Good Wives

Corban Theatre Presents Good Wives: A Heartfelt Performance of a Timeless Classic

Corban University’s Theatre Department has once again brought classic literature to life with its stage adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Good Wives, the beloved sequel to Little Women. Under the direction of Tamara McGinnis, Corban’s talented theatre department realizes Peter Clapham’s stage adaptation with beautiful fidelity, from the staging and costuming to the intricate relational interplay of the March sisters. This production captures the heart, warmth, and timeless themes of their journey into adulthood. 

“This is a sweet story that a lot of people know and have grown up with,” says Elise Johnston, who plays the role of Jo March. “It’s nostalgic, and it’s been fun to make these characters our own.” 

Taking place three years after Little Women, Good Wives follows Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, and other popular characters surrounding the March sisters as they navigate love, loss, ambition, and the challenges of growing up. The story’s enduring themes of sisterhood, perseverance, love, and the pursuit of dreams are brought to the stage with remarkable authenticity, making this period piece feel as relevant today as it did in Alcott’s time. 

“It’s a story that still resonates,” says McKenna Pfeifer, who plays the role of Beth March. “It’s an honor to get to be a part of such a classic. We are so immersed in this story, and it just feels like a family. I’ve loved being a part of it.” 

The family feel the cast has adopted offstage has clearly translated to their onstage performance, as the actors involved in bringing the March family to life cultivate a sincere and relatable experience for the audience. Audience members are likely to find themselves immersed in the narrative as they, alongside the sisters, navigate comic moments of triviality, broken by tragedy, and then overcome by joy.  

From the moment the curtains part, the audience is transported to 19th-century New England with exquisite set design and period-accurate costumes. The carefully crafted parlor setting, warm lighting, and elegant attire immerse viewers in the world of the March family, while also capturing the claustrophobia of Alcott’s novel, and of the March sisters, who struggle in a society flexing against the constraints of the conventional femininity of the time. Every detail—from the delicate lace trimmings on Meg’s wedding dress to the well-worn pages of Jo’s manuscripts—adds to the authenticity of the production. 

Bringing a novel to the stage is no easy feat, but this adaptation is a far cry from the sensationalized fiction Jo March is pressured to write for The Weekly Volcano. Instead, Corban’s production remains true to the heart of Good Wives, preserving its key moments while offering something fresh for fans of the novel, the period, and live theater alike. 

Perhaps what makes Good Wives such a powerful production is this ability to connect with audiences across generations. While set in the 19th century, the themes of ambition, sacrifice, love, and resilience are deeply relatable, and the talented actors in Corban’s crew skillfully remind us that the challenges of adulthood are timeless, and that, most of all, as Jo says, “Truly, love does work miracles. So there must be something in it after all.”