Rating: 4/5
Running until: 19th December
Run time: 2hr 40
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
Link to tickets: https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/little-women-the-musical

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel is given a new life in this musical adaptation making its London premiere. The story of the March sisters as they navigate love, loss and growing up in civil war America is delivered by an outstanding cast through a glorious score by Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein. I had a pleasantly enjoyable time at this production, despite never really caring for the book or for Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film.

The strength of this production really does come from this fantastically assembled cast, there isn’t a single weak link throughout. I particularly enjoyed Lydia White’s astonishing (yes, pun intended) performance as Jo March. She has this unbelievable stage presence that is just incredibly intoxicating. I really loved how she wasn’t afraid to shy away from the feistiness that is at the core of Jo’s character. I also thought Mary Moore did a fantastic job as Amy, delving into the younger sister mentality without coming across as immature. I do wish there was more of her in the show, because she was absolutely hilarious. Similarly, I wish there was more of Hana Ichijo as Meg and Anastasia Martin as Beth as I think their characters were slightly underwritten but both did a great job with what they were given.

I pleasantly enjoyed the set design by Nik Corall and lighting design by Ben M Rogers that were able to transport the audience to the different locations to and from the March’s house. The intimate space of the Park Theatre manages to create something quite magical for this production, like the audience has been welcomed into the March’s home.

The only main gripe was that perhaps the production is a bit too long in time length. Then again, the performance I attended started about 15 minutes late so this might have caused it. But overall, I really enjoyed this musical, particularly Lydia White’s performance. And I hope this isn’t the last we see of this production.

Until next time,