Performances begin Dec. 2 toward a Jan. 23, 2005, opening at the Virginia, the recent home to Little Shop of Horrors. For ticket information, call Tele-Charge at (212) 239-6200.
The family-friendly musical based on the 19th-century Louisa May Alcott novel will star Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster as Jo March, and Maureen McGovern as her resilient mother, Marmee, who guides her daughters in Civil War-era New England.
Little Women was heard in recent spring industry presentations in Manhattan in anticipation of its fall 2004 tryout and debut at Theatre Previews at Duke in Durham, NC, Oct. 13-31.
The show will be directed by Susan H. Schulman (The Sound of Music, The Secret Garden, Violet). The musical, like the book, is set in the 19th century.
Little Women has a libretto by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. In addition to famed singer-actress McGovern (known for pop hits, concerts, musicals and studio-cast recordings of Of Thee I Sing and Let 'Em Eat Cake), the Little Women company will include Megan McGinnis as Beth and Amy McAlexander as Amy, Robert Stattel, Danny Gurwin, Janet Carroll, Jim Weitzer and John Hickok.
Producers are Randall L.Wreghitt, Dani Davis, Ken Gentry, Chase Mishkin, Ruben Brache in association with Theatre Previews at Duke (Zannie Voss, Producing Director) and Lisa Vioni.
Rehearsals begin in North Carolina Sept. 7. The Duke University run is in the Reynolds Theatre. Visit http://www.duke.edu/web/drama/ for more information.
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Little Women is an American literary title so obvious that it's a surprise that a musical version hasn't hit big on Broadway yet. (A search of the internet reveals a number of musical versions of the property, which is in the public domain and therefore ripe for free picking by playwrights and songwriters.)
Michael Lichtefeld is choreographer, Andrew Wilder is musical director, orchestrations are by Kim Scharnberg. Designers are Derek McLane (set), Catherine Zuber (costume), Kenneth Posner (lighting) and Peter Hylenski (sound).
