CITY THEATRE PRESENTS THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED WORLD PREMIERE, LOUISA MAY ALCOTT’S LITTLE WOMEN BY LAUREN GUNDERSON

Ticket sales are already brisk for City Theatre’s second production of its 2025/2026 season, the Rolling World Premiere of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Kaja Dunn.

“Lauren’s version of the play highlights the revolutionary and dynamic insistence of these women to live life on their own terms, in the midst of a fractured nation, all while reminding us of the love stories we share with friends, siblings, and partners,” said Kaja Dunn who is making her City Theatre directorial debut. “I’m so excited to finally be able to work in my home city with such an incredible team of actors and designers.”

City Theatre co-commissioned Gunderson to write this new take on a beloved classic in collaboration with Northlight Theatre (Skokie, IL), People’s Light (Malvern, PA), and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley (Palo Alto, CA), an example of how regional nonprofit producers continue to adapt to post-pandemic financial realities while exploring new partnerships that allow for the continued investment in the commissioning of new work for the stage. All four theaters have a history of producing plays by Ms. Gunderson. City Theatre previously produced three Gunderson plays including The Revolutionists (2018), two of the Christmas at Pemberley series plays (2023, 2024), and the streamed production of The Catastrophists during the pandemic.

“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Lauren’s adaptation of this beloved classic to the Southside this holiday season,” shared Artistic Director Clare Drobot. “Under the vision of Director Kaja Dunn, the production features a wonderful cast and creative team, including many familiar Pittsburgh-based artists who will bring this timeless story to life with wonder and heart.”

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women explores the parallel lives of the author’s family and the iconic March sisters – Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy -- in a heartwarming coming of age tale of empowerment, family, resilience – and the creation of an American literary masterpiece, with Alcott herself center stage.

The cast includes Annalisa D’Aguilar, Zanny Laird, Alex Manalo, Nancy McNulty, Nell Murphy, Brenden Peifer, and Juan Rivera Lebron. The creative team includes: scenic design by Anne Mundell, costume design by Hugh Hanson, lighting design by Latrice Lovett, sound design and original composition by Pan-Pan Gou, dramaturgy by Kristi Good. The production is stage managed by Taylor Meszaros.

City Theatre is partnering with a number of community organizations in conjunction with the production including Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh—South Side, Chatham University’s Women’s Institute, Community Human Services in which we will be supporting their collection drive for the second year in a row, Country Dance and Song Society in which they will be performing at our Greenroom Art & Afterparty event for the third year in a row, Literary Pittsburgh, and Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

In addition, City Theatre will be partnering with the Carnegie Mellon University Center for New Work Development to bring Lauren Gunderson to Pittsburgh. Her residency will include a public conversation event hosted by Artistic Director Clare Drobot on Saturday, November 8th at 1:00pm. Pay-What-You-Want tickets are available CityTheatreCompany.org/Calendar.

ABOUT LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITTLE WOMEN

by Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Kaja Dunn

November 15 – December 7, 2025

A Rolling World Premiere

From the playwright of The Revolutionists and the Christmas at Pemberley series comes the world premiere of a new adaptation of a beloved classic. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women explores the parallel lives of the author’s family and the iconic March sisters – Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy -- in a heartwarming coming of age tale of empowerment, family, resilience – and the creation of an American literary masterpiece, with Alcott herself center stage.

Co-commissioned and originally produced by City Theatre; Northlight Theatre, Chicago, IL; People’s Light, Malvern, PA; and TheatreWorks, Palo Alto, CA.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

November 15 – December 7, 2025

Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and/or 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. and/or 5:30 p.m.

Sundays at 2:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will be no performance on Thursday, November 27th. A Tuesday evening performance on November 25th has been added.

For a complete listing of show times, please visit CityTheatreCompany.org or call 412-431-2489 (CITY).

OPENING NIGHT

Friday, November 21, at 7:30 p.m.

