Heartwarming holiday tour de force open at WICA

Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, December 6, 2006

A Christmas ballad is sung lovingly by a sweet chorus of voices before the lights come up at the opening of “Little Women.”

It is a fitting start to this play, which plunges theatergoers into a period in American life – the Civil War – when emotions ran high and hearts needed healing with music. Indeed, songs are sung a capella throughout this lyrical production which adds even more charm to this endearing play.

Louisa May Alcott won many hearts with her first financially successful novel “Little Women.” With playwright Emma Reeves’ dramatic adaptation, the four sisters of the March family come to life and revive those hearts in this sharply directed version that is playing now at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts through Dec. 16.

With its large cast surrounding the four principal women characters, “Little Women” is a tour de force of 44 swift moving scenes with a minimal amount of blackouts and a rollercoaster ride for the main characters who are on stage in almost every scene.

Director Deana Duncan had the monumental task of pinning it all together and using the dynamics of the four March sisters’ individual personalities to capture the emotional highs and lows of these American teenagers growing up. Duncan succeeds.

The audience meets Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – all under the age of 18 – and follows them through the whirlwind of their dreams, challenges, moral dilemmas and love lives into the exciting, rewarding yet sometimes harsh and unrelenting world of adulthood.

Dancing on the perimeter of the March sisters’ world is Marmee, played with a quiet earthiness by Laura Boram. She is the devoted and compassionate mother who guides them with the help of their absent soldier father, reaching the girls through his letters which Marmee reads aloud to them.

Their rich Aunt March resides nearby, holding their inheritance up before them as if it were a carrot dangling on the end of a string that leads to that elusive place in high society. Jill Johnson is appropriately commanding in the role of Aunt March, conveying her preoccupation with money and manners with an underlying hint of humor that allows the audience to refrain from siding against her completely.

Every story of teenage angst comes with its share of jilted lovers and the character of Laurie, neighbor and childhood friend of the March sisters, does not escape the inevitable. Played with an easy lightness by Cameron Gray, Laurie ends up under the spell of not one, but two of the irresistible March sisters. Gray does a fine job of revealing a boy on the awkward verge of manhood with an uninhibited grace.

Meg, played with delicate aplomb – and some pretty good slapstick involving a ball gown – by Ahna-Dunn Wilder, carries the burden of being the “pretty” eldest and so feels the pressure most from Aunt March to “marry well,” carrying the audience through her journey toward self-respect and inner calm.

Beth, whose selfless magnamity affects her family in a way that no other character does, is revealed here as a kind of “angel” whose has a lasting influence on her sisters. Melissa McAlerney gives a touching portrayal of Beth and finds the perfect balance of innocence and one wise-beyond-her-years to capture the essence of Beth’s purity.

Bridget Scott is obviously having the time of her life playing the youngest sister, Amy. Scott masters the selfish immaturity of the child Amy in Act I and infuses her with a good dose of shameless comedy. Growing up in the second act, Scott deftly reveals Amy as a teen on the verge of womanhood, trying to find her way through the various roadblocks of life and learning how to love selflessly.

But the real star of this production is Amy Walker, who plays Jo. Jo is the glue that holds this family together and Walker admirably reflects that strength. Jo the writer, the feminist before her time, the courageous girl who wanted always to be a boy, here becomes a truly extraordinary woman.

Walker is a steamroller in the part, bursting onto to the set with natural grace and complete abandon. She is the epitome of a tomboy in Act I, giving herself over completely to the strong-willed personality of Jo. The role is fraught with the ups and downs of her tempestuousness and Walker handles them with inexhaustible energy, giving Jo the intelligence and “boyish” charm that Alcott wrote into her.

But it is her ability to convey the more emotional moments and reveal the complexity and tenderness of the older Jo that proves Walker’s superb acting ability. Her presence on the stage is palpable and with Duncan’s direction, Walker has managed to take the role to heights I’m sure even Alcott would have been moved by.

Indeed, there was barely a dry eye in the house by the middle of Act II.

All these actors make their way through the hills and valleys of the March family adventures with grace and charm. Especially when the entire ensemble raises their voices and sings.

There are, however, a couple of moments when the actors in the party scenes seem not to trust what the director has laid out for them. Quicker cues, swifter movements in the dancing scenes, a command of the room as if they were indeed high-society teenagers out to party with the New England elite is all that’s needed to pick up the pace of the slower parts of this show.

But, that will come with time and there is still plenty of chances to see this fine production.

For a truly heartwarming experience this holiday season, this production of “Little Women” is island theater at its best.

The show continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8-16 and 2 p.m.

Dec. 10. Call 221-8268 or visit www.WICAonline.com for tickets and information.