The acting is generous and the tale is timeless – but many production details feel bafflingly bare, at odds with the story’s warmth
ittle Women – the irresistibly charming mid-1800s novel about four sisters forging towards adulthood – has been adapted, remixed and re-told in dizzying numbers. There’s a series of heartwarming films has shorthanded key parts of the plot, cutting them loose and re-assembling them again.
Across the board, performances are generous, warm and game. The company includes Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward , Molly Bugeja , Peter Carroll , Emily Cascarino ; Lawrence Hawkins ; Vitoria Hronopoulos ; Tisha Kelemen ; Kaori Maeda-Judge ; and Tyran Stig . The score, by Jason Howland, plays with Broadway pop to make melodies that are pretty, if largely forgettable – and Mindi Dickstein’s lyrics are much the same. At the Hayes, the lean seven-piece band favours a bright, full sound to support the onstage company, some of whom strain against the edges of the score, fraying when hitting the limits of their upper or lower register.
The looks and props work best when the company is acting out one of Jo’s fanciful stories, in a coat made out of ribbons or a dress that may have once been a blanket. If we could have seen the story of their repurposing , this could have lessened the striking dissonance between story and style, staging and aesthetics.
There are genuinely moving, heartwarming, and funny moments in this production, but it feels distinctly and fundamentally in disagreement. The actors have their hearts on their sleeves; the set doesn’t have one at all. You’re left with the sense that our dear old Marches and their world don’t quite belong in this show – a baffling end result.
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