SPECIAL EVENTS AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES:

Saturday, November 8 – 1:00pm | Public Conversation with Lauren Gunderson

Saturday, November 15 – 5:30pm | RAD Pay-What-You-Want

Sunday, November 16 – 7:30pm | RAD Pay-What-You-Want

Thursday, November 20 – 7:30pm | City Connects Night

Friday, November 21 – 7:30pm | Opening Night

Sunday, November 23 – 2:00pm | Post-Show Talkback

Friday, November 29 – 1:00pm | RAD Pay-What-You-Want

Saturday, November 29 – 5:30pm | ASL and Open Caption

Sunday, November 30 – 2:00pm | Audio Description and Post Show Talkback

Wednesday, December 3 – 1:00pm | Open Caption

Sunday, December 7 – 2:00pm | Open Caption

 

BOX OFFICE INFORMATION:

412.431.CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org

Discounts for special performances and groups can be found at CityTheatreCompany.org/promotions.

City Theatre is proud to partner with the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD) on RAD Pass, a County-wide initiative that allows free access to events and performances year-round. Tickets will be available to most performances of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women by visiting RADPASS.org (tickets not yet available).

WHERE:

City Theatre Main Stage

1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 (South Side)

Port Authority bus routes: 48, 51, 54, 81, 83

PARKING:

Patron parking is available in the lot across from the City Theatre entrance (1317 Bingham Street) for $10, subject to availability.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

 Lauren Gunderson (Playwright) is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s Residency with Marin Theatre Company. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. She is the author of Broadway bound play BILLIE JEAN, about tennis icon Billie Jean King.  Her play The Catastrophist, about her husband virologist Nathan Wolfe, premiered digitally in January 2021. She co-authored the Miss Bennet plays with Margot Melcon, and The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered off-Broadway and at Audible.com. Her work is published at Playscripts (I and You; Exit Pursued By A Bear; The Taming and Toil And Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (The Revolutionists; The Book of Will; Silent Sky; Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams and Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie). Her picture book Dr Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is the book writer for musicals with Ari Afsar (We Won’t Sleep), Dave Stewart and Joss Stone (The Time Traveller’s Wife), Joriah Kwamé (Sinister), Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk (Justice and Earthrise), and K.ira Stone (Built for This). She is a board member of The Playwrights Foundation

 Kaja Dunn (Director) is an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University Purnell School of Drama. An intimacy professional, diversity consultant, and associate faculty at Theatrical Intimacy Education. Kaja is a member of SAG-AFTRA, director, and activist with performances in over 40 productions in 5 countries .Directing Work Includes: Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Cincinnati Shakespeare: A Room in the Castle (world premier), Cape Fear Regional Theatre: No Child, California Center for The Arts: Hairalouges, Playwrights Project, Old Globe: Plays By Young Writers Festival.  She is a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s National Medallion for her work on theatre and race and a Kennedy Center Regional Recipient for Innovative Teaching. Resident Intimacy and Cultural Consultant for Folger Theatre, and associate professor at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. She has presented on issues of equity and diversity in theater for theaters and universities, Actors’ Equity Association as their racial consultant, The Women’s Theatre Festival, Blumenthal Performing Arts, MICHA, North Carolina Theatre Association (Keynote Panelist), Children’s Theatre Charlotte, Anti-Racism and Decolonization at University of London Goldsmiths, SETC and SETC Theatre Symposium, KCATF and The Association of Theatre in Higher Education, among other places. She has been on the Executive Board of the Black Theatre Network and Black Theatre Association. Publications: Intimacy Coordinator’s Guidebook, Arden Contemporary Shakespeare, Intimacy Direction For Theatre, Theatre Symposium, American Theatre Magazine, HowlRound, Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (UK). Other Awards include Playwrights Project Excellence in Arts Education;  Her favorite role is mom.

 

 Annalisa D’Aguilar (Meg March) is thrilled to be returning to Pittsburgh to make her City Theatre Company debut! Previous credits include REGIONAL: The Book Club Play at Cincinnati Playhouse in The Park. FILM/TELEVISION: Law & Order: SVU.  EDUCATION: BFA from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama 2024 and Alumna of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Drama. Since graduating Annalisa founded Unusual Suspects Productions; New York theater for the weird and unusual.  NSTAGRAM: @annalisadaguilar @unusualsuspectsprod

 

 Zanny Laird (Lou/Jo March) is thrilled to make her City Theatre debut! Her resume includes the world premieres of August: Osage County (Steppenwolf Theatre) and Trust (Lookingglass Theatre), the off-Broadway production of Kragtar: A Monster Musical, and the pre-Broadway workshop of Head Over Heels (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Local credits include Quantum Theatre (The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, The Cherry Orchard), PMT (Waitress, Evil Dead: The Musical, Grease), and PCLO (Phantom) and Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks (Hamlet). She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Carnegie Mellon University and is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA.

