Little Women

by Kate Hamill

Kate Hamill's stage adaptation of the novel by Louisa May Alcott

Jo March isn’t your typical Victorian lady. She’s indecorous and headstrong, and one day she’s going to be a great American novelist. As she and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent, and imaginative young women. But as adulthood approaches, each sister must negotiate her private ambitions with society’s expectations. In a war-torn world defined by gender, class, and personal tragedy, Jo March gives us her greatest story: that of the March sisters, four dreamers destined to be imperfect little women.

“Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Little Women…is a sublime example of how to make 19th century works relevant to modern audiences. Unlike recent adaptations, which have merely transposed Alcott’s characters to different eras, but retained the book’s whiteness and outdated ‘all-American girl’ values, Hamill understands that Alcott’s core beliefs, if not her specifics, were invitations not to tea parties and cotillions, but to invite all women to revolution.” —Talkin’ Broadway.

Genres: Plays

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Winter Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
definitely not my favorite adaptation of little women
i know plays wont exactly follow the books they are based on word by word but this changed too many things from the book for me 🤷‍♂️

[Alayna Domboski · Rating 3 out of 5]

actually my least favorite little women adaptation

[Cole Harber · Rating 4 out of 5]

ending falls up, very rushed. Women were far too little, felt unrealistic.

[John Perine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will always love scenes between Jo and Laurie. Ultimately, I wish Hamill took some of the narrative risk that she uses in her Pride & Prejudice adaptation here, especially considering the way Little Women is structured. That being said, the framing device is sweet and reinvents the heartbeat of the story nicely.

[•Kait• •Boers• · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT IN THE LAST SCENE?!?!??!

[lids ☆彡 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Act 2 punched me in the face and then made me cry

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I read this smart and innovative take on Little Women, the more I am convinced that Kate Hamill has told this story in exactly the right way.

[Miss Stamm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another play read for playreading and I was not a fan of this interpretation

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be seeing this play soon, so I thought I'd read it first since I'm familiar with the source material and wanted to see how Hamill spun her variant. I've seen her 'Pride and Prejudice' and was quite pleased.

This play hews closely to the major plot points of the book, while trimming some of the excess that Alcott added, probably over pressure (Prof. Bhaer, for instance). I've seen reviews of it calling it a feminist retelling, but the characters are pretty faithful to the novel, and the novel itself could be seen as a proto-feminist work.

Since this is a 21st century play about a woman writing, there is a fair amount of meta allusions to writing and written work. While not giving any spoilers, I'll say that the ending has one major shift from the novel, and that Hamill absolutely nails it on the page. I can't wait to see it on the stage.

[Alexa Suttiruttana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have listened to the guy at the book store show who told me not to read this in public because now I'm trying so crying in this airport. What a stunning adaptation of Little Women. From Jo and Laurie's gender nonconformity, to Meg's very real exhaustion from performing gender roles as a mother and homemaker, to Beth's frustration.It brings forward so many things that are lurking underneath the original novel, It adds modern sensibilities and a fresh new look while still honoring the source material. I would love to perform this or see it be performed some day.

[maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this adaptation is more faithful to the source material than it is often credited for (the original novel itself is surprisingly feminist, and more open to exploring gender roles than people assume). I do find the ending a bit rushed, however, and I occasionally felt like the political / feminist messages in this adaptation were too heavy-handed (saying this as someone who agrees w/ what Hamill has to say).
I am currently a bit biased towards this adaptation, as I am currently in rehearsals for this play lmao, but I still think it is solid overall and worth your time to see/read!

[Nikki Bonfiglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book. It is a fantastic adaption of the book. We all know in love I really especially love the way. Joe is truly an outsider throughout this whole thing and it is shown in the script cue lines for acting cues. What I do like is that it ended with Beth’s death because it really shows the importance of Beth and the relationship she had with all of the women. I also love that Jo was a lesbian the whole time. Thank you for the work you put in this!

[Cassidy Tilden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun and different rendition of Little Women. Kate always does an incredible job with her adaptations and this is no exception. With a stronger highlight on Beth, I think that this adaptation shows a stronger bond between the sisters than what we see in other adaptations.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a worth stage adaption of the original book. While highly condensed, it captures the spirit of relationship between the March sisters. I do wish some of the other characters (Mr. Lawrence for example) were fleshed out a bit more.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is so good holy shit im crying so hard rn...theatre can be so beautiful and wonderful and powerful bro im literally screaming crying throwing up this is so beautiful

[Megan Lindell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t wait to see this on stage at Seattle Rep!

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ends in a way that makes me think it was supposed to be centered around Beth. Interesting take.

The March girls are very well depicted, and as always, I love and mourn for Jo.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I pretend to be over Little Women it finds a new way to make me cry. Seeing this play version on stage someday is a need.