Park Theatre – until 19th December
Reviewed by – Emily Cliff
4****
Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic Little Women has gone from book to music to film in the century and a half that it has been out. From the Academy award-winning film to the Tony-nominated musical the story of the four March sisters has touched hearts wherever it has gone and here in London we get to be a part of that joyous magic just in time for Christmas.
With music from Grammy award-winning Jason Howland, it is safe to say that this musical has been built on a pretty solid foundation. Following the lives of four Meg (Hana Ichijo), Jo (Lydia White), Beth (Anastasia Martin) Amy (Mary Moore) in the days of the American civil war this musical navigates all the ups and downs of growing up and the ever-growing bond that binds sisters together. Very few productions have a strong female leading cast, and Little Women does and it screams it proudly from the rooftops.
The first act captures brilliantly the strong sense of imagination and the bond the sisters shared through that. Lydia White captured the essence of Jo’s strong witted determination from the very offset of this musical, linked in with her clean and smooth vocals show the strength that lies within her character and also the vulnerability in her personality. The harmonies between the four sisters gel and blend so sweet and soft that it mirrors the love that these girls have for each other. The first act of this musical was a wholesome and touching reenactment of a brilliant childhood classic. With humour in all of the right places you truly felt like you were in on the secret between these sisters as if you were a part of the special bond they shared. The key songs from the first act are Here Alone performed by Marmee (Savannah Steverson) showing the strength of a mother with a husband at war, and an operatic tragedy, a number where we truly see the imagination and the creativity of Jo’s fantastic and creative mind.
Act two is where we see these sisters grow up. Moving through adolescent heartache, the pain of losing a loved one and all of the chaos and heat ache that follows. A downfall of this play however is that while to story is captivating, we lose the development and some of the key factors of the other sisters. The musical while it tries to be inclusive of all the sisters are still very much centred around Jo, whereas the beauty of the novel and the films that have followed is that all of the sisters are recognised and shown in their own right.
The spirit of sisterhood and the importance of family bonds run the very end. The heart-wrenching duet between Beth and Jo ‘Some things are meant to be’ broke all the hearts of the audience and it is safe to say that there wasn’t a dry eye in the theatre. Overall the true sense of sisterhood and love shown throughout this musical was wonderful. It was a truly charming evening of theatre, filled with imagination, love heartbreak and everything in between.