The cast of Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women (Don Ipock)
By the nature of its basic premise, Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women will inevitably draw comparisons to Michael Frayn’s famed comedy Noises Off. Written by Liza Birkenmeier and Trish Harnetiaux, MVCTLW shows us the onstage antics and backstage drama of a community theatre production.
Of course, holding a new play up against one of the most beloved threatre staples isn’t exactly fair. Ordinarily I’d encourage audiences to put the similarities out of mind and judge the play solely by its own merits, but it ends up being a moot point. Even without the comparison, MVCTLW is so lacking in stakes, character development, and any real driving force that it fails to make much of an impact at all.
A highlight of Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women, currently having its world premiere at the Unicorn Theatre, is Kelli Harrod’s rotating set, with the community theatre stage on one side and a realistic, mildly chaotic backstage space on the other, occasionally pausing midway to give us a glimpse at both arenas at once.
The play within a play being mounted by this troupe is not the classic Little Women, but a new take written by two of its actors. Siblings Florence and David May (Kimberly Horner and Will Porter) are adult theatre kids through and through, having grown up performing at Magic Valey Community Theatre. Their version of Little Women is 60 minutes long and conveys much of its plot and themes through song and dance (with music by Avi Amon), much to the chagrin of one board member (Anna Ryan).
Some of the hijinks in Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women are truly hilarious, especially around Florence and David’s dynamic. But there’s no compelling throughline driving things forward. The play within a play is up for competition and the characters’ minds are set on winning nationals, but that goal only occasionally influences the action of the actual play. There is a secret romance and dramatic love triangle that is so underdeveloped I genuinely don’t know how the playwrights, director Ernie Nolan, or anyone involved felt about any of the characters and their choices, let alone how we the audience were meant to receive them.
Ultimately, the ideas behind Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women are funny and clever. Unfortunately, the finished product falls short of fully delivering on those ideas.
“Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women” runs through December 7 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St. For more information, visit unicorntheatre.org.
