Little Women

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Little Women
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History of the Show BRDWY DEBUT January 23,
2005 BOOK BY Allan Knee MUSIC BY Jason
Howland LYRICS Mindi Dickstein NATIONAL TOUR
August 30, 2005 (30 cities in 49
weeks) ORIGINAL CAST Jo March SUTTON
FOSTER Marmee MAUREEN MCGOVERN Aunt March JANET
CARROLL Laurie DANNY GURWIN Prof. Bhaer JOHN
HICKOK Amy March AMY MCALEXANDER Beth March MEGAN
MCGINNIS Meg March JENNY POWERS
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Louisa May Alcott My book came out and people
began to think that topsy-turvy Louisa would
amount to something after all Louisa May
Alcott, 1855 BORN Nov. 29, 1932 Germantown,
PA DIED MARCH 6, 1888 Boston, MA BURIED Sleepy
Hallow Cemetery in Concord, MA PEN NAME A.M.
Barnard MAJOR WORKS Little Women, Good Wives,
Jos Boys, Little Men, Hospital Sketches,
numerous additional books, literary sketches, and
poetry
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Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in
Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were
enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson?s
library, excursions into nature with Henry David
Thoreau and theatricals in the barn at Hillside
(now Hawthorne?s "Wayside"). Like her character,
Jo March in Little Women, young Louisa was a
tomboy "No boy could be my friend till I had
beaten him in a race," she claimed, " and no
girl if she refused to climb trees, leap
fences.... For Louisa, writing was an early
passion. She had a rich imagination and often her
stories became melodramas that she and her
sisters would act out for friends. Louisa
preferred to play the "lurid" parts in these
plays, "the villains, ghosts, bandits, and
disdainful queens. Confronting a society that
offered little opportunity to women seeking
employment, Louisa determined "...I will make a
battering-ram of my head and make my way through
this rough and tumble world." Whether as a
teacher, seamstress, governess, or household
servant, for many years Louisa did any work she
could find. Louisa?s career as an author began
with poetry and short stories that appeared in
popular magazines. In 1854, when she was 22, her
first book Flower Fables was published. A
milestone along her literary path was Hospital
Sketches (1863) based on the letters she had
written home from her post as a nurse in
Washington, DC as a nurse during the Civil
War.When Louisa was 35 years old, her publisher
Thomas Niles in Boston asked her to write "a
book for girls." Little Women was written at
Orchard House from May to July 1868. The novel
is based on Louisa and her sisters coming of age
and is set in Civil War New England. Jo March
was the first American juvenile heroine to act
from her own individuality a living, breathing
person rather than the idealized stereotype then
prevalent in children?s fiction.In all, Louisa
published over 30 books and collections of
stories. She died on March 6, 1888, only two
days after her father, and is buried in Sleepy
Hollow Cemetery in Concord. http//www.louisamay
alcott.org/louisamaytext.html
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Orchard House
Alcott lived most of her life in the family home,
Orchard House which her family inhabited from
1858-1877. It is here that Alcott wrote Little
Women. The work is largely autobiographical,
centering around Jo, or Louisa May Alcott. The
house itself was built in the early 1700s and is
actually a combination of two houses. Louisas
father renovated the house when they moved there
and since then, the home has undergone very few
improvements. It is said that walking through the
house is like walking through the book! The name
Orchard House came from the then 12 acres of
apple orchards in the back yard.
http//www.louisamayalcott.org/alcottorchard.html
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Little Women The Book
Little Women was written in 1868 by Louisa May
Alcott at the family home, Orchard House, in
Concord, MA. It was published on September 20,
1868 and immediately sold 2,000 copies.
Originally titled Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, The
story itself is broken into two books, Little
Women and Good Wives. Little Women follows Meg,
Jo, Beth, and Amy in their early teens through
the end of the American Civil War. Good Wives
picks up four years later and follows the women
in their careers and marriages. Surely one of
the most popular books for young women during its
time, it has gone on to remain on of the most
beautiful portraits of coming of age in
literature in addition to being a prominent work
of early feminist literature.
