By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Students, staff and Waco locals will have the opportunity to be whisked away to the Civil War era world created in Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, “Little Women,” via a Broadway musical version of the story put on by the Baylor University Theatre. The opening night performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Jones Theater in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center.
Playing Amy, the youngest of the four March sisters, is Fort Worth senior Bekah Dunning, a long-time fan of both the book and the 2019 film version, directed by Greta Gerwig.
“It’s a movie that I’ve watched with my mom growing up, and my grandma read the book to me whenever I was little,” Dunning said. “So I was really excited.”
Dunning said she has found it particularly enjoyable to play Amy because she comes from a family of all brothers and because she gets to sing a fun, silly song that comes with the part.
“There are just so many things that Amy does in the show that I can empathize with, and then there are other moments that I’m like, ‘That is so opposite to me,’” Dunning said. “But figuring out where she is coming from has been a really fun discovery in the process. She loves being the center of attention, and I don’t think that’s how I operate, but it’s been fun to get to play that.”
Harleysville, Penn., sophomore Madison Quinter, plays Marmee, the sisters’ mother. She said the show was announced in January at one of her department’s workshops. It was the first show announced for the 2025-26 Baylor Theatre season.
“My heart stopped for a second,” Quinter said. “The director explained her concept, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I’ve loved that book since I was a kid and my best friend’s favorite book is Little Women.”
Auditions took place during possibly the most intense time of the school year — finals week in the spring. Similar to Dunning, Quinter said she didn’t have a particular preference as to who she wanted to play, or even an expectation that she would be cast, simply wanting to be a part of the action. To Quinter’s surprise, she received a callback only 30 minutes after her audition while frantically studying for finals with the news that she made the cut, despite being only a sophomore.
“It’s a mixture of emotions,” she said, referring to her Baylor main stage debut. “I am very, very, very excited, because it’s crazy to think that two years ago I was dreaming of doing this … but I’m also terrified.”
At first, relating to Marmee’s character was difficult, Quinter said.
“I can’t say that I’m married and have a husband off fighting in a war, and then later, have a daughter die of scarlet fever,” Quinter said jokingly. “Can’t exactly relate to that.”
She admitted that she questioned the decision of her director, Lisa Denman, but that over time, things started to make sense, and her and Marmee’s qualities started to align.
“When I first saw the cast list, I said, ‘OK, what did she see that I don’t?’” Quinter said. “And after a while, both [Denman] and I have noticed I will put on a brave face for people that I love and I will be strong no matter what. That has always been a challenge for me. Don’t let anyone know. Don’t let anyone know. I don’t want to be a burden, yeah? That feeling, yeah, of I have to be strong for my family. I have to be strong in order to save face.”
Quinter said she has much appreciation for all the work that goes on behind the scenes, which the crew for the show has been planning and designing since January.
“A lot of the tech is really, really cool,” Quinter said. “We get some stuff flying in and out of the stage. We have projection systems happening. The costumes are really pretty.”
Dunning said she finds the musical version of the production adds a whole new layer to the story.
“The music captures some of the moments in a more playful way, and maybe in a more memorable way, in the sense that it’ll get stuck in your head, and it kind of brings a new joy to the characters,” Dunning said. “Especially for college students, we’re in this weird limbo of feeling like kids sometimes, but also having the pressure of growing up, and I think the musical talks a lot about that.”
Quinter said the family and sisterhood aspect portrayed through their roles has been meaningful to her, values that are needed today more than ever.
“I think people have forgotten how to be together and just be present with one another, and you really see that come through in this show,” Quinter said. “There’s just so many intimate moments.”
“Little Women: The Broadway Musical” will run from Wednesday evening until Oct. 26. Tickets are available for purchase at the box office or online.
