Bethany College & Broadway RFD present Little Women: The Broadway Musical
February 13, 2020
LINDSBORG, KAN., DATE— January 28, 2020-Louisa May Alcott’s beloved American classic about love and family is coming to the Burnett Center stage at Bethany College this April, as Bethany College and Broadway RFD team up once again to present Little Women: The Broadway Musical. The production is part of the 2020 Messiah Festival of the Arts: Celebrating Women in the Arts.
Little Women has played on stages across America and around the world. Critics have praised it for its adapting such a … timeless, captivating story” into a musical that “is filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope, and everlasting love.”
Based on Alcott’s own life, Little Women follows the adventures of the March sisters—Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. Jo, the budding young writer, is at the center of the story. Receiving rejection after rejection from publishers, Jo takes the advice of Professor Bhaer, a fellow inhabitant of Mrs. Kirk’s Boarding House, and began writing stories based more on her own life. She “weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America.”
Helming the production is Eric Johnson, of McPherson, a member of the ensemble in last winter’s Bethany/Broadway RFD production of Sondheim on Sondheim, and most recently seen as the Father in the BC Theatre fall production of Eurydice. The cast includes 12 Bethany College students, with Abby Rishel-Barnett, Elaina Bergquist, Rebecca Sawyer, and Maya Hererra taking on the roles of Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, respectively. Two members of the Bethany faculty will be seen on stage as well, Dr. Pari Ford as Mrs. Kirk, and Dr. Arminta Fox as Marmee, the matron of the March family.
Performances of Little Women will be Friday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, April 4 at 2:00 p.m. in Burnett Center, on the Bethany College campus. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $7.00 for students. Seating is general admission.
Cast List:
Role Name
JO MARCH Abigail Rishel-Barnett
PROFESSOR BHAER Brett Baldwin
AMY MARCH Rebecca Sawyer
MEG MARCH Elaina Bergquist
BETH MARCH Maya Herrera
MARMEE MARCH Arminta Fox
MR. LAWRENCE Tom Nelson
LAURIE LAWRENCE Joshua Hall
AUNT MARCH Tara Nicole Harms-Becker
MR. JOHN BROOK Caleb Hildenbrand
MRS. KIRK Pari Ford
CLARISSA Madison Price
BRAXTON Mikey Baker
RODRIGO Ryan Dye
KNIGHT Matt Eades
HAG Jessica Greer
TROLL Lakisha Comstock
Director Eric Johnson
Stage Manager Madison Walter
Music Director Sid Showalter
Vocal Director Jeanie Lucas
Set Designer Greg LeGault
Lighting Designer Eric Johnson
Sound Designer Eric Lundstrom
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to educate, develop, and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead lives of faith, learning, and service. Bethany connects its past, present, and future with distinctive initiatives like Swedes to Sweden, a free service-learning trip for the sophomore class to Sweden, and the Good Life Scholarship, presenting all local high school graduates with a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to the college. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu and is located in Lindsborg, Kansas, the fine arts and crafts capital of the state.
Little Women has played on stages across America and around the world. Critics have praised it for its adapting such a … timeless, captivating story” into a musical that “is filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope, and everlasting love.”
Based on Alcott’s own life, Little Women follows the adventures of the March sisters—Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. Jo, the budding young writer, is at the center of the story. Receiving rejection after rejection from publishers, Jo takes the advice of Professor Bhaer, a fellow inhabitant of Mrs. Kirk’s Boarding House, and began writing stories based more on her own life. She “weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America.”
Helming the production is Eric Johnson, of McPherson, a member of the ensemble in last winter’s Bethany/Broadway RFD production of Sondheim on Sondheim, and most recently seen as the Father in the BC Theatre fall production of Eurydice. The cast includes 12 Bethany College students, with Abby Rishel-Barnett, Elaina Bergquist, Rebecca Sawyer, and Maya Hererra taking on the roles of Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, respectively. Two members of the Bethany faculty will be seen on stage as well, Dr. Pari Ford as Mrs. Kirk, and Dr. Arminta Fox as Marmee, the matron of the March family.
Performances of Little Women will be Friday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, April 4 at 2:00 p.m. in Burnett Center, on the Bethany College campus. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $7.00 for students. Seating is general admission.
Cast List:
Role Name
JO MARCH Abigail Rishel-Barnett
PROFESSOR BHAER Brett Baldwin
AMY MARCH Rebecca Sawyer
MEG MARCH Elaina Bergquist
BETH MARCH Maya Herrera
MARMEE MARCH Arminta Fox
MR. LAWRENCE Tom Nelson
LAURIE LAWRENCE Joshua Hall
AUNT MARCH Tara Nicole Harms-Becker
MR. JOHN BROOK Caleb Hildenbrand
MRS. KIRK Pari Ford
CLARISSA Madison Price
BRAXTON Mikey Baker
RODRIGO Ryan Dye
KNIGHT Matt Eades
HAG Jessica Greer
TROLL Lakisha Comstock
Director Eric Johnson
Stage Manager Madison Walter
Music Director Sid Showalter
Vocal Director Jeanie Lucas
Set Designer Greg LeGault
Lighting Designer Eric Johnson
Sound Designer Eric Lundstrom
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to educate, develop, and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead lives of faith, learning, and service. Bethany connects its past, present, and future with distinctive initiatives like Swedes to Sweden, a free service-learning trip for the sophomore class to Sweden, and the Good Life Scholarship, presenting all local high school graduates with a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to the college. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu and is located in Lindsborg, Kansas, the fine arts and crafts capital of the state.
Bethany College is proud to announce the return of sideline cheer, launching with the 2025–26 academic year. Leading the program is newly appointed head coach Patricia Smith, an experienced educator and cheer coach. Sideline cheer will return to Bethany’s home football and basketball games.
Bethany College is pleased to announce the appointment of Audrey Saxton as the new Assistant Professor of English. Saxton earned both her Master of Arts and Ph.D. in English from Penn State University, where she taught courses in writing and composition, world literature, and pre-1800 literature.
Bethany College is pleased to announce the appointment of Megan Case as the new Assistant Professor of Religion. Case earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 2016 in Ancient Mediterranean Religions with a graduate portfolio in Women's and Gender Studies.