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The Family Meg Anna Alcott Pratt Jo Louisa May
Alcott Beth Elizabeth Sewall Alcott Amy May
Alcott Nieriker Marmee Abigail May
Alcott Father Amos Bronson Alcott Most of
Alcotts characters were taken directly from her
own life. http//www.louisamayalcott.org/alcottor
chard.html
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Concord, Massachusetts
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History of the City of Concord
Concord, founded is 1635 is one of the oldest
cities in America. The birthplace of the American
Revolution, home to the lantern of Paul Revere
(one, if by land and two, if by sea), Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow, and Walden Pond this city remains
a center of American history and culture.
http//www.concordma.com/history.html
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Walden Pond
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I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the
journey-work of the stars. Walt Whitman
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The American Civil War (1861-1865) Civil War
In U.S. history, the conflict (1861-65) between
the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern
states that seceded from the Union and formed
the Confederacy. It is generally known in the
South as the War between the States and is also
called the War of the Rebellion (the official
Union designation), the War of Secession, and
the War for Southern Independence. The name Civil
War, although much criticized as inexact, is most
widely accepted. The name Civil War is misleading
because the war was not a class struggle, but a
sectional combat having its roots in political,
economic, social, and psychological elements so
complex that historians still do not agree on
its basic causes. It has been characterized, in
the words of William H. Seward, as the
?irrepressible conflict.? In another judgment the
Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an
unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant
extremists and blundering politicians. Both views
accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a
situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to
be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.
www.us-civilwar.com
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TIMELINE November 6, 1860 - Abraham Lincoln, who
had declared "Government cannot endure
permanently half slave, half free..." is elected
president, the first Republican, receiving 180 of
303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of
the popular vote. Dec 20, 1860 - South Carolina
secedes from the Union. Followed within two
months by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana and Texas. Feb 9, 1861 - The
Confederate States of America is formed with
Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former
U.S. Army officer, as president. March 4, 1861 -
Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of
the United States of America. April 12, 1861 -
At 430 a.m. Confederates under Gen. Pierre
Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort
Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil
War begins. April 17, 1861 - Virginia secedes
from the Union, followed within five weeks by
Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, thus
forming an eleven state Confederacy with a
population of 9 million, including nearly 4
million slaves. The Union will soon have 21
states and a population of over 20 million. April
20, 1861 - Robert E. Lee resigns his commission
in the United States Army. "I cannot raise my
hand against my birthplace, my home, my
children." Lee then goes to Richmond, Virginia,
is offered command of the military and naval
forces of Virginia, and accepts. July 4, 1861 -
Lincoln, in a speech to Congress, states the war
is..."a People's contest...a struggle for
maintaining in the world, that form, and
substance of government, whose leading object is,
to elevate the condition of men..." The Congress
authorizes a call for 500,000 men. July 21, 1861
- The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell
suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest
of Washington. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson
earns the nickname "Stonewall," as his brigade
resists Union attacks. Union troops fall back to
Washington. President Lincoln realizes the war
will be long. "It's damned bad," he comments.
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TIMELINE cont. Jan 31, 1862 - President Lincoln
issues General War Order No. 1 calling for all
United States naval and land forces to begin a
general advance by Feb 22, George Washington's
birthday. In March - The Peninsular Campaign
begins as McClellan's Army of the Potomac
advances from Washington down the Potomac River
and the Chesapeake Bay to the peninsular south of
the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia
then begins an advance toward Richmond.President
Lincoln temporarily relieves McClellan as
general-in-chief and takes direct command of the
Union Armies. April 6/7, 1862 - Confederate
surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's
unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee
River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000
Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates,
more men than in all previous American wars
combined. The president is then pressured to
relieve Grant but resists. "I can't spare this
man he fights," Lincoln says. Aug 29/30, 1862 -
75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated
by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall
Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second
battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. Once
again the Union Army retreats to Washington. The
president then relieves Pope. Sept 17, 1862 - The
bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen.
Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are
stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and
numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall
26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee
then withdraws to Virginia. Sept 22, 1862 -
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing
slaves issued by President Lincoln. Jan 1, 1863 -
President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation
Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories
held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting
of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to
preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary
struggle for the abolition of slavery.
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TIMELINE cont. May 1-4, 1863 - The Union Army
under Gen. Hooker is decisively defeated by Lee's
much smaller forces at the Battle of
Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's
brilliant and daring tactics. Confederate Gen.
Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded by his own
soldiers. Hooker retreats. Union losses are
17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of
130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of
60,000. June 28, 1863 - President Lincoln
appoints Gen. George G. Meade as commander of the
Army of the Potomac, replacing Hooker. Meade is
the 5th man to command the Army in less than a
year. July 1-3, 1863 - The tide of war turns
against the South as the Confederates are
defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in
Pennsylvania. July 4, 1863 - Vicksburg, the last
Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River,
surrenders to Gen. Grant and the Army of the West
after a six week siege. With the Union now in
control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is
effectively split in two, cut off from its
western allies. July 13-16, 1863 - Antidraft
riots in New York City include arson and the
murder of blacks by poor immigrant whites. At
least 120 persons, including children, are killed
and 2 million in damage caused, until Union
soldiers returning from Gettysburg restore
order. June 3, 1864 - A costly mistake by Grant
results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty
minutes during an offensive against fortified
Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia.Many of the
Union soldiers in the failed assault had
predicted the outcome, including a dead soldier
from Massachusetts whose last entry in his diary
was, "June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, Virginia. I was
killed. Nov 8, 1864 - Abraham Lincoln is
re-elected president, defeating Democrat George
B. McClellan. Lincoln carries all but three
states with 55 percent of the popular vote and
212 of 233 electoral votes. "I earnestly believe
that the consequences of this day's work will be
to the lasting advantage, if not the very
salvation, of the country," Lincoln tells
supporters. Dec 21, 1864 - Sherman reaches
Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile
long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the
way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs
Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas
present.
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Timeline cont. Jan 31, 1865 - The U.S. Congress
approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The
amendment is then submitted to the states for
ratification. April 2, 1865 - Grant's forces
begin a general advance and break through Lee's
lines at Petersburg. Confederate Gen. Ambrose P.
Hill is killed. Lee evacuates Petersburg. The
Confederate Capital, Richmond, is evacuated.
Fires and looting break out. The next day, Union
troops enter and raise the Stars and
Stripes. April 9, 1865 - Gen. Robert E. Lee
surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses
S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House
in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep
their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep
horses and mules. April 14, 1865 - The Stars and
Stripes is ceremoniously raised over Fort Sumter.
That night, Lincoln and his wife Mary see the
play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At
1013 p.m., during the third act of the play,
John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the
head. Doctors attend to the president in the
theater then move him to a house across the
street. He never regains consciousness. April 15,
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln dies at 722 in
the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson
assumes the presidency. In May - Remaining
Confederate forces surrender. The Nation is
reunited as the Civil War ends. Over 620,000
Americans died in the war, with disease killing
twice as many as those lost in battle. 50,000
survivors return home as amputees. Dec 6, 1865 -
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31,
1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is
abolished FOR A MORE DETAILED TIME LINE PLEASE
VISIT http//www.historyplace.com/civilwar/getty
s
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Film Resources for the Actor Little Women (1994,
Winona Ryder) Little Women (1949, Elizabeth
Taylor) Little Women (1933, Katherine
Hepburn) Wuthering Heights (1939,Laurence
Oliver) Wuthering Heights (1992, Ralph
Fiennes) Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959-1964)
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Boarding House Life Boarding Houses were evidence
of an urban turn in the mind of the nation. No
longer was America merely a farming nation with a
few smattering of large cities. Now people
flocked to the metropolises in search of the
American Dream. And money. Boarding houses were,
generally, a cheaper way to move to a big city
and ensure some level of safety. Most provided
lodging, food, company, some laundry, and
information about the city. People could afford
to live in the middle of a booming city with this
method. Boarding Houses still exist today in
varying degrees in many major cities but mostly
they are aimed at students in the form of
hostels. However, the principal remains the same.
