The Undercurrent

Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Lindsay Hoeppner Unanticipated friendships - Beth, played by Teri Rogers, befriended the grouchy old Mr. Laurence, played by Robert John Biedermann. She was the first March sister to reach out to Mr. Laurence, who scared most of the sisters.

"Christopher Columbus!" the BVU Academic and Cultural Events Series (ACES) made the impossible possible. On Monday, they brought a full Broadway performance of Little Women, including a pit orchestra and cast of close to 20 people, to the Schaller Memorial Chapel stage. This performance is surely one of the largest productions that have been brought to BVU.

Though the stage was too small for all of the different settings, the performance that was put on by the actors was not burdened by this at all.

"I enjoyed the performance," first-year Corbet Butler said. "It's enjoyable to feel like you are actually a part of the world which the storyline portrays."

The Broadway version of Little Women was based on the book by Louisa May Alcott. Alcott created characters that had personality and came to life as you read the book. The actors and actresses that performed for the BVU community did what they could to portray the characters that they were playing. Paige Faure excelled in her portrayal of the eccentric and eager want-to-be-writer Jo March.

With a production such as this, there is a lot expected from the actors and actresses involved. They were all required to know all the lines for the specific role they were auditioning for before their audition.

"Jo (Faure) knew all her lines and songs before she even went into rehearsal," Robert John Biedermann, the actor who played Mr. Laurence, said. "That's required. We have no time for people to learn. And the acting starts after you learn your lines. No one carried scripts. It's that kind of show."

"Because our rehearsal period was so short - it was only two weeks - you basically need to come with choices made for yourself as a character," Faure said. "Obviously you talk to the director and you kind of get on the same page with that, but having your lines completely memorized, all your music so when you come in you're just ready to work and play and have fun and you have
the beautiful moments that come out of it instead of going like 'what's my next line?'"

This tour has some very talented people within it. Faure is a directing major at Mary Mount Manhattan College while Stephan Lukas, Laurie, is attending New York University. This is Lukas's first tour, though he has been a professional actor for 10 years.

"I love it, I love it. When you're on the road with this hectic of a schedule, you know sometimes doing a show at night is all you have to look forward to," Lukas said. "And telling a story that is so classic and so timeless, as corny as it sounds, it's really been a pleasure."

After the production, students were gushing about how great the actors were.

"I really enjoyed the performance, and I know other people did as well," senior Colleen Gerow said. "The singing was excellent. My favorite part is at the end, of course, when Jo and the professor are together."

"My favorite part had to be when Beth died," Butler said. "They (Jo and Beth) had a great duet together, and it really made me tear up."

The ACES program definitely did an amazing job with this production. The ability to bring an actual Broadway show to the BVU campus was an amazing feat. It allowed the BVU community to experience a new type of performance that not everyone has been able to experience before. Students were certainly impressed by this event.

"This performance is hard to compare to other ones because it is on a different level," Gerow said. "Other performances included more props and effects, but Little Women was simple. I think that the performers and director wanted the play to focus more on the characters' relationships with each other and the singing, not props or effects. Overall, it was a great performance. The house was packed!"

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