‘Little Women’ stirs nostalgia at arts center

The Orange County Performing Arts Center has, in recent years,

brought its patrons to the cutting edge of musical theater with shows

such as “Rent” and “Urinetown.” The current offering qualifies as

something completely different, a genuine blast to the past.

“Little Women” is about as far from the 21st century as you can

get without Marty McFly’s time machine. This stage version of the

classic Louisa May Alcott novel exudes familial warmth and proper

decorum, yet many of its themes remain constant and universal.

This story of four Massachusetts sisters during and just after the

Civil War, cared for by their loving mother whose (never seen)

husband is serving in the Union forces, will need little introduction

to many people who grew up with the ambitious and headstrong Jo, the

eldest Meg, the frail and dutiful Beth and the bratty youngest

sibling Amy.

This musical production, deftly directed by Susan H. Schulman,

comes direct from Broadway on its national tour and is headed by

Maureen McGovern, probably best known for her rendition of the

Oscar-winning song “The Morning After” from “The Towering Inferno.”

As Marmee, the maternal center of the girls’ lives, McGovern reflects

a contagious charm along with her superb vocal stylings.

While McGovern receives top billing, the show belongs, part and

parcel, to Kate Fisher’s incendiary Jo, who stirs the other sisters

into action and pens purple prose that would have been considered

florid and overripe even in the mid-19th century. Fisher -- who bears

a strong resemblance to Winona Ryder, Jo in the 1994 movie version of

the book -- is a force of nature on stage, with an exceptionally

strong singing voice to augment her performing skills.

Renee Brna charms as Meg, the eldest and more conventional sister.

Autumn Hurlbert is captivating as the fragile Beth. Gwen Hollander

virtually steals the show as the incorrigible junior member of the

foursome, Amy, whose life change is the most pronounced of the four.

The girls’ fearsome, crotchety aunt is taken to the edge -- and

occasionally pushed over it -- by Louisa Flaningam. Michael Minarik

is fine as Meg’s suitor, while Stephen Patterson is quite engaging as

the neighbor boy whom the girls accept as an honorary brother.

Tops among the supporting players is Robert Stattel as Patterson’s

grandfather, a powerful figure whose demeanor melts at the sound of

Beth’s soothing piano music. Andrew Varela completes the cast as a

shy professor of German who finally gathers the courage to court Jo

in a scene resembling two magnets approaching one another.

Musically, the score by Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein nicely

augments the story without dominating it. Particularly impressive are

Fisher’s solos “Astonishing” and “The Fire Within Me,” along with

McGovern’s strong rendering of “Days of Plenty.”

“Little Women” is unabashedly old-fashioned and often deliberately

leisurely in its novelistic depiction of a highly familiar family.

Yet its characters come across with more structure and heart than

many of today’s more upbeat creations.

And next time around, Kate Fisher will be the headliner.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.