Theatre Department presents “Little Women”

KYLE SCHECK
PHOTOGRAPHER

ANDREW SECORD
STAFF WRITER

3/30/2026

The Alma College Theatre Department performed “Little Women,” based on the book by Lousia May Alcott and adapted by Kate Hamill, on March 20, 21, and 22. It is the final play that the Alma College Theatre Department put on with an academic department dedicated to theatre. 

It was announced that the Theatre Department would cease to exist early in the Fall Semester, which student actors said did influence how they approached this show.

“It’s impossible for me to ignore the fact that I am the lead in the final show that will ever happen in an academic capacity at Alma College… I think it makes me feel a greater sense of responsibility more than anything else,” said Allisaundra Snook (‘29), who played the lead, Jo March.

In choosing the show, Professor Kelli Crump and others talked about the divide they sometimes feel between Alma and the campus community, and they decided to choose a book that most people were familiar with: “Little Women,” by Lousia May Alcott. 

“I have been obsessed with “Little Women” since fifth grade,” said Mackenzie Bennetts (‘27), who played the oldest sister, Meg March.

The book focuses on the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy; their mother, Marmee; their Aunt March; their neighbor Laurie; his grandfather; and Laurie’s tutor, a man named Brooks. They are an American family living in the Union during the Civil War. 

While there have been many adaptations of “Little Women” in the past, Kate Hamill’s adaptation pays special attention to the feminist and queer themes within the work, shown especially in the characters of Jo and Laurie. Hamill’s stage adaptation features themes of growing up, learning what it meant to be a woman or man in this time, what it means to give things up in times of hardship, and learning to live with loss.

With regards to queer themes, both Jo and Laurie at points emphasize the disconnect they feel between who they are and the gender presentation they are expected to play, with Laurie expressing that he wishes he had been a girl so that he didn’t have to go to college and Jo expressing her desire to have the same access to society as any man.

As Jo March, the protagonist of the show, grows up, she clashes many times with her sisters over what it means to be a woman in that time. Jo is different from her sisters—she wants to become a published author, and wants to explore the world. 

“Because I [was] playing a character that [was] so close to playing myself…  I had to be really, really vulnerable,” said Snook.

Her sisters, on the other, are mostly content in their lives. Meg grows up and marries John Brooks, Laurie’s tutor, played by Tyler Horstman (‘26). Beth, played by Amelia Windeler (‘27) is content to stay at home and help Marmee, played by Kennedy Mullens (‘29). 

Amy, however, played by Sasha Buck (‘29), often clashes with Jo over many things, from going to Europe with Aunt March (played by Mullens (‘29)) to being courted by Laurie, played by Logan Mollitor (‘29).

The cast did an excellent job of portraying this classic story, even with the end of the academic side of the Theatre Department at Alma College.

“Get involved with anything and everything that you can,” said Ruth Losey (‘27), the stage manager, when I asked what her advice would be for students in the coming years. 

Next year’s show will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream, adapted by Christian Bowyer, Heritage Center Technical Director.