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Please note: Little Women is a joint production with The Malvern Theatre Company, who will stage this same production 23 August – 7 September.Please contact the director Alan Burrows at [email protected] to book your spot.
Successful auditionees will be required to commit to both seasons.
All characters will be required to have a standard American accent.
Auditions are strictly by appointment and auditionees are asked to prepare two contrasting songs, suitable for the character for which they are auditioning. Please bring sheet music in the appropriate key. There will also be a short reading from the script and an opportunity to demonstrate simple movement.
Rehearsals will most likely be held on Tuesday evenings from 7:30pm –10:30pm, Thursday evenings from 7:30pm – 10:30pm and Sunday afternoons. A detailed rehearsal schedule will be provided. Rehearsals will commence the first week of June.
Character Descripton:
Josephine “Jo” March
Playing age: 15-22 (character ages through the show)
Lead. A Star Vehicle role. Jo barely leaves the stage
Range: E3-A5, Belt to E5. Mezzo Belt (or strong mix)
Dance Requirement: Some movement
Jo is fiery, exuberant, and passionate. All her emotions are extremes which can lead her to be rather blunt or brash and very headstrong. She starts as a complete tomboy and keeps a lot of that as she grows up. The show begins with her in her 20s living in
a boarding house in New York City and then Act I flashes back to her teen years in Concord, MA with Act II coming back to her 20s. Her journey is tied to finding her own unique voice as an author rather than just writing what she thinks will sell.
Theodore “Laurie” Laurence
Playing age: 15-22 (ages through the show)
Supporting Character. Doubles as Roderigo I
Range: Bb2-Bb4 (A youthful, contemporary high Tenor)
Dance Requirement: Some movement
Laurie is the quintessential boy next door. He lives with his grandfather and his cat across the way from the March sisters and quickly becomes enthralled by the love, warmth, and joy in their family that he feels lacking in his own house. He and Jo are best friends and almost too alike. After Jo rejects his proposal, he goes away to Europe where (after reuniting with a now grown-up Amy) he matures and he and Jo are able to resume their friendship (now as brother-in-law and sister-in-law). As Roderigo I, he starts as the generic hero of the story Jo is writing.
Margaret “Meg” March
Playing age: 16-23
Supporting Character. Doubles as Clarissa
Range: Bb3-B5 (Legit Soprano)
Dance Requirement: Some movement
Meg is the eldest of the March sisters and takes it upon herself to try and teach her younger sisters how to act like a proper lady–though she’s still really a kid herself.
Meg is the only one of the sisters with a solid memory of what it was like when the family was wealthy and often finds herself yearning for the ease the money would bring to her life. She wants to be accepted and admired in society, but learns that her own happiness is much more important than status or money. As Clarissa, she is the heroine of the story Jo writes growing with Jo’s skill as an author from a generic damsel in distress to her own knight in shining armour.
Elizabeth “Beth” March
Playing age: 13-21 (character ages through the show)
Supporting Character. Doubles as Roderigo II
Range: A3-G5 (Mix Soprano)
Dance Requirement: Some movement
Beth is the third-born of the March sisters. She is the peace-maker of the family and can always be counted on to support or uplift her sisters whenever they need it. She
is constantly willing to go out of her way to help those who need it (such as their poor neighbours, The Hummels) and has a deep love of music through which she bonds with Grandfather Laurence. As Roderigo II, she is the twist that shows Jo’s unique
flair as a writer, turning out to be the heroine’s sister in disguise rather than another generic swashbuckling hero.
Amelia “Amy” Curtis March
Playing age: 12-20
Supporting Character. Doubles as Troll
Range: G3-G5 (Bright, Soprano or Mezzo)
Dance Requirement: Some movement
Amy is the youngest of the March sisters. As a 12-year-old, she longs to be grown up and elegant. She normally feels forgotten or left behind as the youngest. Very feminine Amy often butts heads with tomboy Jo as they’re both headstrong and impulsive–two sides of the same coin. As a 20-year-old, Amy has been chosen by Aunt March to accompany her to Europe to become cultured and (ostensibly) to be educated in painting (though it’s really more that Aunt March wants Amy to find a
suitable husband). Amy returns still headstrong and impulsive, but also now the refined lady she dreamed of being as a child. She eventually falls in love with Laurie as their personalities complement each other where Laurie’s and Jo’s clashed. As the
Troll, she is an obstacle for Clarissa to overcome, representative of conquering materialism.
Marmee March
Playing age: ~42-50 (Flexible)
Supporting Character. Doubles as Hag
Range:D3-E5 (a warm Mezzo or Alto)
Dance Requirement: A little movement (one number).
Marmee is the mother of the March girls. With her husband away at war, it falls on her alone to raise the girls to be strong, brave, and compassionate young women. Marmee is wise and loving, but not overly indulgent or lenient with the girls. She hides much of her grief and struggles (and temper) from her daughters so that they feel they can always lean on her. As the Hag, she is an obstacle for Clarissa to overcome, representative of conquering vanity.
Aunt March
Playing Age: ~65-73 (Flexible)
Supporting Character. Doubles as Mrs. Kirk
Range: D3-E5 (Character Mezzo or Alto)
Dance Requirement: Optional (Possible in “Could You”)
Aunt March is the girls’ formidable, crabby, and very wealthy Great Aunt for whom Jo was named. While she is stern and rigid, she genuinely does love her great nieces and wants to see them succeed in life (granted: “succeed” by her definition). Jo works
as a companion for Aunt March, reading to her and fixing things around the house. Amy later takes over this job as she gets older. Mrs. Kirk is Jo’s landlady and employer in New York. Jo is governess to Mrs. Kirk’s daughters. She can be a bit of a busybody, but is overall very kind to and supportive of Jo.
Mr. John Brooke
Playing age: 20-28 (Flexible, no age is given in the story).
Supporting Character. Doubles as Braxton
Range: C#3-Gb4 (A darker tenor than Laurie, but still lighter than Prof. Bhaer).
Dance Requirement: None
Though he starts off as Laurie’s rather stiff tutor, Mr. Brooke is a romantic at heart and a big dork. He and Meg are immediately smitten with one another. He later shows off his latent courage by joining up with the Union Army and endears himself to the other sisters (Jo was not particularly keen on his and Meg’s relationship) by escorting Marmee to Washington DC when her husband falls ill. As Braxton, he is the classic over the top melodrama villain in Jo’s story who Clarissa vanquishes with the help of her sister.
Grandfather Laurence
Playing age: ~65-73 (Flexible)
Supporting Character. Doubles as The Knight
Range: C#3-D4 (Gruff Character Baritone or Tenor with a strong lower extension)
Dance Requirement: Optional (possible in “Off to Massachusetts”)
Laurie’s distant and rather foreboding grandfather. Mr. Laurence took Laurie in after the boy was orphaned and is very strict with him. He originally sees his grandson’s involvement with the March girls as an unnecessary and detrimental distraction from Laurie’s studies, but is won over by Beth with whom he bonds as she reminds him of his dead granddaughter in both demeanour and love of music. He eventually becomes a surrogate grandfather to all the March sisters. As the Knight, he is the final obstacle for Clarissa to overcome, representative of accepting self-sacrifice and putting the needs of others first.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
29 Burke Rd, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia, 29 Burke Rd, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia,Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
