‘Little Women’ cast returns for revival of show

Something about the story of the March women inspired an uncanny closeness among the women who played those roles in a 2013 production of “Little Women.”

The women of the March family are independent and don’t conform to the norms of the Civil War era, in which the novel-turned-musical is set.

Even though most members of the Wichita Children’s Theatre and Dance Center’s cast moved on to out-of-state colleges, they never ruled out the possibility of a reunion.

This weekend, most of the original 2013 cast will reprise their roles for two performances at Roxy’s Downtown. Roxy’s CEO John Hammer offered the space for the production.

Proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit the Heather Muller Black Box at the children’s theater, where the show was originally staged.

“It’s very rewarding to get to work with them again,” said Kelly Wonsetler, director of “Little Women.” “We all have such fond memories of shows we did together in middle school and high school – now to see them growing up and continuing to move on makes it extra special.”

Revisiting and relearning

Jo March, one of the primary protagonists of “Little Women,” is remarkably similar to Maddie Razook, though Razook perhaps didn’t know it when she portrayed Jo in 2013.

An independent spirit, Jo has dreams of moving to New York to become a writer. She is conflicted, though, because she loves her family and wants to stay with them.

“It’s hard to have it all – you kind of have to go off and do your own thing while still holding the people you love close, but you can’t necessarily keep them with you,” said Razook, a 2013 Kapaun Mount Carmel alumna soon to graduate from the music theater program at Oklahoma City University. “That’s a hard thing to realize growing up. ... I don’t think I could quite comprehend that as a high schooler who had never lived out of her parents’ house.”

Razook herself plans to move to New York after graduation to pursue theater and music opportunities.

As a student at Oklahoma City University, she’s already appeared on Broadway once. In November, noted OCU grad Kristin Chenoweth asked the college to send some of its top-level performers to sing in her one-woman show, “My Love Letter to Broadway.”

Many of the members of that original “Little Women” cast went on to pursue music theater in college.

“Kelly (Wonsetler) keeps thanking us for giving up our winter breaks to do this show, and I’m like, ‘No, this is such a treat – the show is so beautiful, and these people are so awesome to be with,’ ” Razook said. “The quality, I feel, is elevated. ... Things I couldn’t understand about Jo before, or even notes that I felt I wasn’t technically strong at singing – I feel like it’s all come to fruition at this point.”

Wonsetler said the fact that “Little Women” is a strong women-led show likely led to the closeness among its cast members.

“The March family – I think they were ahead of their time,” Wonsetler said. “They kind of broke the mold and the stereotype in a lot of ways. They represented feminism in the Civil War era. They were a very strong group, and I think that resonated with these kids.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 4:55 PM with the headline "‘Little Women’ cast returns for revival of show."