Little Women: Musical Reproduction

1536 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Contributions of louisa may alcott

Little Women is a musical based on a novel by an American author named Louisa May Alcott. The novel follows the lives of four sisters- Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March and it is loosely based on the author’s own childhood experiences with her sisters. The musical is a production by the Repertory Philippines, which is directed by Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, who has been an actress for Repertory Philippines for more than 15 years. Lauchengco-Yulo describes the play as, “ a beautiful story based on one of the most heart warming stories ever written.” Little Women is set in the Alcott family home during the 1800’s in Concord, Massachusetts. It is about four sisters growing up during the American Civil War- a time when the idea of women’s rights was still new. I saw the play on December 10, 2010 in the OnStage theatre, Makati city, Philippines.

The theatre used to be a cinema, which was converted only a few years ago. The stage is around 10 metres long and 6 metres high, which makes it a fairly small set. The colours usually stay on the neutral side, from white, brown, grey and navy blue. I think the set designers decided to use these colours to give the set a vintage, 1800’s feel. The scene changes are simple, usually only using black outs and spotlights to take the focus away from props, actors and actresses coming in the background. I think this was done effectively because the scene changes happened quickly and the movement in the background wasn’t noticeable. The only major changes on the set from scene to scene would be the props. Some props, such as the windows, drew down from the ceiling. One significant prop from the musical was this vintage looking couch that was used in many scenes. For example, in the beginning of the play, the m...

... middle of paper ...

... to start thinking of other people beside herself.

The weakest part of the production for me was when Laurie confesses his love for Jo. Not only was it too exaggerated; it was awkward in a bad way. Laurie was trying too hard to get Jo to like him back that it didn’t feel realistic anymore. Jo just turned away from Laurie without acknowledging anything he was saying. I do understand why Jo wouldn’t like Laurie back but they have a really close relationship and she is being unreasonable. I think the scene could have been executed better if Jo was kinder to Laurie and at least acknowledge how hard it was for him to admit his feelings.

In conclusion, although there was an impressive amount of attention to detail in the production, most of the acting was too exaggerated and the scenes dragged on for too long to the point where I found myself almost falling asleep.

Show More
Related

  • The Nerd Play Summary

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    The setup of the stage was very simple. It was the living room of a home in the early 1980’s. It looked like a normal household, and it had small things such as crumpled up pieces of paper lying around the wastebasket. It also had a couch, circular class table and a recliner in the living room. The dining room was to the left side of the stage and only had the dining table and surrounding chairs. There was a door in the back of the set where characters entered and exited through. Beside the door was a table and stool where Willum presumably worked on his blueprints for the hotel. The lighting design was great; it put you into the atmosphere of the

    Read More

  • How Does The Movie Iphigenia Compared To A Classic

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    The music has rather suspenseful and at times over intensified the overtone of the moment instead of accessing the undertones of the moment. The acts were extremely exaggerated including Irene Papas who played Clytemnestra. During her acting at times it felt as though she was being extra exaggerated making it awkward to watch. That being considered there was never a moment that occurred when you felt as though she did not genuinely care about every moment. The actor for Agamemnon Kostas Kazakos there were times that it would have been more appropriate to add more feeling into his scene. Often was a viewer it felt as if he would not make a decision for himself but instead was constantly waiting for someone to react. The setting was incredible. It seemed as if it was truly taped in ancient Greece. It was beautiful and embodied what I would image ancient Greece would look like. The soundtrack was over exaggerate. It would be nice if there was not as much drums. Often times it made the scene have an increased moment of anticipation when nothing major was really

    Read More

  • Argonautika Play Analysis

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    Their acting chops were very impressive whether it was comedic, emotional, or just stunning overall. Yet, on the other hand, some minor characters weren’t as well heard as others. I feel as the play could be better if some of the minor characters had projected their voice more, allowing their character to be known. However, although some voices were much stronger than others, all actors were full of talent, capable of dealing with script’s requirements, and did a good job

    Read More

  • A Critique on Purlie

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.

    Read More

  • For The Love Of The Game

    2375 Words  | 5 Pages

    I think the performance delivered the message and intent perfect. I was not once confused, but it is that which starts out some what at the end and uses flashbacks to tell the full story.

