Little Women
Little Women
Swiftynifty15
Broadway Star Joined: 9/18/04
#0Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 2:42pmIs Little Women good? It is coming to Boston and I was curious.
#1re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 2:51pm
I adored the touring production, although there are some major flaws in the book writing and adaptation part of it. It's worth it for the performers who are top notch, though. Go see it!
I wrote a review a while back:
Eppy's Review
#2re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 2:52pm
I've seen the tour three times. The show is good and decent and entertaining, but not that great, not that memorable, and not all that engaging, but the cast is what saves it. They're fantastic. See it at least once.
Theodore Lawrence the third, but everyone calls me Laurie!
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
Updated On: 11/9/05 at 02:52 PM
#4re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 3:00pmLOVED it in San Diego, and this is now the 3rd thread on this subject
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
#5re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 3:02pmThought it was just so-so on Broadway. Bad book, good performances, pedestrian lyrics. The only scene I got involved in emotionally was the beach/kite scene.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
NightLaughs
Leading Actor Joined: 6/26/04
#6re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 3:03pm
I can't lie, I loved Little Women. I can only describe it as a very sweet, heart-felt show and I wish it had lasted on Broadway longer.
Some of the music is meh, while some songs are wonderful. Maureen got to sing the best songs IMO (Here Alone, Days of Plenty). I also loved Better and Astonishing. Its def. worth seeing, something light and enjoyable.
If you limit your choices to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."- Robert Fritz
#7re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 3:04pmStephen Patterson was my favorite thing about the show.
#8re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 3:11pmI'll also admit that since I saw the show in San Diego, I have rented and seen (again) all three movie versions..........
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
#9re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 3:15pmAs others have said, it's not the most thrilling or best-constructed show, but the tour cast is incredibly talented and makes it worth seeing.
'"Contrairiwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic."'
~Lewis Carroll
Swiftynifty15
Broadway Star Joined: 9/18/04
hearthatstrue
Stand-by Joined: 9/10/05
#11re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 4:07pm
I don't think I've ever known someone who didn't know what it was about. That's not bad, but very surprising. You've never read the book? Or seen any of the movies? Or even heard of what it's about? It's probably one of the best-known novels ever written. I could probably recite it to you, which- I know- is sad. But it's my favorite and I've read it countless times since I was a child.
Anyway, a summary, which I'd write myself if I weren't so lazy:
"Little Women is the story of The Marches, a family used to hard toil and suffering. Although Father March is away with the Union armies, the sisters Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth keep in high spirits with their mother, affectionately named Marmee. Their friendly gift of a Christmas holiday breakfast to a neighbouring family is an act of generosity rewarded with wealthy Mr. Laurence's gift of a surprise Christmas feast. However, despite their efforts to be good, the girls show faults: the pretty Meg becomes discontented with the children she teaches; boyish Jo loses her temper regularly; while the golden-haired schoolgirl Amy is inclined towards affectation. However, Beth, who keeps the house is always kind and gentle. After certain happy times winning over the Laurences, dark times arrive as Marmee finds out about her husband's illness. Worse is to come as Beth contracts scarlet fever in her Samaritan efforts for a sick neighbour and becomes more or less an invalid. The novel tells of their progress into young womanhood with the additional strains of romance, Beth's terminal illness, the pressures of marriage and the outside world. This is the story of their growing maturity and wisdom and the search for the contentedness of family life. It was written in 1867 and is a fictionalised biography of Alcott and her sisters. It has become a much loved classic tale and, while some of its issues seem outdated, many of the trials of the sisters are all too relevant today as evidenced by its continued following."
I love the musical almost as much as I love the novel. Though I know most people really didn't care for it, it's still one of my favorites.
beyondthebreakofday
Understudy Joined: 9/16/05
#12re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 4:27pm
I love Little Women for its emotional story- truly heart-filled. While parts of the production have been considered weak(lyrics in particular) its hard to leave the theatre without feeling something. The relationships between the girls, the caring of their mother, and the determination of the heroin are only a few aspects which make the show one that almost every patron can relate to on some level.
This show is well worth the money and a nice alternative to the sometimes over-the-top theatrical productions which tour around the country and leave memories with the patrons that involve the special effects or large dance numbers rather than the actual performers themselves. Little Women, with its cast of ten or so performers and its functional sets allows the viewers to see the real talent of the performers themselves and the story which they have to represent.
