Adaptation of “Little Women” comes to Marjorie Lyons Playhouse November 21-24

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary Theatre Program (CTP) continues its 2024-2025 season this month with playwright Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, Little Women. Tessa VanderKuy, a 2019 Centenary graduate, will direct the production at the College’s Marjorie Lyons Playhouse.

Little Women opens on Thursday, November 21, at 7:30 p.m. and includes additional evening performances on November 22 and 23, with a final performance at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 24. Tickets are available at centenary.edu/mlptickets.

In October 2023, CTP audiences enjoyed another reinterpreted classic when Centenary alumna Charity Schubert directed Hamill’s Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse. In Little Women, Hamill brings her critically-acclaimed feminist and female-centered perspective to Alcott’s beloved story of the four March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy – as they grow up in the middle of the American Civil War. A review in Talkin’ Broadway calls Hamill’s Little Women “…a sublime example of how to make 19th century works relevant to modern audiences.”

Director VanderKuy immediately admired Hamill’s approach to the portraying the characters in her adaptation of Little Women.

“She shows well-loved characters in a way that leans into their flaws,” said VanderKuy. “Rather than telling a story that molds these characters into something they're ‘supposed’ to be, she lets them be exactly who they are. I think it is important for audiences, especially young women, to see characters who do not have to apologize for themselves. I love that part of this story.”

The process of bringing to life a piece of classic literature that is more than 100 years old has required a higher level of research and attention from the cast.

“I believe that to do this show justice, we have to understand and respect the source material,” said VanderKuy. “There's been a lot of conversation about what we are keeping from the source material and what we are letting go. It has been so exciting to watch every cast member discover something new about their characters every single rehearsal. It is challenging to recognize and respect everything about such multi-faceted characters, but they all rise to meet that challenge every time I watch them.”

Tickets for the CTP production of Little Women are now available at centenary.edu/mlptickets.  Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors/military members, and $10 for students with ID. Tickets are free for Centenary students, faculty, and staff.

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