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| Zanny Laird as Jo, Annalisa D'Aguilar as Beth, (center) Nancy McNulty as Marmee, (sitting): Nell Murphy as Amy and Alex Manalo as Beth Credit: Kristi Jan Hoover |
Recently, actress Zanny Laird has been
showing how adept she really is at playing a wide range of characters.
From
Bella, the poet, writer and wife of Marc Chagall in Quantum Theatre’s The
Flying Lovers of Vitebsk to the young, nubile and intellectually
challenged, Annie in Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s Evil Dead: The Musical
and the comic yet demon struck, Jenna, in PMT’s Waitress, Laird has been
getting her share of critical acclaim.
This,
in turn, has landed her a good deal of work in Pittsburgh musicals, comedies
and serious dramas that I haven’t seen that include Chekhov’s The Cherry
Orchard, Phantom and Hamlet.
Her
latest theatrical endeavor is now taking place in City Theatre’s current production
of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, imaginatively adapted for theater by Lauren Gunderson.
Laird’s
is the lead role of Jo in the story of a family of four spirited daughters that
oozes warmth and playfulness despite working around issues like economic
scarcity, an absent father who’s off contributing to the Northern effort in the
Civil War, ill health and coming of age struggles.
An
aspiring writer, Jo battles the paternalistic hurdles of her era when women had
a difficult, if nearly impossible, task of securing publication of their work,
let along literary success. Strongminded, Laird captures Jo’s determination
even vowing to eschew marriage in an attempt to devote her life to writing.
Director
Kaja Dunn wastes no time showing of the household’s lively, energetic sparkle
as the girls congregate in the family parlor eager to get involved in a
conversation so rapidly delivered it becomes a challenge for the audience to
follow. In addition to Jo, Meg (Annalisa D’Aguilar), Beth (Alex Manalo) and Amy
(Nell Murphy) vie to get a word in edgewise, in rapid succession, in the play’s
first scene, much like hens in a chicken coop getting ready to retire for the
night.
Credit
Dunn for getting this initial section of narrative off smoothly and with
well-oiled perfection, barely allowing pauses for the audience to appreciate some
of the embedded comedy.
As
the oldest of the four sisters, Meg works to support her family and shows a lot
of forbearance in dealing with her younger siblings. She radiates kindness, yet
is no pushover either.
Jo
and Meg seem to be the glue that holds the family together but are aided by
their wise and caring mother they call Marmee (Nancy McNulty, playing the
double role of the irritable Aunt March, a well-off relative not so concerned
with financially helping the struggling family).
The
two younger Marches, as the family is called, are different in temperament.
Beth is the shiest, the more emotionally even keeled of the four whose outlet
for expressing her emotions comes at the keys of her piano. On the other hand,
Amy is the spoiled younger child who dreams of the limelight and hopes to
become a respected artist.
Adding
masculine balance to the cast are two gents as different in demeanor and
character as it gets. Friedrich (Juan Rivera Lebron) is humble, bookish and
unsure of himself. Attracted to Jo, he lacks the confidence even to be considered
a viable match for her.
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| Zanny Laird as Jo and Brendan Peifer as Laurie Credit: Kristi Jan Hoover |
On
the other hand, Laurie, the Marsh’s neighboring boy-next-door (Brendan Peifer),
wastes no time getting gob smacked by Jo. His is a shy romance. The twinkle in his
eye extends to an engaging stage presence that feels natural, even instinctual,
and is seemingly unaffected and oblivious to his overall compelling impact as
an actor.
Since
its initial release in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, Louisa
May Alcott’s “Little Women” has been
one of the world’s most widely read novels and has seen adaptations for the
stage, film and television. Because of its popularity, I assume many people are
already familiar with the story line. For those who are not take courage that,
after witnessing the joys and sorrows, the hopes and aspirations of this
Massachusetts family, the conclusion is a satisfactory prelude for the cheerfulness
of the upcoming holiday season.
Louisa May Alcott's Little
Women is at City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street, on Pittsburgh’s
South Side, through December 13. For
tickets, go to www.citytheatrecompany.or.
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