Warning: Contains spoilers for Seattle Rep’s “Little Women.”
Seattle Rep’s “Little Women” is an engaging production containing many comedic elements, interesting characters and a touching story.
Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” on which the play is based, follows the March sisters; Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy; throughout their lives of hardship and individual struggle. Each sister has unique interests and imperfections that outline the story. The audience sees Jo in her attempts at making a career as a writer while notably fulfilling the patriarchal role in her family, as her father is away at war. This idea is prevalent throughout the story, and shown in her love and care for her mother and sisters. In the entirety of the story, the feuding dynamic between sisters Amy and Jo is prominent, as the constant fighting fuels important plot aspects, such as Amy burning Jo’s writing.
In Seattle Rep’s rendition, the character Beth, played by Katie Peabody, is very central, and her death at the end of the play is an especially touching scene. Peabody’s role is very well executed, which is important considering she acts as the glue of the family–a very crucial angle. Beth’s death shows to what extent she held the family together and is arguably one of the most important events, as we can see how important she is once she’s gone.
The character of Amy was also a favorite among the crowd, with her character garnering a lot of laughs and audience reactions. Amy, played by Rebecca Cort, very accurately represents the stubborn younger sibling persona. Jo, played by Amelio García, has the polar opposite personality to Amy, with their constant feuding being not only entertaining but pivotal to the plot. Jo’s character and personality mainly surrounds her tomboy nature, as it’s not very “of the mold” for the time period in which the show takes place. She has no focus on getting married and starting a family–contrary to Amy, to whom marriage and fulfilling the stereotypical role for women at the time is very exciting. Their opposing opinions and views are what fuel their competitive dynamic.
“Little Women” is set around the March’s house. The fireplace, dining table and decorations used for the Christmas dinner scene were bright and warm. The snow during the Christmas scene was an amazing added effect to the weather and a great visual aspect that left the audience in awe. The time transition between the party scene and the meeting of character Laurie, played by Austin Winter, was spread out well; the play continued to stay nicely paced and easy to follow which we enjoyed. The only setback in telling the story chronologically was the large time jump to Meg’s married life, which we found confusing at first.
An aspect of the plot that fell short was the relationship between Amy and Laurie. After Jo refuses Laurie her hand in marriage, the storyline between Amy and Laurie lacked romantic chemistry and felt forced. Although Amy’s crush on Laurie is evident, this subplot didn’t really deliver. After Laurie and Jo’s relationship was no longer a focus, Laurie’s character felt irrelevant.
Seattle Rep’s production of “Little Women” was a good retelling of a classic containing many jokes, emotional characters, compelling sets and supreme storytelling.
