Virginia Theatre Festival to Present Little Women
Kate Hamill’s Fresh Adaptation of Timeless Classic to Open 2022 Season On July 15 in the Ruth Caplin Theatre
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – June 30, 2022 – The Virginia Theatre Festival will open its 2022 season with Kate Hamill’s fresh and innovative adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. The production, directed by Aubrey Snowden, will open on July 15 in the Ruth Caplin Theatre.
The Virginia Theatre Festival is a program of the University of Virginia and is supported by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, UVA Department of Drama, and UVA Arts.
Acclaimed playwright Kate Hamill infuses this classic story with a contemporary air and takes Louisa May Alcott’s themes in brand new directions. Hamill has earned wide praise for adaptations of classics including Emma, Vanity Fair, and Pride and Prejudice, which was featured in the 2019 Heritage Theatre Festival season. Her unique ability to retain the core elements of the characters and the stories that have made these works so iconic, while infusing them with a modern sensibility that makes the characters even more relatable to today’s audiences, is on full display in Little Women. Hamill’s adaptation deeply explores the family dynamics and interactions that are at the heart of Alcott’s story while in many ways building her story around the lives and struggles of one of the story’s most unforgettable characters.
“Jo March was a person ahead of her time,” Hamill said. “I really wanted to depict the fight to forge a path when no role models stand before you. In some ways, this is a memory play – it is about the potential and the risk of growth, and the struggle to both stay true to and believe in yourself when the world would rather stick you in a teeny tiny box.”
“We are beyond thrilled to open our doors once again and reconnect with our audience after two very long summers,” said Virginia Theatre Festival Artistic Director Jenny Wales. “And to be able to share a story that has engaged and connected families for more than a century is especially meaningful. We cannot wait for our audiences to experience the extraordinary work of our director Aubrey Snowden, our talented cast, the highly creative design and production team, and all who work so hard behind the scenes to make VTF happen.”
It is a tribute to both Hamill’s vision and creativity and to Louisa May Alcott’s own ahead-of-her-time understanding of young women and the roles they play in society, that Hamill’s Little Women resonates with all generations today. And to Snowden, it comes down to the notion of family. “This play allows us to see a coming of age from so many different levels,” she said. “The bond of sisterhood and family is universal and timeless, and the story of the March sisters is going to resonate with all of us who are bound by the common threads of family. This story really pulls at your heartstrings as we get to see what these young women must face growing up.”
Snowden continued, “I think our audience can expect to lose themselves for some time in the theatre, and to forget about their day-to-day lives and live with the March family and understand what they are going through and what is truly at stake for these little women. I want to make sure that the audience understands what it is to tell your own story and what an act of bravery that is.”
Performance for Little Women will run from Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 31, with a Preview performance on Thursday, July 14. Evening performances will start at 7:30 PM, and matinees will begin at 2:00 PM. Four socially distanced performances will also be offered on July 17, July 19, July 24, and July 26, offering socially distanced seating, spacing pairs of available seats throughout the theatre with unavailable seats separating the pairs.
Tickets for Little Women start at $15.00 and are available at the UVA Arts Box Office in the UVA Drama Building on Culbreth Road, online at virginiatheatrefestival.org, or by phone at 434-924-3376.. Hours of operation are Monday - Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM through July 9; Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM from July 12 through August 7; and one hour prior to each performance. Free parking VTF performances is available at the Culbreth Road Parking Garage, conveniently located alongside the theaters.
Please note that the play contains potentially distressing topics. For detailed information, please read our content advisory here: virginiatheatrefestival.org/contentadvisory/.
The Virginia Theatre Festival will continue its 2022 season with No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone, an unforgettable one-woman show featuring Yolanda Rabun as one of the greatest musical and cultural icons of the 20th Century. No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone will open on August 3 and rum through August 7 at Culbreth Theatre.
For more information on the Virginia Theatre Festival’s 2022 season, visit virginiatheatrefestival.org.
Virginia Theatre Festival (VTF)
Each year, the Virginia Theatre Festival hosts leading directors, designers, technicians, and actors to form a company and produce a season of musicals and plays.