Using Little Women in your classroom or home study? Download this printable packet of Discussion Questions, suggested reading, educational resources, and more! Compiled by Emily, Maren, student dramaturgs and stage management.
COMING SOON! (Fall 2025)
Plan a visit to the Alcott home, "Orchard House", in Concord, MA. Learn more about the family, the life and career of Louisa, and see artifacts from the era. Director Emily went in 2017 with her mom Laura and grandmother Lois and it was a great tour!
Did you know that for every show Emily has directed she has created a Spotify playlist? Take a listen and see if you can guess which songs represent each character.
Emily wanted the tone of the playlist to be sentimental while still modern. Think golden hour sunlight shining through a dusty window, with soft instrumentals and pieces that feel like a warm breeze, a barefoot walk through a meadow, or a first kiss under the shade of a tree. All together it should feel like a seaside-playdate-meets-finding-your-first-love-meets-enduring-American-hardships.
Other show specific playlists can be found below:
Louisa May Alcott based Jo March almost entirely on herself. Like Jo, she was fiercely independent, loved writing, hated the idea of marrying just for security, and often dressed in what was considered “unladylike” clothing.
The March family home in the book is based on Alcott’s actual home in Concord, Massachusetts—Orchard House, which still stands today and operates as a museum.
Meg teaches in a “governess” role, which was one of the very few respectable jobs available to educated women in the 19th century. It was often poorly paid and socially isolating.
In Louisa’s time, women artists were becoming more visible, but it was still uncommon for a woman to seriously study art abroad as Amy dreams of doing.
Louisa May Alcott originally didn't want to write for girls, but she did it to help her father. At the time, most children’s books focused on boys and adventure. Little Women broke new ground by focusing on domestic life, sisterhood, and girls’ interior emotional worlds.
You probably already know this fun fact, but it's still very exciting!! We can't wait for you to come witness the March girls come to life on our very own stage. Remember to grab a friend and some tickets and be prepared to have a wonderful night of entertainment!
Alcott famously disliked romantic endings and only had Jo marry Professor Bhaer because her publisher demanded it. She once wrote, “I won’t marry Jo to Laurie to please anyone.”
While her father was a well-known intellectual, Louisa was the one who kept the family afloat financially. Her writing—including thrillers published under a pen name—paid the bills.
Beth March’s gentle spirit and tragic illness mirror the real life of Louisa’s sister Elizabeth, who died young after contracting scarlet fever while caring for a poor family.
The novel was written in just 10 weeks and was initially published in two parts which was a common practice for serializing stories at the time. When Little Women was first published in 1868, the first 2,000 copies sold out in just two weeks. Alcott was bombarded with letters from young readers begging for a sequel.
The first known stage adaptation premiered in the early 1900s, and there have been dozens since—including Broadway musicals, opera versions, and countless school and community productions.