Little Women

C+

Keeping up with Kate Hamill’s recreations of classic novels has been a case of diminishing returns. Her take on Sense & Sensibility with Bedlam was sheer joy and set the bar very high. I missed Vanity Fair but was disappointed in Pride and Prejudice for lacking the inventiveness of her earlier Austen adaptation. For me, this reworking of Alcott, in a Primary Stages production at the Cherry Lane Theatre, is another downward step. Hamill’s version is almost bipolar, with a first act that is basically faithful to Alcott but a second act that is more Hamill than Alcott. She significantly alters the character and fate of Jo, omits a key character, manages to make Amy completely unsympathetic and drops an interesting thread relating to Laurie’s sexuality. On the plus side, the play provides meaty roles for two exciting young actors — Kristolyn Lloyd (Blue Ridge) as Jo and Nate Mann (fresh out of Juilliard) as Laurie. Her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy are played respectively by Hamill, Paola Sanchez Abreu (The Wolves) and Carmen Zilles (Small Mouth Sounds). Hamill’s Meg was disappointing, Abreu’s Beth was serviceable and Zilles’s Amy was relentlessly annoying. Michael Crane (Gloria) is fine as Brooks and Dashwood but inspired as a parrot (more about that later). John Lenartz (Inherit the Wind), who also plays Mr. Laurence, and Maria Elena Ramirez (Fish in the Dark), who also plays Aunt March, are solid as the girls’ parents and Ellen Harvey (Present Laughter) is fine as Hannah and Mrs. Mingott. Except for the fact that Jo is dressed in men’s clothes from the beginning, the first act stays fairly close to the book. It is wildly uneven, with scenes ranging from touching to leaden. I doubt there were many dry eyes in the house when the March family is reunited at Christmas. After intermission, things go seriously astray. A scene for Aunt March, Jo and Amy includes the parrot, which is good for a few laughs, but seems completely incongruous with everything else. Amy’s act of spite against Jo, invented by Hamill, was hard to believe. As in the book, I found it difficult to grasp how someone attracted to Jo could also be attracted to Amy. The extra burden of feminism placed on Jo essentially changes Alcott’s message. The two-level set by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams fills in the framework of the March home with a minimum of furnishings. Valerie Therese Bart’s period costumes are fine. Sarna Lapine’s (Sunday in the Park with George) direction occasionally lets scenes lag. If you love Alcott’s novel, you will probably enjoy the first act. If you are expecting an experience as bracing as one of Hamill’s Austen adaptations, you will probably be disappointed. Running time: two hours five minutes, including intermission.