics to pieces commissioned specially for them.

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