Quintessence Theatre Group Announces LITTLE WOMEN Casting Change →

Quintessence Theatre Group, Philadelphia's professional classic repertory theatre, announces a casting change in their current production of Little Women: The Broadway Musical, running now through January 2, 2022. Jordan Dobson, who was cast as Laurie, departed the production after Sunday's performance due to being called into a Broadway production. South Philadelphia based actor Will Stephan Connell is replacing him.

Connell begins performances Thursday, December 9. Following a quick rehearsal process he steps into this role after previously playing Laurie in the Eagle Theater's production of Little Women in 2018. Connell had auditioned for Quintessence's production, and was recommended for the role by Dobson, who announced his departure to the company last week.

"While the entire company of Little Women is sad to see Jordan go, Broadway calls, and we are excited to cheer him on and watch as this next chapter of his career unfolds," said QTG Artistic Director Alexander Burns. "It is our good fortune to have someone as talented and ideal for the role of Laurie as Will Stephen Connell to step in. Will had wowed director Hassan Al Rawas when he originally auditioned for the production, and we were grateful that he was able and willing to join us with such short notice. With his soaring voice and puckish charm, Will Stephen Connell's Laurie is a joy to behold."

With a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland, Little Women: The Broadway Musical, based on the beloved novel, accompanies sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy on their journey of self-discovery. Jo, nineteen and attempting to launch a writing career, weaves magical scenes with her stories, full of twists and turns, heroes and villains. After being rejected by yet another publisher, she is challenged to write about her own life experiences, and memories of playing pretend with her sisters at Christmas come alive. We follow the March sisters as they grow from girls into young women, each determined to live life on her own terms but always bonded by family. In revisiting their moments of love, loss, and strength in the face of want, Jo discovers what her story was all along. Inspired by the real-life escapades of author Louisa May Alcott, the timeless coming-of-age story is invigorated with song and movement to inspire the imaginations of audience members of all ages. Little Women is a favorite of generations, perfect for this holiday season.

The show stars Marielle Issa as Jo, Caitlin Ort as Meg, Cara Dipietro as Amy and Paola Morales as Beth. Donnie Hammond (King Lear) returns to Quintessence to play Marmee, with Eleni Delopoulos (Oliver!) as Aunt March and Wilma HotHouse ensemble member Jered McLenigan (The Wizard of Oz, One Man Two Guvnors) as Professor Bhaer. The cast rounds out with Philadelphia legend Frank X (Waiting for Godot, The Seven Deadly Sins) as Mr. Laurence, and Quintessence favorite Lee Cortopassi (The Skin of Our Teeth, King Lear, Awake and Sing!, Frankenstein, My Fair Lady, Love's Labor's Love) as Mr. Brooke.

The musical is directed by Hassan Al Rawas, with musical direction by Chris Ertelt. It features choreography by Adrienne Maitland and Devon Sinclair, scenic design by Myra G. Reavis, costumes by Lisa Jane Casanave, lighting design by Anthony Forchielli and music direction by Christopher Ertelt.

"It's been an absolute whirlwind and joy jumping into Little Women," said Connell. "I love singing this score and playing this role, it feels shockingly similar to my own personality...so it's definitely a thrill diving into Quintessence's wonderful production - Even with two days' rehearsal! In my opinion, Hassan and the rest of the team have made this show exactly what it should be: intimate, emotional, heartwarming, and charming. The natural and smart staging has made it as easy as possible to return to the role, much of which has somehow managed to survive in the recesses of my freakishly retentive memory. And this cast and crew are as kind as they are talented, which is really saying something. They have shown such genuine support and encouragement from the first moment I stepped into the room. Joining their ranks feels almost seamless...my only regret about the show is not getting to be in it with Jordan! He's such a great talent, a real class act. it's an honor getting to fill his shoes in this role that he performed so beautifully while he pursues fantastic and well-deserved opportunities of his own. I can't wait to get into this run and join this family over the next few weeks!"

Will Stephan Connell: Will could not be more excited to join this phenomenal team and return to this beloved story after playing Laurie at the Eagle Theatre in 2018. A University of Pennsylvania alum and Philadelphia resident, he has appeared on stages throughout the Philadelphia area, including the Walnut Street Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Fulton Theatre, 11th Hour Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and more. Select credits include Jack (Into the Woods), Harry Houdini (Ragtime), John Hinckley (Assassins), and Bobby C (Saturday Night Fever). A deeply heartfelt thank you to Alex, Hassan, Maggie, Chris, and this outrageously supportive cast and crew. Up next: Chip Tolentino in 25th Annual...Spelling Bee at the Fulton. www.willsconnell.com

Visit www.QTGrep.org or call 215.987.4450 to purchase tickets to Little Women. Performances will run December 1, 2021 - January 2, 2022.

Quintessence puts on a rousing revival of 'Little Women' →

Just in time for the holidays, Quintessence Theatre reopened with a rousing revival of "Little Women The Broadway Musical" (2004) with a book by Allan Knee, based on the semi-autobiographical novel of Louisa May Alcott. For over two hours, this high-energy show never lets you rest. 

In its 20 plus songs, the lyrics of Mindi Dickstein stay true to the characters without getting bogged down in pretentious language or excessive rhyme.  Thus, the music of Jason Howland has room to breathe and players are invited to act out their songs. The score is still another example of the seminal influence the late Steven Sondheim had on Broadway..

Marielle Issa, a New York City based actor and graduate of Northwestern University shines in the key role of Jo. Her signature song "The Fire Within Me" lays bare Jo's struggle to mature as a woman and a writer. Without hamming it up, Issa honors the many moods of rebellious Jo.

The authenticity of Issa's Jo is so pervasive it seems to spill over into other characters. Cara Dipietro (Amy), Paola Morales (Beth) and  Caitlin Ort (Meg) play Jo's sisters. They are all distinctive stage presences.  