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The Romantic Movement Romantic literature and
poetry was a movement that came straight out of
the Enlightenment. (Arcadia is an excellent
example of the Romantic sensibility and the
dichotomy between the two movements.) As for
transcendentalism, it is what it says you
transcend, the idea of self-improvement and the
betterment of yourself through in a highly
idealistic manner. The movement itself sprung up
in response to slavery in America but this
movement happened generally over in Europe as
well.
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Romanticism was a movement that happened in all
forms of art. Music also became highly
romanticized (Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and
Hayden are all considered musicians with a
romantic flair), which may explain some of the
musical choices made in this show. All of these
authors would have been readily available to Jo
(with the exception of maybe Dickinson) and as
her parents were supportive of her reading and
education it would have been fairly easy to get
caught up in the highly Romantic style of
language. Additionally, they were not considered
the classics as we would think of them today.
Their poetry was like Harry Potter. Everyone read
it, or if not, they had heard about it.
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Romantic Painters In addition to their literary
companions, the painters of the Romantic age
strove to highlight the importance of the
individual and the individual imagination and
emotion. There was a strong emphasis to reconnect
man with nature, which most of the paintings from
this time depict. A few famous Romantic painters
include Caspar David Friedrich, Francisco Goya y
Lucientes, Jacques-Louis David, and John James
Audubon.
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A Victorian Christmas For thousands of
years people around the world have enjoyed
midwinter festivals. With the arrival of
Christianity, pagan festivals became mixed with
Christmas celebrations. One of the leftovers
from these pagan days is the custom of bedecking
houses and churches with evergreen plants like
mistletoe, holly and ivy. Apparently, as well as
their magical connection in protecting us from
evil spirits, they  also encourage the return of
spring.  No era in history however, has
influenced the way in which we celebrate
Christmas, quite as much as the Victorians.
Before Victoria's reign started in 1837 nobody
in Britain had heard of Santa Claus or Christmas
Crackers. No Christmas cards were sent and most
people did not have holidays from work. The
wealth and technologies generated by the
industrial revolution of the Victorian era
changed the face of Christmas forever.
Sentimental do-gooders like Charles Dickens wrote
books like "Christmas Carol", published in 1843,
which actually encouraged rich Victorian's to
redistribute their wealth by giving money and
gifts to the poor - Humbug! These radical middle
class ideals eventually spread to the
not-quite-so-poor as well. http//www.historic-u
k.com/HistoryUK/England-History/VictorianChristmas
.htm
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Soldiers Aid Society During the American Civil
War, the Soldiers' Aid Society was a private
organization providing Northern soldiers with the
supplies they needed to carry on the war. Many
large communities had a Soldiers' Aid Society.
Women in Cleveland, Ohio, established the first
such organization in the nation on April 20,
1861. The Cleveland organization was known as the
"Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio." Rebecca
Elliott Cromwell Rouse served as the group's
first president. The organization provided the
thousands of men who enlisted in the Union Army
from northern Ohio with blankets and clothing.
Other Soldiers' Aid Societies quickly formed in
Cincinnati and Columbus as well as in smaller
communities across the state. Women founded the
Cleveland chapter, while men established the
Columbus and Cincinnati groups. Women played a
major role in these two other cities as well.
Some of these organizations existed for the
entire duration of the war. Other societies,
including the one in Cleveland, became part of
the United States Sanitary Commission. http//www
.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec984
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Victorian Balls
Victorian Balls
http//www.burrows.com/other/manners.html
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Name Meanings Josephine feminine form of Joseph
meaning he will add Margaret Pearl Elizabeth
my God is an oath Amy beloved Theodore gift
from God John God is gracious Fredrick
peaceful ruler Clarissa clear, bright,
famous Rodrigo famous power