Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

February 27, 2004

ISU Theatre's Little Women opens Feb. 27

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy from <i>Little
Women</i>

The March girls (from the top stair): Jillian Carstensen as Meg, Kristin Wolff as Jo, Patti Stringer as Beth, and Melanie Allgood as Amy are the title characters in ISU Theatre's production of Little Women. Photo by Patrick Gouran.

by Anne Krapfl
Louisa May Alcott's tale of the Civil War-era March sisters -- Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy -- comes alive at Fisher Theater in ISU Theatre's production of Little Women. The play, presented in two acts, was written last summer by theater professor Jane Cox, who also directs. The ISU Theatre performances will be the first of Cox's adaptation.

"I read Little Women seven or eight times as a young girl, so obviously I found a lot of enjoyment in it," Cox said. She also noted that with another ISU Theatre production this spring dominated by male roles (Glengarry Glen Ross), it was important to provide balance with opportunities for female students. Little Women seemed a good fit, she said.

Cox said she read the novel several more times before she started writing, trying to select plot segments and experiences that would work on stage. Falling through the ice while skating, for example, doesn't translate well to live theater, she noted.

Set in New England during the Civil War, the story follows the four sisters and their mother who struggle to get by, without much money, while their father serves in the Union army. It includes friendships, school, sickness and marriage, always with a strong dose of devotion to family and each other.

Little Women begins at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27-28 and March 5-6. Sunday matinees on Feb. 29 and March 7 begin at 2 p.m. Tickets, $11 for adults and $5.50 for students and children, are sold at all TicketMaster locations, including the Stephens box office.