Little Women Discussion- Page 2

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 3/18/06 at 5:48pm

It seemed to me that most of the book was just one liners and that didn't let us into the characters at all.

[guineamidget87]

Posted: 3/18/06 at 11:41pm

For me, one aspect that was really disappointing was the lack of attention given to Beth's death, one of the more poignant parts of the story. Beth and Jo sang a nice duet, but after the song was over, it seemed like they skipped ahead a little and everyone was back in their daily routine, with only a casual mention that Beth had died. I was like, "What? She's been dead? I didn't even know she died already." I thought Sutton did a great job with the given material, but the show itself didn't really have a nice flow.

[triplethreat101]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 12:19am

the show was nothing without sutton. plain and simple. when i saw it i thought sutton was amazing. but suttons amazingness hurt the show, b.c it was all about Jo and my friend said the book wasnt like that at all. i dont know. i liked the show tho and was shocked that it closed so quickly

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 12:52am

LITTLE WOMEN didn't find an audience because the production totally failed to capture the emotion and sentiment of the source material.The creative team assumed that everyone was familiar with the material and did nothing to draw the audience into the world of the play and its characters. The heartfelt relationships of Marmee and her brood are presented strictly by-the-numbers and without impact. The underlying pathos and resonance inherent in the story of a family struggling to survive while awaiting the return of a father from the war (the whole reason why the March girls are considered "little women") was sorely missing from the direction and the joyous Christmas homecoming of Mr. March has been eliminated altogether! Was ANYONE on the creative team aware that there's a war going on? Could they find NO contemporary parallels?? Talk about bone-headed, squandered opportunities!

The cutting of Jo's hair is sabotaged by two pitiful wigs and "Astonishing" is astonishing only by virtue of its out-of-character, anachronistic American Idol narcissism. Finally, Beth's death, a notable and heartrending scene, was jettisoned in favor of yet another inconsequential ballad in a score which didn't even BEGIN to suggest period, place or character but resorts to the most inappropriate and crushingly banal of pop idioms.
The less said about the rest of the writing and the abysmal direction (i.e. the feminized casting of the male romantic leads, etc), the better.
No, its failure is no surprise at all.


Vivian Darkbloom
Ramsdale, New England

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 1:40am

Hm. See, I've never read the book - and don't plan to - so I would have never really know their father came home from the war and whatnot. I guess I could see them skipping over it because they wanted to keep the focus on the "little women" - but its seems like a pivotal moment and a very easily muscalized moment. I'm still really excited to see the show. I don't think "Astonishing" was really "american idol." I mean, its the Act 1 closer so it needs to be a big number. I saw a video :cough - youtube - cough: of Sutton singing the song and she didn't really "belt" out the end, it was more headvoice/operetic.

[nztheatreluva]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 4:32am

I love the book and I personally love the CD. Not having seen the show, I have no idea what it was like as a show, but Sutton Foster is incredible and there's some really could music in there. I love Some Things Are Meant To Be, I think it's one of the sweetest, most touching songs I've heard for a long time.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 4:35am

the show was nothing without sutton. plain and simple.

Well, I saw the tour for the first time with Kate Fisher and then Susan Spencer the next day, and I was not missing Sutton at all. For what it's worth.

I'd also never read the book and did not see any LW film until a couple months after I first saw the musical.

[respeck]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 5:03am

Not enough flying.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 8:24am

well, sutton sure helped the show a lot in my opinion. right after the show, i just remember my mom saying that if that didn't have sutton in it, she wouldn't have liked it as much.
nor would i have either...

im really a sutton fan. not a fan of this show...

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 1:43pm

I think the score is great. I don't think its a mess of different styles. I think it still fits within the time frame of the show, but with some contemporary sounds to make it appealing to our contemporary ears. I don't want to sit there and listen to a score from 1866. That would bore me to tears.

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 1:57pm

I agree I think all the music is great. I think its the book. It leaves out so many important things from the real book. Its just awful.