There is plenty to like in Lauren Gunderson's new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic "Little Women." When we take into consideration that the novel, first published in 1868 with the sequel written in 1880, has never gone out of print in over 150 years, we understand the generational power this story has maintained with audiences. There have been many adaptations but Gunderson's is meant to invoke a more modern sensibility.
The most obvious nod to 2025 is the heroine Jo (alter ego to author Alcott)'s desire to be treated as a man. Whether or not Louisa May Alcott was a lesbian has been an open and unresolved question for years, but she was certainly born and died a woman. Playwright Gunderson takes us further down this road, especially in Act One when actor Elissa Beth Stebbins, who plays both characters, thinks, talks and certainly walks with far less New England femininity than her three sisters, Meg (Emily Ota), Amy (Sharon Shao) and the doomed Beth (Lauren Hart). All four women, as well as their mother Marmee (Cathleen Ridley), appear comfortable doing good for those less fortunate than themselves and worrying about their father who is away fighting in the Civil War. How they are surviving is never discussed - until Jo's stories begin to bring in much-needed cash.
The thing we love best about this Theatreworks production is the way Alcott's world (writing, publishing, moving to New York) and Jo's older-sister role (the person everyone listens to and follows) are written to allow Stebbins to pop in and out of either character with such elegant grace. For example, Act One ends with Alcott preparing to write her sequel, none of the sisters' would-be romances and health issues resolved and Father still gone. Neighbor Laurie (Max Tachis) has been introduced as a potential suitor but Jo is clearly not having it. What will happen? Wait until Act Two.
RATINGS ★★★★
"LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITTLE WOMEN"
Mountain View Center for Performing Arts
500 Castro St., Mountain View
Through Oct. 12, 2025
$39-$109
