‘Little Women: The Broadway Musical’ Is Another Home Run for Greater Boston Stage

Cast of ‘Little Women’ at Greater Boston Stage Company – L to R Sarah Coombs, Liza Giangrande, Amy Barker, Abriel Coleman, Katie Shults

‘Little Women: The Broadway Musical’ – Book by Allan Knee based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and Music by Jason Howland. Directed and Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Music Directed by Matthew Stern. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Lighting Design by Katie Whittemore. Costume Design by Gail Astrid Buckley. Sound Design by John Stone. Presented by the Greater Boston Stage Company, Stoneham through December 23.

by Shelley A. Sackett

Greater Boston Stage Company has a knack for picking the perfect material and director for its holiday offering. Last year, the musical, ‘All Is Calm,’ also directed and choreographed by the talented Ilyse Robbins, was a crowd pleaser that raised the bar and spoke to audience members of all faiths with a message that transcended the usual Christmas pablum. This year, with its flawless production of Little Women: The Broadway Musical, that bar got even higher. At 150 minutes (including intermission), the play didn’t seem too long, a feat in and of itself.

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‘Little Women’, Big Feels at Greater Boston Stage

Cast of ‘Little Women’ at Greater Boston Stage Company – L to R Sarah Coombs, Liza Giangrande, Amy Barker, Abriel Coleman, Katie Shults

‘Little Women: The Broadway Musical’ – Book by Allan Knee based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and Music by Jason Howland. Directed and Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Music Directed by Matthew Stern. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Lighting Design by Katie Whittemore. Costume Design by Gail Astrid Buckley. Sound Design by John Stone. Presented by the Greater Boston Stage Company, Stoneham through December 23rd.

Once again this holiday season, Greater Boston Stage Company director and choreographer Ilyse Robbins and music director Matt Stern bring families – on stage and in the audience – together with the shared experience of musical theater. While presenting a special holiday production has been a decades-long GBSC tradition, its offerings are not always “traditional” holiday shows.

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Wheelock’s ‘Little Women’ Puts Family at the Center

(Cast of Wheelock Family Theatre’s ‘Little Women the Musical’ – Photos by Cydney Scott)

by Linda Chin

‘Little Women, the Musical’ – Book by Allan Knee; Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein; Based on the classic novel by Massachusetts author Louisa May Alcott. Directed by Nick Vargas; Music Directed by Jon Goldberg; Choreographed by Laurel Conrad. Presented by Wheelock Family Theatre through Feb. 24

In our disposable, highly stratified, screen obsessed culture it’s challenging to find live entertainment with enduring multigenerational appeal. Bringing an eclectic group of friends and neighbors (an eight year-old girl, her grandmother, college students, middle-aged men) to a Saturday night performance of Little Women, the Musical might have engendered complaint, but the show did not disappoint. In the capable hands of director Nick Vargas, musical director Jon Goldberg, choreographer Laurel Conrad and a talented cast of ten professional adult and young adult actors, Wheelock Family Theatre’s production was delightful, engaging and full of heart.

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