“Little Women” ( Milwaukee) reviewed by Amy Menzel

***** A classic earns its status when it proves to resonate with audiences over time. Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age tale of the four March sisters is, indisputably, a classic. Now for a confession: despite earning an English and teaching English for 20 years, I have never read Little Women. I know. And it gets worse: I have avoided reading the novel. Admittedly, I can be stubborn and childish and snobby and hipstery about my reading selections. (And it’s not lost on me that these are all reasons I might relate to the March sisters.) Thank goodness for Milwaukee Rep’s brilliant co-production with Seattle Repertory Theater. Visually stunning and superbly cast, this show is a beautiful flower plucked from the garden of classic literature.

They say you eat with your eyes first and the same can be said of taking in an evening of theater. It’s easy to accept the invitation from artistic director Mark Clements to escape the real world for a couple of hours when the curtain rises up on a set designed by Collette Pollard. It’s the depth and delicacy of a charming pop-up book, made all the more enchanting by the lighting (Reza Behjat) and costume design (An-lin Dauber). (This review would have been finished earlier had I not gotten lost looking at Pollard’s portfolio of work on her website, collettepollard.com.)

And then there’s the cast who breathe life into this production by bringing the distinct voices of these strong, complex characters to the stage. To single any one of them out seems affront to their wonderfully sincere collaboration as well as to the spirit of the story. Each conveys warmth and wit, and carries out the vision set forth by playwright Kate Hamill who notes that, “None of the characters are good or bad. They are not always likable–and that’s particularly important for young women, the freedom to not be ‘likable’ at all times–but they are human. They are imperfect people, and it is not a perfect family.”

For me, this adaptation was an excellent introduction to the literary classic. I’ve come to understand how and why the story reverberates with readers still in the 21st century. And I’m reminded, again, of the power of theater. The last Milwaukee Rep production I saw was A Christmas Carol. For the second year in a row, I took my niece; and, for the second year in a row, she loved it. She also had a lot to say about it. She shared thoughtful, insightful, inquisitive, and analytical thoughts that made me, an English teacher, recognize the ways in which theater is such a powerful and important way for folks to connect and engage with our stories and experiences as human beings.

Little Women provides this experience. Moreover, the stage production makes as much out of deliberate movement as it does stillness and silence. There is something mesmerizing about a house collectively suspended by a monologue or a moment on stage – and this play offers an abundance of such experiences.

More than one theater-goer I eavesdropped on while on our way out talked about how the production was a marvelous adaptation of the beloved classic. Probably not surprisingly, I’m now quite eager to read the book to better understand their commentary.

Whether you’ve read and loved the classic, I think you’ll love this show.

★★★★★

Little Women plays now through February 18. The show runs 2 hours and 15 minutes including one intermission.

Saturdays – 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sundays – 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (no 7 p.m. show on Sunday, February 18)
Tuesdays – January 23, February 6 – 6:30 p.m.
Wednesdays/Thursdays – 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday matinees January 31, February 14 – 1:30 p.m.
Fridays – 8 p.m.

Special dates include:
Audio-Described Performance – Tuesday, January 23 @ 6:30 p.m.
Bus Matinee Performance – Wednesday, January 31 @ 1:30 p.m.
ASL Performance – Thursday, February 1 @ 7:30 p.m.
Captioned Performance – Sunday, February 18 @ 2 p.m.

Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at milwaukeerep.com, by calling the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490, or in-person at 108 E. Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee.