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‘Our own little March family:’ Kenai Performers brings Little Women to stage

Courtesy of Kenai Performers

Jo March isn’t afraid of “blood and guts stuff” in the stories she writes. The second of the four March sisters and the main character of the Kenai Performers’ new show "Little Women," it’s the attitude Jo takes toward everything in her life. The story of "Little Women" follows her as she and her sisters grow up and navigate the difficulties of life together. The Kenai Performers are bringing the classic novel to the stage for the next two weekends.

Rebecca Gilman, the director, said the play was originally scheduled to be performed in February, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a loop into the plans. But it wasn’t the first — auditions actually took place over Zoom on Halloween weekend last year.

"So we did the first two months of rehearsals where we did basically just did readthroughs and sang what we could over Zoom," she said. "Fortunately the show has a lot of duets and solos, so people who had solos who were able to work over it and stuff."

This version of "Little Women" is a musical, written by Allan Knee. The 10 actors practiced their singing with the tracks at home before being able to come back together and practice in person. This was the first play for Meredith Harber, who plays stern Aunt March. She said the group became her extended COVID bubble.

"Some of us were like, ‘I’m going to join your bubble! I’m going to choose to move into this bubble!’"

Selia Butler, who plays eldest sister Meg March, said the group paralleled the family relationships in the play.

The Kenai Performers usually host an annual musical at Kenai Central High School’s auditorium, but "Little Women" is being performed in the group’s rehearsal space behind the Subway off Kalifornsky Beach Road. The audience is capped and the front row is less than 10 feet from the performers at times. It’s a little different for the actors, performing a musical in such an intimate space, and some said it was a little more stressful knowing that the audience can see their faces in so much more detail than from the KCHS stage. But Brittany Gilman, who plays Jo, said there’s something intimate about that, too.

"There have been musicals I’ve been in in the past, especially in the ensemble, where I’m not really thinking about acting as much as I am in this one, not consciously, because everyone can see your face at every angle in this building and everything that you’re doing," she said.

The show focuses on Jo achieving her dreams of becoming a famous writer, struggling with change as her world changes around her. The play opens on her in New York, pursuing her dreams, though it is difficult for her to be separated from her family.  Though we never see the bullets fly, the Civil War is also hovering in the background, affecting her life from a distance. The context of "Little Women" is how our families and relationships can help stabilize us in unstable times. Collectively, the world has gone through a similar disruption this year amid the pandemic.

Brittany Gilman said she really connected with this part of Jo. After all, she was supposed to be in college this year — in New York, actually.

"The yearning for change or feeling stuck or feeling stuck or feeling frustrated when a lot of change is happening at once, and then finding who you lean on in those times," she said. "It has been definitely a parallel that I’ve noticed in this show, because it’s all about your relationships with you and how you grow and change and figure out who you are with the people you love when you’ve gone through a lot of change."

Rebecca Gilman said casts often bond during shows, but this cast is very close after this experience.

"This whole process has been really kind of revelatory just how much outside calamities have been affecting everyone involved and stuff," she said. "So even just the rehearsal process—the cast is very, very well bonded, I think maybe even more so than a normal one."

The Kenai Performers’ "Little Women" is scheduled for performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. tonight, Saturday, and Sunday, and again on June 3-6. All performances will be held at the Kenai Performers’ space at 44045 K-Beach Road. There is also an online streaming version available as of Thursday night. Tickets are available on the Kenai Performers’ website.

Elizabeth Earl is the news reporter/evening host for summer 2021 at KDLL. She is a high school teacher, with a background writing for the Peninsula Clarion and has been a freelance contributor to several publications in Alaska.
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