Last updated on Oct. 19, 2025 at 08:33 p.m.
At the end of October, the oldest theater organization at the University, Penny Dreadful Players, is kicking off a year full of productions with “Little Women.”
A group of students founded PDP in November 1992 as a space for non-theater majors to participate in theater productions, and it still serves that purpose today.
“We provide theater for everyone, so you don’t have to be a theater major, acting major or anything — just if you like theater,” said Kyara Welter, graduate student studying social work and publicity coordinator for PDP. “We do acting and tech and everything like that.”
According to Jack Kramer, senior in LAS and artistic director of PDP, the organization puts on three shows per semester. They try to perform one comedy and one drama, as well as a showcase of short student-written plays.
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“Little Women” is the semester’s drama title, serving as a classic piece focusing on feminism, family and friendship.
The play, set in Massachusetts in the 1860s, follows the lives of the four March sisters, who each have their own ideas about what their futures hold. The play primarily focuses on Josephine, nicknamed Jo, the second-oldest and most free-spirited March sister, as she navigates different relationships and aspirations.
“Jo doesn’t want to follow the stereotypical getting married, having kids and being a housewife,” said Grace Coffey, senior in ACES and co-director of Little Women. “She dreams of fighting in the war with her father, and she wants to be a writer and live in the big city by herself.”
The show follows a classic feminist story that includes elements of romance. One of the main characters, Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, grows up next to the March sisters. After an encounter with Jo, he begins obsessing over her, working to earn her affection.
This tale of romance and womanhood draws Lindsay Christiansen, co-director and graduate student studying public health, to “Little Women.” Christiansen has yet to direct a play, but her passion for “Little Women” led her to propose it to PDP.
“It’s a very special show to me and my family, and I knew I wanted to do something that had more of a feminist base and that described the life of growing up as a woman,” Christiansen said.
Since Christiansen had never directed before, she knew that finding a co-director would be beneficial for the play’s outcome and had the perfect person in mind: her roommate.
According to Coffey, Christiansen is not only their roommate but also one of their best friends. So when they got the call asking to co-direct “Little Women,” they didn’t see how they could turn down the opportunity.
“I love directing, I love being on the production side of things … I’m just really happy to be working with her and with PDP to put on the show,” Coffey said.
This close bond isn’t just found within the best friend duo of directors, but also throughout the cast. Cecil Ryan, sophomore in ACES, will play Josephine March, and found their roommates for next year through the show.
The cast’s growing friendship creates an even better environment for them during rehearsals. According to Ryan, rehearsals feel less work-like because of how close they are.
“Rehearsals are always fun, and don’t ever really feel like a lot of work because everyone in the cast has gotten really close to each other,” Ryan said. “I think it really helps with the show too, because the March sisters especially have weirdly close connections with each other, so getting close to everybody outside of the show made it easy to form those connections and feel so natural on the stage.”
Ryan isn’t alone in their thoughts on how the positive cast dynamic will benefit the on-stage performance. David Allen, freshman in LAS, will play Theodore Laurence, and also found a group of best friends within the cast.
“We all just kind of clicked instantly and all became best friends, which will definitely help us have our interactions be more natural,” Allen said. “There are a lot of interactions that are very close and touchy, and it’s going to help that we’re all really comfortable and friends with each other.”
The cast and production team’s work will come together at the Community United Church of Christ on Oct. 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on the PDP Instagram or at the door on show nights.
Additionally, if you’re looking to support PDP in other ways, look out for announcements about their upcoming production of “The Wizard of Oz” and its short show showcase, “Bedtime Stories.”
