Donna Hoke is no stranger to the playwright world and in fact has been a monumental force in Buffalo’s theatre scene for a number of years. With her plays being shown worldwide, to have her plays make their home right there is the Queen City is truly a gift to our city. Her most recent play Little Women… Now will be a must see this season as it tackles challenges and trials of life that have remained through generations past, and will continue in generations to come. This play will touch on all those emotions, and leave you feeling a greater appreciation for family, friends and those most important around you.
Little Women… Now brings the beloved March sisters to life in this contemporary adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic. Follow Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth as they navigate the challenges of love, loss, and family on the road from childhood to adulthood in the 21st century. With fresh perspective and charm, this world premiere production captures the spirit and sensibility of the original for a modern audience.
“I think most people are familiar with Little Women and so it really is that story, but the characters are 2022 versions of those characters. So, their language, clothing and concerns are all very much current- it’s not a period piece. But, you will recognize the characters,” explains Hoke.
Amongst Hoke’s countless accomplishments, Little Women…Now brings a special sort of nostalgia for the playwright as much of it was written with her own family dynamic in mind. To add to this, her daughter Sabrina Kahwaty stars in the production as Amy, an accomplishment she describes as a “dream come true.” While Kahwaty’s theatre involvement has been fundamental in her young adult and adult life, both Hoke and her daughter have managed to ensure they don’t become too entangled in each other’s career- but, this play is a different story.
“I just feel above all extremely grateful because I admire my mom so much. She’s my role model. She’s my best friend. I think she’s incredible because she is. I’ve watched her productions happen locally and elsewhere for so many years and I’m so proud of her always. To get to be a part of that with her is so special, and for it to be a story that means so much to me on top of that- it’s a dream come true. I love her writing. I love her words. The fact that my mom is the playwright is just like I said, a dream come true,” says Kahwaty.
This play runs deep for not only Hoke and Kahwaty, but also much of the cast who have stuck with this production since its origins in 2018. The dream for this play has been a long time coming and has successfully survived through the pandemic’s nasty grip on the theatre industry at large.
“I want to talk about the cast because those people who were sitting around my table in 2018 are all still with the show, with the exception of one who replaced shortly after that reading, she moved away to Chicago, and she came back to do this show. All the other cast members have stuck with the show through two postponements all of COVID. I mean, they’re all really committed to it and it shows. I just think the cast is fabulous and I just feel so lucky. So, I just wanted give a shout out to all of them because the fact that they have stuck with it since 2018 is, is nothing sort of remarkable,” shares Hoke
The audience can expect to be captivated by the heart-felt emotional embodiments from the cast, as they have all anxiously anticipated this shows production. With nods to the original, this play shows the timelessness of many beloved classics and just how relevant the things of old can be for us today.
“I hope the audience feels all the same things they felt when they watch the original. I want them to feel the familiarity of the classic that they love, but I want them to realize that those personality types are timeless, that they just interact differently in different times. And you can reveal more in different times than was revealed in the 18th century,” explains Hoke.
With the return to theatre in recent past months, this mother daughter duo is thrilled to be back doing productions both separately and now together. Hoke has been a driving force for Buffalo’s theatre industry and looks forward to it’s continued growth coming out of such difficult times.
“The arts are a vital part of the human experience. I think that when people go to the theater, they’re looking to see something truthful, something they recognize or something they can relate to,” explains Kahwaty.
And this production is sure to do just that. No matter your circumstances, this show will give a refreshing perspective on the modern human experience and relate to any audience.
These must-see performances can be seen from April 23 till May 22 at Road Less Traveled Theatre every Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 7:30pm, and Sunday 2:00pm. To purchase tickets or learn more about Road Less Traveled Theatre visit https://www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org/little-womennow
Photography by Vincent Berbano. Audio Editing by Addison Schoonmaker