The UK Department of Theatre and Dance presented the play “Little Women” in the Guignol Theatre at the Fine Arts Building on Friday, Nov. 17.
The tickets were $20 for adults and $13 for students, both with additional taxes.
The show was adapted from the novel “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott and directed by theater senior lecturer Christina Ritter.
The show’s opening night was Thursday, Nov. 16, and the final performance will be on Sunday, Nov. 19, according to the Fine Arts website.
Originally, “Little Women” is the story of four sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy, and the struggles they faced while living with their mother during the American Civil War, where their father was away fighting.
Joslyn Hope, a sophomore theater major with a minor in dance, played the main character, Jo. She said that the adaptation did not follow the full plot originally from the book as it focused on portraying underrepresented women.
“Even the stories that aren’t these epics and, you know, adventurous things, they are still so important to tell and have to be told because of how just important it is to acknowledge life as just the beautiful thing that it is,” Hope said.
The adaptation included moments of comedy throughout the story, especially between the sisters Jo and Amy, balancing sensitive topics such as gender roles and death.
“I think everybody just acts really well and it’s like they come together very naturally, so it’s been an exciting show and they are really funny, I think they bring a lot of humor to the stage,” Hope’s aunt, Amanda Fryear, said.
The scenery and the characters’ costumes reflected the time period and financial struggles that the March family lived through.
Ivory Besse, a senior majoring in theater, was the costume designer for the show.
“I did design five separate pieces which are three different outfits, so Jo’s dress, Amy’s dress and then Meg’s bodice for the ballroom scene, those were all designed … the process as a whole is just a wonderful learning experience for me,” Besse said.
Sydney Willis, a senior majoring in theater and arts administration, played Marmee, the mother.
“The rehearsals were lovely. Our director Christina Ritter, she is such a kind and, like, welcoming person … and she made it a very comfortable and very safe environment,” Willis said.
Maria Natália Arenas, a sophomore student majoring in biology, said the set and the actors’ interactive dynamic with the audience were impressive.
“Since I first came here, it’s so pretty, feels so cozy in here … I was expecting it to be good but not this good, this is way better than I expected,” Arenas said.
