Jo was in many ways the definitive Katherine Hepburn role so it’s no surprise she agreed to reprise the part for Theatre Guild on the Air. She sounds a little too mature at first, if truth be told, despite her excellent – but this bothered me less as the piece went on. There’s not much you can say about Little Women that hasn’t been said; it’s very easy to make fun of and very resilient – in part because some of the material is dark (eg there’s a war on, dad gets sick, Beth dies). The dichotomy between Jo and Meg and Amy is similar to the sisters in Pride and Prejudice (I love how when Marmee says good bye to the girls she tells Amy to stop thinking so well of herself). It’s possible to read all sorts of interpretations into it, including Jo being a lesbian – personally I think she didn’t marry Laurie because when push came to shove he was too dumb for her. Oscar Homolka plays the Professor, better known as Act Three love interest – their attraction is always such an iffy part of adaptations of this book, and it doesn’t quite work here. Now if Spencer Tracy had played the part…
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