Little Women - First Preview

[Trisky]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:29am

Quite unexpectedly I found myself at the first preview of Little Women tonight, thanks to, to quote him, "a really, really hot up and coming Australian composer whom everyone should check out" (and to which I agree, wholeheartedly)!

Onto the business at hand. I actually had about as much interest in seeing Little Women as I did in, oh say, sitting through Brooklyn again in my lifetime. IOW, not much at all. After seeing Sutton Foster perform "Astonishing" on the broadcast of Broadway on Broadway I thought "great voice, but eh, still no interest".

Well, as a grown up I can admit when I'm wrong, and as cliche as it will no doubt become, Sutton Foster truly is "astonishing" in the role of Jo March. Ditto Maureen McGovern in the role of Marmee.

I think everyone knows the classic tale of Little Women which is a fairly strong suit of the book for the show. The source material is already rich with possibilities and I was quite impressed at how tightly written the show is. Despite the fact that it's a very long (nearly 3 hours) show, I honestly would have a hard time thinking of something that could be cut that wouldn't ruin the flow of the book.

The strongest points of the show, for me, are the performances of Sutton Foster, Maureen McGovern and actually most of the rest of the cast, save for Amy McAlexander whose Amy manages to be both annoying and ineffective all at once. Were it not for the fact that Amy is a central part of the story, I would gladly do without the character altogether. Strictly from the text Amy is meant to be childish and grating, but the tone of Amy McAlexander's portrayal falls somewhere more on the side of petty and a ridiculous caricature than one with heart or dimensions.

The ever shifting sets are also interesting. There are simple pieces of furniture that adorn the sets that make up the majority of "rooms" we get to see into, but they're all used very effectively and add a lot of visual depth. Though I'm still trying to work out the purpose of the big blue hanging curtain that sort of looks like a rug that surrounds the stage. I find it to be a bit of an eyesore and unnecessary.

The costumes are also quite beautiful time period pieces. Whether by design or accident Sutton Foster never quite fits any of Jo's costumes until her final dress. Something always seems to be hanging off the side or just a bit big on her.

The weakest aspect of the show is the score and not because it's a bad score, it's just very simplistic and aside from Astonishing, there are perhaps 2-3 other songs themselves that will stick out in people's minds. The rest of the songs are serviceable to the show, but this is definitely not a score that will leave you humming going out of the theater, it won't leave you with a headache like, oh say, Brooklyn, but it just won't be captivating either.

There's a lot of heart in the book, perhaps a little too much heart wearing on the sleeve, because if I had to describe the entire show in one word, it would be quaint. The music is quaint, the relationships are quaint, the dialogue can be very namsy pampsy "I love you, no I love you more, you're the bestest" type, said in that certain upspeak. Yet there are moments of real, honest to goodness jokes thrown in there as well which was a delightful surprise. I think the direction needs a bit of work in the scenes shared between the sisters where there's always a bit more of that mushy March sisters through and through, now hug type direction. More quiet, honest moments like the song between Jo and Marmee in the attic and less showy would work for those moments.

There aren't terribly elaborate choreographed scenes, but enough so that there's a taste of what Sutton is capable of (and actually all of them are, as there's a great sequence between the five March sisters and Laurie). The only other suggestion I would make is to make the passage of time more clearer. The last we see of Amy in the first act she comes across as being either a very young child (again it's hard to tell by the way she's portrayed) or at most a very young teenager. By the end of the second act we need to believe she's old enough to be a bride, that transition gets lost. Perhaps a better explanation for where Farther March winds up other than a couple of throwaway sentences at the end.

The one big thing I think that needs tinkering is the opening sequence which is fairly deadly dull at this point. It's used to much better effect in the opening of Act II. In Act I it's just confusing and doesn't really grab you.

Though it might seem more critical than I meant it to be, I actually really enjoyed this show and it has a lot of strong things going for it. Tonight I understood why people are fanatical about Sutton Foster, she became Jo March on that stage, in every movement and I understood why Astonishing is the Act I closer, because it's truly a breakthrough moment for the character. I predict a second Tony on her mantle for this show and deservedly so.

All in all, I would really hope this show does decent business (though the crowd was about 75% women and near capacity it seemed to me). I don't think it'll become a huge mega hit along the lines of Wicked or anything, but it's definitely got the family appeal going for it and with decent sized crowds and tourists I can see it hanging in for a decent run and I think it deserves it. I'll be interested to see what, if any changes are made between now and the official opening night.

Updated On: 12/8/04 at 01:29 AM

[andyf]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:31am

Thank God for Trisky.
People were DYING.

...and by "people"...I mostly mean me.

[grownupgroupie]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:41am

Trisky was far more articulate than I, but I have comments from tonight on the other thread:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=599325&dt=120804011816

[jmaclover]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:46am

Thanks for that great review!

[Trisky]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:53am

Awww Andrew hon, you know I ran home just to type that up for you. Of course I didn't even know you were waiting, nor did I know I would be seeing it until about 3 hours before curtain but in my heart of hearts, it was for you buddy.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:55am

ANDY!