Kudos to Eleni Delopoulos; the three-time Barrymore nominee keeps you laughing all night as the cantankerous Aunt March. Veteran actor Frank X is equally notable as cranky Mr. Laurence, at first a comic presence, then dignified and ceremonially serious. 

Completing the cast are Donnie Hammond (Marmee), Jordan Dobson (Laurie), Lee Thomas Cortopassi (Mr. Brooke) and Jered Mclenigan (Professor Bhaer). Everyone picks up on the score's invitation to act out their songs. Two good examples were Hammond's rendition of "Here Alone" and Mclenigan's moving sense of isolation in "How I Am". 

There have been numerous film and theater versions of "Little Women" over the years with a necessary focus on the big dramatic moments that play on stage.  But staged translations of Alcott's novel stumble when it comes to the untimely death of young Beth. 

Alcott's own young sister died from scarlet fever. It devastated her family, and Alcott turns the painful event into a compelling story.  But theater cannot reproduce the novel's nuanced detail. On stage, the death of Beth feels like the worn, romantic trope of the sensitive, too-good-for-this-world young person. 

It is a problem here, too, but the surrounding production under Director Hassan Al Rawas overwhelms the melodrama. His choreography (Devon Sinclair/Adrienne Maitland) and costume design (Jane Casanave) is inventive --- especially when Jo stages her "blood and guts" opera story. And the five piece band under Conductor Tom Fosnocht, with orchestration by Spicer Carr, is so dynamically present that, at times, it feels like a Greek Chorus.

Quintessence theater itself becomes a player. Its cozy ambiance is perfect for the many domestic scenes. In the end, you truly believe the sisters deeply love one another --- the perfect gift to put under your Xmas tree. 

Quintessence is located at 7137 Germantown Ave.  "Little Women The Broadway Musical" will run through Jan 2. Tickets available at 215-987-4450 or quintessencetheatre.org

‘Little Women’ marks Mount Airy theater group’s first in-person show since the start of the pandemic →

The emotional warmth was palpable Saturday night as Mount Airy’s Quintessence Theatre Group opened its first in-person show since the pandemic’s start. And some of it even emanated from Little Women: The Broadway Musical, adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s 19th-century novel.

The evening’s most powerful moment may have been artistic director Alexander Burns’ heartfelt welcome, met by applause, stamping feet, and cries of, “We’re back!” But the lovingly rendered production, directed by Hassan Al Rawas and anchored by Marielle Issa as Jo March, added to the bonhomie.

With a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and music by Jason Howland, Little Women is competently enough crafted to have reached Broadway. But even with Tony Award winner Sutton Foster in the lead role, it earned lukewarm reviews, lasted only four months after its January 2005 opening, and failed to produce any breakout songs.

The Quintessence staging, at about two hours and 40 minutes, will seem overlong to non-acolytes of the source material. Like the semi-autobiographical classic by the Germantown-born Alcott, this Civil War-era musical chronicles the quotidian highs and lows (and one full-on tragedy) of the financially stressed but loving March family: four sisters, a too-good-to-be-true mother, and an absent father.

In common with Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film, this Little Women is framed as Jo’s literary coming-of-age story. The action begins in a New York City boardinghouse, where she is struggling to sell her melodramatic “blood-and-guts” tales and developing a contrarian romance with the considerably older Professor Bhaer.

The musical offers somewhat superfluous reenactments of those tales, featuring Lisa Jane Casanave’s fantastical costumes. But most of the story takes place in Concord, Mass., where the focus is on familial bonds, complicated by sibling rivalry and loss.

The youngest March sister, Amy (an overly shrill Cara DiPietro), envies Jo and acts out in unpleasant ways, while Jo obsesses over her literary ambitions, Meg (Caitlin Ort) embraces romance, and Beth (Paola Morales) charms even a dour neighbor, Mr. Laurence (Philly favorite Frank X).

Perhaps to temper the show’s sentimentality, Al Rawas chooses to emphasize its humorous moments, epitomized by the etiquette-obsessed Aunt March (played with impeccable comic timing by Eleni Delopoulos) and the appealingly awkward Bhaer (a charismatic Jered McLenigan).

The comedy unfortunately veers toward the clownish in the case of Jo’s romantically charged friendship with Laurie (Jordan Dobson). Dobson, who understudied Tony in Broadway’s 2020 West Side Story revival, excels as a dancer, but, in an underwritten part, he never works up much chemistry with Issa’s Jo.

The score references Broadway balladry, operetta, and period dances, realized by choreographers Adrienne Maitland and Devon Sinclair on Quintessence’s small thrust stage. Dickstein’s mostly mundane lyrics often spin variations on single word: “Better” is Jo’s exasperated response to Professor Bhaer’s advice, “Delighted” is the prologue to a ball, and “Astonishing” is Jo’s anthem of passion and persistence.

Under Christopher P. Ertel’s music direction, the cast’s unamplified voices, while sweet, are sometimes overpowered by the five-piece band. The show is beautifully lit by Anthony Forchielli against the backdrop of Myra G. Reavis’ simple set, featuring bookcases decorated with statuettes and other knickknacks.

For all her obstinacy, Jo March, in Issa’s winning portrayal, seems more admirable than exasperating — a woman (unlike Alcott, who never married) who will end up having, and deserving, it all. This production’s gorgeous final image departs from the stage directions, turning the focus away from romance and toward the literary achievement that presumably matters more.

“Little Women: The Broadway Musical,” Presented by Quintessence Theatre Group at the Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., through Dec. 31. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test required, plus IDs and masks. Tickets: $35-$65, with discounts and upgrades available. Information: QTGrep.org, 215-987-4450.