Students are preparing for this semester’s Spotlight musical, which presents themes of familial support and independence in a scaled-back, intimate fashion.
Little Women performs Friday through Sunday in Burg Theater in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. The show features minimal set and costumes. Though there is lighting design, the actors work with only rehearsal blocks and source costumes themselves like every Spotlight musical.
“The story will be more powerful without all the frills of a normal mainstage production,” said Melissa Campbell, music theater junior playing “Jo March.”
Based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel, the musical Little Women follows the March family, focusing on sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The lack of a leading male figure highlights the power of women, Campbell said.
“It is a unique show because of the amount of women that are featured in it. So often we choose shows—and there are so many shows in existence—that are male-heavy, and this show is not, for once,” she said.
Shannon Calkins, music theater junior, also playing “Jo March,” said the women at the center of the show represent different ideals when it comes to conforming to society, but Jo in particular desires to be her own powerful self.
“She has such strong concepts of what she wants to be,” Calkins said. “And, of course, that changes over the course of the show, but the one thing that remains consistent is that she always has what she calls ‘fire’ in her.”
Lyndsey Boyer, music theater graduate and one of the women playing “Meg March,” said Little Women depicts sorrows of the March family as well as the joys, and how the characters support one another through them.
“It shows the struggles of the family,” she said. “There’s some fights between sisters that happen, and then it also shows the resolution and how, even going through struggles, the most important thing is that you’re always there for each other and that you always will be no matter what.”
To better understand the March family’s perspective and relationships, the cast explored transcendentalism, a philosophy among 19th century writers, Boyer said. Transcendentalists consider all life sacred, she said, which leads to a desire for peace.
“Transcendentalists believe that there is a divine spark in every living thing, so there shouldn’t be war. There shouldn’t be violence or killing or that sort of thing because everything has that divine spark, that aspect of God in it,” Boyer said.
Karen Miller, director of Little Women and assistant director of opera and music theater, said transcendentalists value equality, an ideal that influenced the original author.
“How can you see a woman as less than? How can you see an African-American slave as less than, if you believe that there’s a divine spark in all things?” Miller said. “Mistreatment then becomes something of the unthinkable.”
Campbell said she encourages students to see the show because of its focus on women and because of the cast’s talent.
“It’s important for audiences to hear and see what women can offer in a public way,” Campbell said. “Also, the talent in this cast is just off the charts, so if you just want to hear some really good singing, you’ll get that too.”
Tickets are available at the Performing Arts Ticket Office in Edith Kinney Gaylord Center or at okcu.edu/tickets.
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