#13re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 4:54pmGo see it so you can say that you have seen a flop if you haven't seen one yet. I thought it was horrid. Right up there with TITANIC for me but at least the set works in LITTLE WOMEN.
"For me, THEATRE is an anticipation, an artistic rush, an emotional banquet, a jubilant appreciation, and an exit hopeful of clearer thought and better worlds."
~ an anonymous traveler with Robert Burns
#14re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 5:19pmI loved it. all shows have their flaws, but LITTLE WOMEN had very few in my opinion... the songs are gorgeous and the sets, for the tour nonetheless, are gigantic and stunningly beautiful.
#15re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 5:28pmI saw it thrice (student rush of course) with the original, and only, broadway cast. I am not ashamed to say that I really enjoyed myself each time--the book is definitley LACKING...by a mile. And there are things in the score that make me cringe, but as a whole I always really enjoyed myself. I am not sure how much of it was the performers themselves and the parts of LMA's book that were included or what. But I say go for it.
"That Sondheim kid has a big future."-Nathan Lane
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#16re: Little Women
Posted: 11/9/05 at 6:12pmI saw it on Broadway. I liked it. Not my favorite, but enjoyable. The score is great, there are only like 2 songs that I don't like. You should see it. I don't know much about the touring cast, though.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
bare_nakedlady
Broadway Star Joined: 5/9/05
#17re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 12:34am
I just got home from the TOUR this evening, and I must say I was disapointed, but I knew that going in. I've never been too fond of the story and I always find myself thinking just Die already Beth I don't care about you anyway. I know its crass, but that's the way it is.
All in all there were a lot of great performances. The set was lovely, but the show was almost 3 hrs of Boredom. I wanted to bang my head on the seat in front of me to stay awake. I found myself thinking, as I almost nodded off twice, WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS SHOW! It doesn't seem to go anywhere. Maybe I just don't understand the connection sisters have, but this production leaves the heart out.
The music was delightful, but at times a bit trite. Some songs like A MOST AMAZING THING, are cute ditties, but don't really fit the mood of the show. They are out of place. I felt like I was watching a camped version of the show.
Most of the weaknesses, however are in Mr. Knee's book. (I must say though, in all fairness, that if you've ever read any of his other plays he is fairly consistent in his style.) But honestly lines like
Meg: You're so beautiful.
Amy: And you're a mother now.
If I had said that to my sister she'd've drop kicked me through a brick wall!
The staging was weak as well. Everytime Jo talks about her stories she holds that huge book up, en profil, get over it! If I had to watch Jo charge the edge of the stage at one more crescendo of the music I was going to put electric fencing on her neck.
But God Bless Maureen McGovern. She has grace, poise, and a splendid voice. To bad it was wasted on this show. As I said before a lot of great performances and sweet moments, just not a very cohesive show.
"It's like children's theatre for 40-year old gay people!" - XANADU THE MUSICAL
#18re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 12:48amI loved the show, havn't seen the tour though, so couldn't tell you about that. But you should stop by and see it anyway, then tell us all what you think. ^_^
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#19re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 1:18amI'm sufering from not seeing a Broadway show! I'm def taking advantage of student tix for this one...even if it isn't the greatest thing.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
where's my shoe?
Understudy Joined: 9/3/05
#20re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 1:53amThe book of the musical is terrible in the first act and decent in the second; the score is not great, but there are two or three songs that are beautiful. That said, Kate Fisher, who plays Jo on the tour, is worth the price of admission alone.
"I am concocting a seduction. I do not require a patissiere."-Boston Marriage
Understudy Joined: 12/31/69
#21re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 2:00amnever seen it, but i will see the tour cast next august. but i do have the cast recording. i immediatly fell in love with it, and can't wait to see it on stage.
#22re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 9:41amI liked the musical and acually saw it twice on Broadway. I didn't think it was the most mind blowing musical on Broadway but enjoyed it for what it was. I like the cast album very much (actually listening to it now) and many of the songs sans Amy Alexander are enjoyable. Sutton Foster and Maureen McGovern were fabulous.
Happy...Everything!
Kaye Thompson
#23re: Little Women
Posted: 12/8/05 at 9:45am
<------I love it.
Go see it. It's a wonderfully sweet show that makes you feel all happy inside. I wouldn't call it a work of art, but it's a great night at the theatre and well worth seeing.
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