Little things help ‘Women’

Messing with a classic can be, well, messy. Case in point: “Little Women,” the nationally touring Broadway musical that opened Wednesday at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

Louisa May Alcott’s Civil War-era book about the trials and tribulations of headstrong, passionate Jo March and her close-knit family, is beloved by young readers, past and present.

It’s also a staple of children’s theater, and this production, directed by Susan H. Schulman, with sprightly choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, has the surface-skimming hallmark of much of the genre.

Eye-pleasing and well-mounted, it has considerable charm too, with fleeting moments of depth, thanks to Maureen McGovern’s notable reprise of her Tony-nominated role as Marmee and Kate Fisher’s fine-tuned performance as Jo.

Fisher embodies aspiring writer Jo’s boyish energy, verve and growth with conviction. At times, and not entirely because of Kenneth Posner’s ambient lighting, she’s luminous.

Although her appearances onstage are limited, McGovern is sheer pleasure, possessing a beautiful singing voice, rich with cello-like resonance and warmth.

Fisher, a nuanced soprano, is no slouch in the vocal department, either, although her finest moment is shared with sweet-voiced Autumn Hurlbert as gentle, doomed Beth, when the sisters are alone on a Cape Cod beach -- set designer Derek McLane’s painterly sky and seascape behind them -- singing their farewells (“Some Things Are Meant to Be”).

The small but noteworthy orchestra, conducted by Douglas Coates, shines here too, without the circus-pop brass that prevails elsewhere in the Disney-ish score.

McLane’s shabby wooden staircases, floating attic and modestly appointed, quick-change interior rooms effectively suggest time and place (despite a humorously balky curtain opening night), and Catherine Zuber’s costumes are a visual feast: ruffles and lace, sumptuous satins and brocades, beautifully draped cottons and wools.

Yet among the hit-and-miss creative choices in this adaptation by book writer Allan Knee, composer Jason Howland and lyricist Mindi Dickstein are contemporary false notes: Jo singing that she wants to “raise hell,” Laurie joking that he “passed out” from too much dancing -- and Jo suggesting that alcohol might have played a part.

And what happened to Alcott’s tall, dark, handsome and bashful Laurie? Stephen Patterson’s Laurie, while likable, is blond, shortish, nervy and clownish.

Overlong scenes from Jo’s “blood and guts” Rodrigo stories and such time-killing musical introspection as the professor’s “How I Am” soliloquy could benefit from judicious trimming.

At nearly three hours, including a dithering happily-ever-after ending for Jo and Professor Bhaer (Andrew Varela), it’s a lengthy sit for its target family audience, and nearly an hour too long for such light, sweet fare.

*

‘Little Women’

Where: Pantages, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

When: 8 p.m. today and Tuesday through next Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and Aug. 13, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Ends: Aug. 13

Price: $25 to $68

Contact: (213) 365-3500, www.BroadwayLA.org

Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.