 

 Alex Manalo (Beth March) is a Fil-Am theater maker based in Pittsburgh and is elated to be back at City Theatre with a different set of sisters! Some recent credits: The Importance of Being Earnest (Pittsburgh Public Theater & Baltimore Center Stage) Guys and Dolls, A Musical Christmas Carol, Charlie Brown, South Pacific, and Gallery of Heroes (PCLO) Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley, Young Playwright’s Festival (City Theatre) Evil Dead the Musical (PMT) and Repulsing the Monkey (Independently produced by Alex in the Lillie Theatre). When not performing, she can be found acting as a patient for several colleges’ medical students, giving a tour of her hometown on a Molly’s Trolley, choreographing dances for local high schools, or being the owner of Manalo Movement, LLC and curating workshops for healthier practices and intimacy work. Represented by the Docherty Agency. PPU Grad. Proud AEA and Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh member. Much love to this cast and crew, RPK and Appa. Mabuhay! @alexmanalo_

 

 Nancy McNulty (Marmee/Aunt March) is honored to be working with City Theater on this very special adaptation. Nancy, is AKA Mrs. McGeever when she teaches Theater Arts at Shady Side Academy Junior School. She also moonlights as a director and dialect coach in and around Pgh. Favorite Pgh roles include The Scarecrow in Bricolage's Midnight Radio series of The Wizard of Oz and Sarah in the Barebone's Black Box production of Rules of Seconds.  "Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon." -Louisa May Alcott

 

 Nell Murphy (Amy March) is an actor, storyteller, and arts advocate from Northeast Los Angeles, currently studying for her BFA in Acting at Carnegie Mellon University. This semester at CMU, she played the titular role in “Antigone.” On screen, she’s appeared in Odd Thomas (2013), Get Shorty (2017), and Freakier Friday (2025). She’s passionate about stories that explore identity and community, both onstage and off. In Little Women, she approaches her role with empathy and curiosity. Nell is beyond excited to be part of City Theatre’s production and to work with such a talented and generous team.

 

 Brenden Peifer (Laurie) is thrilled to return to City Theatre after making his debut in One Night in Miami (Jamaal). Regional: Fat Ham at Cleveland Playhouse (Tio). Twelfth Night (Sir Andrew), A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Harlem (Demetrius), A Raisin in the Sun (George Murchison), & Two Trains Running (Sterling) at Pittsburgh Public Theater.  Other Pittsburgh credits include Skeleton Crew (Dez) and American Buffalo (Bobby) at barebones productions. Hamlet (Laertes) at Quantum Theatre, & more shows with Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, New Horizon Theatre, the New Hazlett’s CSA Series, & Bricolage. He is based in Washington, DC.  Instagram: @brendenpeifer

 

 Juan Rivera Lebron (John/Friedrich/Mr. Lawrence/Mr. March) is a native of Puerto Rico and has worked on film and television, off-Broadway and extensively in theaters throughout the United States. Some of the companies he has worked with include: the Guthrie Theater, American Players Theater, The Jungle Theater, The Playwright’s Center, Mixed Blood, Great Lakes Theater, The Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where he was a member of the resident acting company for seven seasons. He was the recipient of the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship funded by the William & Eva Fox Foundation and administered by TCG. His fellowship research focused on the textual and performance similarities between Shakespeare and Spanish Classical plays, and as a result, he was selected to be part of the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO International Theater Institute World Congress in Madrid, Spain. He earned his B.F.A. at Carnegie Mellon Drama, and his M.F.A. in Theater from the University of Idaho with an emphasis on experiential approaches to Stanislavsky Technique. He also holds an M.S. in Adult Organizational Learning and Leadership from the University of Idaho and teaches Business Communication at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business and online for Cornell University (eCornell). He is an Assistant Professor and the Chair of the Theater Department at Point Park University's School of Theatre, Film and Animation.