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In this adaptation four actors in an attic retell Louisa May Alcott's classic novel. Using found objects from across time (balloons, hula hoops, ribbon dancers, and more), the players create scenes of love, loss, and the ever glowing warmth of the March family hearth. Jo goes on a journey of artistic self-discovery and coming of age as she struggles to become the writer she longs to be amid the classic triumphs and troubles of Meg, Beth, Amy, and even Laurie. It is through a sense of play that Jo and her sisters find themselves, spending time in the attic making up fairy stories with witches and heroes, or spending an evening reciting the articles written for their beloved imaginary newspaper. It is, however, through the tragedy of losing her sister Beth that Jo finally finds her voice as an artist, and moves into adulthood with the knowledge that while families change and grow apart, the ones we love are always close at heart.
Awards and Honors
Selection, Kilroys List, The Kilroys, 2020
Winner, Best Non-Musical Production, Cleveland Critics Circle Awards, 2023
Winner, Best Director for a Non-Musical, Cleveland Critics Circle Awards, 2023
Winner Best Performer in a Non-Musical, Cleveland Critics Circle Awards 2023
Winner, Best Non-Musical Production, Cleveland Critics Circle Awards, 2023
Winner, Best Director for a Non-Musical, Cleveland Critics Circle Awards, 2023
Winner Best Performer in a Non-Musical, Cleveland Critics Circle Awards 2023
Upcoming Productions
Development History
Workshop at First Folio Theatre in 2019
Digital reading with One-Off Theatrical Productions in 2020
Digital workshop production in affiliation with Ohio University in 2021
Digital reading with The Penny Seats Theatre in 2021
Staged reading with Relative Theatrics 2021
Digital reading with One-Off Theatrical Productions in 2020
Digital workshop production in affiliation with Ohio University in 2021
Digital reading with The Penny Seats Theatre in 2021
Staged reading with Relative Theatrics 2021
Production History
Produced by Acrosstown Repertory Theatre January 2024
Produced by Dobama Theatre in December 2023
Produced by First Folio Theatre in December 2022
Produced by Theatre Cedar Rapids in May 2021
Produced by Dobama Theatre in December 2023
Produced by First Folio Theatre in December 2022
Produced by Theatre Cedar Rapids in May 2021
Press
"This stage adaptation by Heather Chrisler is a master class in storytelling — and heartstring-tugging. "
Review in The News Herald
"The latest iteration now at Dobama Theatre—Little Women as adapted by Heather Chrisler—lights up the stage with four characterizations of Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth that are so sharp you could use them to field dress a musk ox."
Review in Cleveland Scene
"By the end, when Jo draws up a trunk in the attic—the scene of so much joy despite economic deprivation in the early lives of the March sisters—and begins writing their story, it’s nearly impossible to keep tears from falling."
Review in The Chicago Reader
"This story, one that is familiar but presented in a fully new way... As Jo realizes her stories of adventure and whim are not the only beauty that needs to be recorded for an audience, I’m reminded that life is not pretty sometimes. Reality is messy, life is sometimes devastating and vile, but it is living."
Review in Little Village
Review in The News Herald
"The latest iteration now at Dobama Theatre—Little Women as adapted by Heather Chrisler—lights up the stage with four characterizations of Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth that are so sharp you could use them to field dress a musk ox."
Review in Cleveland Scene
"By the end, when Jo draws up a trunk in the attic—the scene of so much joy despite economic deprivation in the early lives of the March sisters—and begins writing their story, it’s nearly impossible to keep tears from falling."
Review in The Chicago Reader
"This story, one that is familiar but presented in a fully new way... As Jo realizes her stories of adventure and whim are not the only beauty that needs to be recorded for an audience, I’m reminded that life is not pretty sometimes. Reality is messy, life is sometimes devastating and vile, but it is living."
Review in Little Village
