Ashley's Little Women Review (10/23/04)

[Roxie_Hart]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 7:41pm

Hello everyone!

Went down to Duke University this afternoon for the matinee performance of Little Women.

First off, there was a game going on (Duke vs. UVA) which, combined with everyone coming to the theatre, made for one heck of a mess. It's supposed to take me about an hour to get from my house to Duke - try an hour and forty-five minutes in all of that traffic! After walking for a good twenty minutes from the place I was forced to park at, I finally made my way into the Bryan Center, with Sutton's gift in tow. (I decorated a shoe box with photos of her, Hunter, and Christian and made her - yes - a pillowcase that I made for her and put her name on. This goes back to Hunter's interview where he talked about Sutton's pillowcase... I had a pillowcase as a kid, too, so I thought it would be a slightly dorky but appropriate gift.)

First off, I've been a die hard Sutton Foster fan, seeing her in the flesh was a ridiculously amazing experience for me. But let's get down to business...

Sets, costumes and orchestrations... divine! They really did have some great scenery with slides and drops and really neat portals.

In general, the show does run a bit long at 3 hours and 5 minutes (long by today's standards and in accomodation with the attention span of today's audience). In general there are 22 songs, some of which I've no doubt will be cut. They're all GOOD - but a few have a tendency to sound alike after awhile. "Better" has undergone some definite changes since the demo recording was put out on the LW site. I particularly enjoyed both of Maureen McGovern's solos, "Could You?" (between Jo and Aunt March), More Than I Am (Meg and Mr. Brooke's duet), "Astonishing" (which, indeed, is going to be the new "Defying Gravity"), "The Weekly Volcano Press," "How I Am," and "The Fire Within Me."

As far as character development goes, I think that all of the sisters and Laurie are slightly underdeveloped. Jenny Powers is a stunning Meg, but still comes across as what Meg typically comes off as - eye candy. Megan McGinnis' Beth did not seem quite as shy and retiring (not to mention sickly) as I thought she should. Amy McAlexander's Amy was, indeed, a snotty little brat and there were several times (mainly when she burned Jo's manuscripts) that I wanted to slap her across the face. What Spider said about her voice though is absolutely true - it's obnoxious. It works okay (not great, but OKAY) for her younger years - but it sticks with her as she enters adulthood and marriage. Danny Gurwin is a charming Laurie, though not given quite the opportunity to shine that I would like to see (though he certainly sparkles when onstage). Jim Weitzer fares well as John Brooke, and Robert Stattel comes across very well as stern Mr. Laurence. Janet Carroll's Aunt March is wonderful - she played the part SO well (though I hope they'll get another actress for Mrs. Kirk when they take the show to Broadway - she does splendidly and her accent is fine, but at first you're terribly confused about why Aunt March's hair color has undergone a change - until you realize that she is no longer playing Aunt March. But this could just be me being slow... haha.). John Hickok is a great Professor Bhaer, and is given much more to do in this play than I have ever seen in any of the film adaptations. Maureen McGovern is a PERFECT Marmee - better, in my opinion, than both Mary Astor in the 40's version and Susan Sarandon in the 90s version. She demonstrates real emotional depth through both spoken word and song. But of course, the star of the show is Sutton Foster.

I have long loved Little Women - the book and all three of the films (particularly the first two). There were qualities of both Katharine Hepburn, June Allyson, and Winona Ryder's Jo that have always appealed to me, but all three played them so differently, and all three always somehow managed to have things that prevented them from becoming TOTALLY Jo. Don't get me wrong, I adore Sutton Foster, but whenever I heard she was going to be playing Josephine March in "Little Women"... I thought, "Ohhhh nooooo." But let me tell you, Sutton Foster is, by far, the best Josephine March I have ever seen. The comedic timing, the awkward tomboyishness, the spirit - it's all there. And her vocals - STUNNING. In response to something Spider mentioned last week - I believe she has toned down her acting in Act One because she didn't seem to go overboard today. Everything seemed very natural and never forced.

The show was fabulous, and I know that any little kinks they're experiencing right now can easily be ironed out and tightened up on the way to the Great White Way.

After the show, I went to the door that the actors come out of and asked simply if my gift could be given to Sutton. "She usually doesn't come out," is what one of the student interns told me. "That's fine, I just would like someone to give my gift to her please," I replied. Janet Carroll came out first, but was mobbed by a rather large group of ten year olds, and I didn't want to give up my place at the front of the line to go get an autograph (sounds awful, doesn't it? Especially since she was SO very good). John Hickok came out and was simply delightful - got both his autograph and Maureen McGovern's (another nice lady, got a photo with her as well - my mom adores her, so when Maureen came out and sat on the steps beside my mom, I think she may have almost had a heart attack). A little guy came out and said something to the effect of, "Sutton IS coming out, but she can only stay out for two to three minutes tops." At that point, I wanted to start jumping up and down - but seeing as how I'd rather not embarass my poor mother, I didn't. When she DID come out, she too was attacked by ten year olds, hugging all over her and screaming, "JO!!!!!!!!" It was precious (slightly obnoxious, but still precious) - and she was so kind to them. After they cleared out and she signed the programs of a couple of Catawba College students, I got up the nerve to approach her. "Hi, Sutton, I'm Ashley..." was all I got out of my mouth before she threw her arms around me and said, "OH MY GOSH! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MY PRESENT!" She was so sweet.

All-in-all... Little Women is fabulous. Go see it at Duke - or if you live to far away, definitely go see it in NY. It was ASTONISHING. :)

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/04 at 9:37pm

Great review! I cannot wait for 'Little Women' to get to broadway now! Does anyone know when tickets go on sale?

[Roxie_Hart]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 1:31pm

The Box Office actually opens tomorrow (10/25)! You'll love the show. :)

-Ashley