    Read More

  • Little Women - Movie vs. Book

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the Internet Movie Database's exhaustive records, Louisa May Alcott's novel "Little Women" has seen itself recreated in four TV series, four made for TV movies and five feature length movies since 1918. The most recent version appeared in 1994 and features Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, Samantha Mathis, Eric Stoltz, Susan Sarandon, and Gabriel Byrne. As a long time fan of the novel, who has happily carted her large leather bound gold-gilded unabridged edition whenever she has moved, I find that I was disappointed in this newest movie version. As a movie lover, however, I found the movie to be an enjoyable experience.

    Read More

  • Review of the Play Marisol

    358 Words  | 1 Pages

    The best improvement they could've made to this play would've been canceling it. I guess if I were the director, I would've tried to make it more entertaining, because it was really boring.

    Read More

  • Mark Twain

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...   Now that people of all economic groups were becoming more educated and more importantly literate, society changed. The first great, American, woman authors began to write. Lousia May Alcott wrote Little Women. This was a story attempting to give a realistic and sentimental view on life. This story was, like the works of Twain, relating everyday experiences and romanticizing mundane daily life, making her stories popular to the common person and most importantly, the children of the time.

    Read More

  • The Glass Menagerie

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Overall this production was very interesting and well performed. It was somewhat enjoyable to the audience, there were times of boringness but the comedy kept the play interesting. The director did a great job of putting everything together and as a result everything was on point. The only thing to say that would better the play is to make the play more interesting to the audience so that the audience does not get tired of watching.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Medieval Era

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    different then the theater now. There is a difference in almost everything in the theater now then there

    Read More

  • Louisa May Alcott: Little Women in a Man's World

    1922 Words  | 4 Pages

    Little Women has similar characters and themes that can be seen throughout Louisa’s life. “Many of ...

    Read More

  • Rhinoceros Play Analysis

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whether they were a drunk or a punctual control freak, each actor clearly put a lot of thought into their work. Each actor was fully committed to every action they made and they moved with a definite purpose. Despite the definite movements and the definite character choices made by the actors, there still appeared to be a sense of forced emotion in their words. For example, the man acting as the drunkard overplayed the alcoholic, hung over, and stereotypical wobbly walk. He made a few obvious mistakes, like flubbing up lines and other things to that effect, and it appeared to be because he was trying so hard to look and act drunk that he forgot to act. The woman playing Daisy was, in fact, one of the best. She had few mistakes and played her role the most realistically out of all the actors. The blocking of the play allowed for a few characters to upstage themselves and others, which made it hard to hear some words and conversations, but besides that, the technical aspects of it were good.

    Read More

  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    This book is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It in a town in New England in the 1800’s. It about a family and the girls growing up during the 1800’s and the things they have to face. The growing pains that all girls have to go through even now. This was a very sad book at the end when Beth dies.

    Read More

  • Feminism and Society in "Little Women"

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story Little Women takes place at a time when women were taking on uncustomary roles like physical laborer, family protector and provider, and military volunteer while their husbands served during the Civil War. Keeping within the boundaries of the time, Louisa May Alcott uses herself and her own three sisters to create this classical novel from personal experiences. Each sister is different. They each set goals and dreams for their selves whether it goes along with their contemporary society or not. With the assistance of their mother, friends and experiences, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy struggle between their personal expectations and society’s expectations as they plan for their future and choose their destinies.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Theatre

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    There wasn’t any particular scene on stage that made me doubt the integrative work of the director since all the staging work such as lighting, design, costumes and performance were well coordinated and blended for a very good production. The lights were well positioned with well fitted costumes and a very ideal scene to match. There wasn’t much change of scenes in the play except for some movement of tables and chairs. There was an entrance and exit for the performers which made their movements uninterrupted. There was a loud sound of a bell when school was over while the lights were dimmed whenever there was a change of scene. The pace of the production was very smooth since one scene followed the other without delay and most likely because most of the performers wore the same costume; especially all eight students wore the same costume for the entire

    Read More

More about Little Women: Musical Reproduction

Open Document