Colorado State University Theatre presents Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, directed by Laura Jones.
A World Premiere Adaption of the Beloved Novel
Bringing high quality, affordable live theatre to the Front Range, the theatre program at Colorado State University presents a world premiere adaption of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved and timeless novel Little Women, running Nov. 29 through Dec. 15, Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the University Theatre at the University Center for the Arts, located at 1400 Remington St.
Tickets are $8 for CSU students, $8 for youth (under 18), and $18 for the public. Tickets are available at the University Center for the Arts (UCA) Ticket Office in the UCA Griffin Lobby, by phone at (970) 491-2787, or online at CSUArtsTickets.com. Advance purchase is recommended to avoid at-the-door fees.
Free Ticket Offers: CSU students get in free on Ticket Thursdays: Dec. 5 and 12. Sponsored by the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, members of the public get in free on Ticket Sundays: Dec. 1, 8, and 15. Space is limited and tickets are available on a first come, first served basis at the Ticket Office at (970) 491-ARTS (2787).
Set in New England during the time of the Civil War, Little Women is the coming-of-age tale of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. In Alcott’s lasting tribute to feminine strength and independence, all four sisters face adventures and struggles driven by their conflicting desires to be dutiful daughters and sisters while pursuing their artistic passions and freedoms.
The world premiere adaption, by writer/director Laura Jones, is CSU’s own molding of the popular novel.
“It’s a devised work, meaning we took the material that was in the public domain and we were free to use it how we wanted,” Jones said. “[The play] is unique to this particular ensemble of actors and designers – a collaborative process.”
Part of that process was exploring a rare path that truly made this production a work that was unique unto CSU: improvisation.
“What we did was to take incidents from the book and improvise them,” Jones said. “We staged the actors, put them on their feet, and told them not to worry about specific dialogue, but just to banter back and forth. Then I would go back and write from that improvisation.”
Another truly challenging aspect of Little Women is the passage of time within the story. The story follows these four women from when they are young, until they come of age and become women in their own right. And therein lays both an opportunity and a challenge.
“We decided in our adaption that we wanted to show passage of time but also show the whole notion of the girls growing up,” Jones said. “We start when [the girls] are little, but we see their personalities really coming through to establish the status of the four.”
“So how do you switch it up to when they grow older and keep it consistent?” Jones continued. “I think that is going to be really cool for an audience to see.”
Little Women is a classic American story that has stood the test of time and remained an audience favorite through the years. Family and friendship and the love that stems from these relationships will be the preeminent theme in the production, coinciding with the joy and hope of the Holiday Season.
“It all comes back to friends and family and those relationships,” Jones said. “And that is something that holds true in this play. It will warm the cockles of your heart.”
Little Women Performance Dates:
Nightly: Nov. 29, 30; Dec. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Matinees: Dec. 1, 8, 15 at 2 p.m.
Sit in the CSU Theatre Tweet Seats:
Tired of being told to shut off your phone at the movie theatre and other events? CSU theatre is now offering “Tweet Seats” – select seats where you can live-tweet about the performance during the action! Be sure to use #CSUtheatre to let us know your thoughts, post photos, videos, comments right here and now.
The University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society.