Director hints about costume surprise in productions of 'Little Women'

February 4, 2025 (Volume 48, Number 11)
Article by Annie Pettit

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Student actors who portray the March sisters are, from left, Anna Bremmer, Natalie Tripp, Maddie Cooper and Saamanthy Rajenthiran.

Photo Credit: courtesy of Bridgett Vanderhoof

The theater department will bring Louisa May Alcott’s heartfelt story of "Little Women" to life in musical form beginning February 7.

The performances are on February 7, 8, 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Haas Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are available online.

Katherine Clemons, visiting professor of theater, has lent her talents to productions before but "Little Women" will be her first as director. She describes how the story examines grief through a story everyone can appreciate.

“Little Women is a story about strength and resilience through tremendous grief. It’s a story of self-acceptance and self-love,” Clemons explained. “Everyone can relate to this musical because you can find yourself in one of the four sisters.”

When casting, Clemons said she veered away from preconceived notions about characters based on previous productions of the musical. “We casted by talent and talent alone, which created a beautiful blended family,” Clemons said. 

Clemons also noted something special will happen with the costumes and has advised audience members to pay attention to what actors are wearing. “I don’t want to give it away, but I’m excited to see people's reactions when they catch on,” she said.

For fourth-year music education major Natalie Tripp, playing Jo March in the production has taught her how to convey character growth by “growing up” on stage.

“'Little Women' is a beautiful showcase of love, resilience, discovery of oneself and finding who you are when things seem to be falling apart,” Tripp said. “The family dynamic of the sisters and Marmee show us how close home can really be and how we can find ourselves amidst the darkest storms.”

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