Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” was the talk of Hollywood this past holiday and awards season. With an all-star cast and beautiful aesthetics, it was a hit with audiences and critics alike, with even some nods by entertainment’s elite for their work. Given that, in one of what I think is one of the boldest moves I have seen in a long time, the Kalita Humphreys Theatre and the AT&T Performing Arts Center opened their stage version mere days after the Academy Awards, and I am not afraid to say it: THEY CRUSHED IT.
Pearl Rhein sits front and center here as Jo, the second of the for March sisters who all are chasing different paths is during the Civil War in Massachusetts. Beth (Maggie Thompson) is the grounded one, Amy (Lili Hokama) is the wide-eyed youngest who just wants to improve her station, and Meg (Jennie Greenberry) is the first-born that is more concerned with growing old and alone while trying to be the leader amongst her siblings while Jo wants to pursue her dreams of a writer and thinks Europe is the key to all of it.
With Dallas theater staples like Liz Mikel as the matron called “Marmie,” Sally Nystuen Vahle in multiple roles, and Alex Organ as the paramour of Meg in John Brooks, I have said it before and I will say it again: I am lucky to live in a town that has SO much talent in it, and it is on display here. There is also a great turn by Louis Reyes Williams as Laurie Laurence, the neighbor boy whose sights on Jo creates a triangle with Amy in the most believable of ways. Add to that the theater itself and its great use of the built-in turntable to perform transitions of everything from minutes to years, there is nothing about this production that I did not enjoy.
The really cool thing here is the fact that it was announced that when the Dallas run finishes on March 1st, the production itself will have a run in San Diego, giving this cast the opportunity to showcase their immense talent to a wider audience. I enjoyed this production more than I thought I would (and my expectations were pretty high given the principals involved), and I cannot wait for an entire different section of the country to enjoy the performances and execution of this show.