Actions are louder than words as ‘Little Women’ gets a ‘90s treatment.

Like Nike girls in hoop skirts, these March sisters “just do it.”

In the Laguna Playhouse Youth Theater’s new staging of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are proactive gals, compared with their counterparts in other versions of the popular 1868 story.

Youth theater director Joe Lauderdale said that when he decided to include “Little Women” in his 1996-97 family season, he was so discouraged by the static nature of most of the scripts that he decided to create one of his own. The new script, a collaboration between Lauderdale and actor-writer Karan Benton, premieres Friday and continues through April 20 at the Playhouse’s Moulton Theater.

“Most of the other scripts confined all the action to the parlor, so you basically just saw the characters sitting around and talking about things that happened elsewhere,” Lauderdale said. “You never really got out there with the characters, so you never got a good feel of who these people are.”

From Lauderdale’s description, audiences may need to wear track shoes to keep pace with the Civil War-era sisters. Using a multilevel set with stage areas ranging from 1 to 8 feet tall, the nine teenage and adult actors tell the story from sites that include the neighboring Lawrence house, Amy’s school and Aunt March’s house.

Even when the girls do stop by the parlor, it’s not just for needlepoint and tea. In a Christmas sketch presented for the family, Jo and neighbor boy Laurie leap and tumble in a mock sword fight. And, more than once, the girls adjourn to the attic to stage rowdy theatricals in meetings of their private Pickwick literary club.

But beneath all the action, “Little Women” is still mainly a heartwarming reminder of the importance of family bonds, Lauderdale said. In fact, he thinks such activity merely encourages a wider audience--yes, guys, he’s talking to you--to appreciate the play’s themes.

“I know a lot of people think of this as a girls’ story, but it really presents a universal idea,” said Lauderdale, who admits he didn’t read “Little Women” as a boy but did admire Nancy Drew mystery books because “Nancy was much cooler than the Hardy boys.”

“The central characters may be girls, but boys can learn a lot from [‘Little Women’] too,” continued Lauderdale, adding that even as an adult he was inspired to look at his family relationships in new light after reading the book. “It reminds us how important family is, how to really relate to each other and how to cherish our relationships.”

The popular story was originally published in two parts: “Little Women” in 1868 and “Little Women, Part Second” in 1869. The original book introduces and traces one year in the life of the central characters--Meg, the oldest, on the verge of womanhood; impetuous Jo, the aspiring writer (whom Alcott based on herself); delicate Beth, the music lover; and pretty, self-indulgent Amy. The sequel picks up with Meg’s marriage to tutor John Brook and includes other significant events in the sisters’ lives. Alcott later penned two more books that continued the March story: “Little Men” (1871) and “Jo’s Boys” (1886).

Lauderdale said his script limits the action to that of the original “Little Women” to keep the play at a manageable length for family audiences (two hours, plus intermission) and to let viewers get to know each of the central characters more intimately.

“Alcott created all the characters with so much depth, but in most stage and film versions, only Jo is the real focus,” Lauderdale said. “In our play, each girl has her moment.”

BE THERE

Laguna Playhouse Youth Theater presents “Little Women” at the Laguna Playhouse, Moulton Theater, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. 7:30 p.m. Fri., April 17 and 18; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat., Sun. and April 19; 2 p.m. April 20. $9-$12. (714) 494-0743.