You changed your icon!

D'oh!

[andyf]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 2:26am

I KNOW!!

HOW HOT IS THAT??!?

[jmaclover]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 2:27am

::pout::

[andyf]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 2:29am

Oh please, at least it's not some drag queen!

Seriously, what's up with that?

[WhatDoINeedWithLove?]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 2:45am

I was hoping to come home from work to a good Little Women review! Thanks for a GREAT one! :)

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 2:47am

thanks for the great review:)

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 9:15am

Trisky, darling,

You write beautiful reviews. Thank you! Can't wait to see it.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 9:19am

YAY!!! I'm so glad you liked it. I love this show.

I saw it at Duke and your review is very similar to what ! thought, except that for the part about the score. There are a lot of songs that I was humming. I can't wait for the cast recording. Also, I really liked the opening number. I do agree that it was a bit confusing at first, but I love how Sutton perfectly matches the movements of the "actors."

[Trisky]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 9:38am

Glad you all enjoyed the review.

I saw it at Duke and your review is very similar to what ! thought, except that for the part about the score. There are a lot of songs that I was humming. I can't wait for the cast recording. Also, I really liked the opening number. I do agree that it was a bit confusing at first, but I love how Sutton perfectly matches the movements of the "actors."

If for no other song, I'll get it for Sutton singing Astonishing and Maureen McGovern's songs (I don't have the Playbill with me so I don't recall the titles). I think the choreography of the opening number is great, but I think it's used to better effect in the second act. With the opening number, you're just sort of thrown into the middle of her mimicking a tale that seemingly has little to do with anything. I think the problem is that it doesn't necessarily feel like an establishing song (especially if it's supposed to be a show that opens in the future and then looks back to the past - so that the history has already happened and can help set the tone) which I feel is pretty important.

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 9:46am

Thanks for the indepth review...this still leaves me at a blank as whether or not to see it... i guess eventually I will.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 9:56am

Is the music any more geography and era-specific (circa Civil War Americana) than the lungs-expanding Celine Dion styled number we heard this fall? I think of both SHENANDOAH and PARADE, which managed to invoke similar times and places. I'd hope this piece isn't just syrupy power-ballad laden. The show cries out for something very specific.

[Trisky]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 10:11am

Auggie27, I'm a little music-stupid (and the hot Australian composer boy would probably be able to answer this question better), so from my layman's ears I can say this, one of the things that impressed me about the show was that it didn't rely on belting throughout the score. When I describe the music as quaint, I think that's a good thing because I think it matches the mood of that time period. It's not bombastic and charged up or showy. The melodies are simple and clean and really seem to fit the show as a whole. "Astonishing" is really the only big belting number and it works in context of Jo finding her voice, so to speak.

Maureen McGovern's solos are subtle, but effective numbers and there's a great duet between Beth/Jo that's dramatically on point for the story point itself, but not showy given the circumstances which I'm sure it could have been (which I don't want to ruin for anyone who will see the show, but which I'm sure anyone who has read the book can guess).

So all in all, I think the music is used to good effect in this show, in evoking that particular era in time without being over the top.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 10:41am

Maureen McGovern was my favorite part of the show, so I Love that you liked her. Did you cry during, "Somethings Are Meant To Be" at the beach scene? God, I was in convulsions I was crying so hard. And I am glad that Sutton did great. And what you said about Sutton's clothes.......it is supposed to be big on her. She is a tomboy and hates wearing dresses. At the end she is a proper lady and wears clothes that fit.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 10:50am

Great review! I can't wait to see this show.

[wildcat]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 10:56am

But what was the hot Australian composer boy's name???

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 11:11am

how was Hickok?

[ToddTwining]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:42pm

Triski - I havent seen little women but do you think they did a good job at appealing to a diverse audience?

I am going this Saturday so will let you all know what I think! And Tell Me Who is this Hot Young Australian Composer Boy you are with? What has he done?

Is it one of those productions that you cry at? Particularly at that part? Do they actly show that part?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 1:55pm

That review was very helpful, thank you.

[LiTtLeDaNcEr729]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 2:06pm

Thanks so much for the great review!

I saw the show at Duke and loved it, but agree that there were some things that needed tweaking. I, however, very much enjoyed the score. Of course there are number like Astonishing, which is just thrilling to watch and listen to, but there are also the songs like "Some Things Are Meant to Be" that are just very touching. I thought the songs were all very effective and most were gorgeous.

Oh- and a question- did they take out "Most Amazing Thing" (or something like that)- the song between Laurie and Amy? That was the one song that I really could have done without- it was cute, but kind of obnoxious.

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 4:34pm

Trisky~ nice review. Did you notice the musical director, (most people don't), Robert Meffe? I worked with him last summer with some concerts/workshops. He was very excited about the show. I'm curious about your comment about the music. Guess I should contact him for his feedback. I'm getting tickets asap. It's one of the shows on my list. Thanks again for an honest review. Hope it continues to go well.