Tech’s Backdoor Playhouse 2026-27 season opens with ‘Little Women: The Musical’
Tennessee Tech University’s Backdoor Playhouse will open its 2026-27 season with “Little Women: The Musical” Nov. 5-14.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 5-14, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, Nov. 8. Tickets may be purchased and seats selected online in advance or at the box office before each performance.
“‘Little Women: The Musical’ tells the heartfelt story of the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Their experiences remind us of our own journeys growing up, pursuing dreams, falling in love, and finding courage and strength in the face of life’s unexpected challenges,” said Director Wendy Mullen.
Music direction for the production is by Lucy Knowles and choreography is by Caitlin Schaub.
The musical adapts Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel with music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and a book by Allan Knee. The story of the March sisters explores family, ambition and finding their places in the world.
Set against the backdrop of Civil War America, the story follows Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy as their shared upbringing gives way to individual journeys. At its center is Jo March, an aspiring writer determined to see her stories published while remaining connected to the family that has shaped her.
When publishers reject her work, Jo receives advice from her friend Professor Bhaer to draw more deeply from her own experiences. Her search for a story worth telling turns her attention toward the lives she knows best: her own and those of her sisters.
The musical brings that journey to life through a score that includes “Our Finest Dreams,” “Astonishing,” “Some Things Are Meant to Be” and “Days of Plenty.” Its blend of humor, heartache and hope follows the sisters as they face change and discover what their futures might hold.
For audiences who already know the March family, the production offers a musical way to revisit familiar characters. For newcomers, it introduces a story rooted in the bonds between sisters and the challenge of pursuing personal dreams while navigating the needs and expectations of loved ones. Family, friendship and love remain central even as the sisters’ lives take different directions.
The Backdoor Playhouse is located at the rear of the Jere Whitson Memorial Building, 805 Quadrangle, on Tech’s campus in Cookeville. The box office opens one hour before each performance. Ticket information and online purchasing are available at https://www.tntech.edu/fine-arts/theatre/tickets.php.
General admission is $18, senior and military admission is $15, and admission for Tech students with a valid Eagle Card is $5. Admission for faculty and staff night on the second Thursday performance is $5.
The production is part of Tech’s theatre program, which combines classroom study with practical experience in performance and production. The program provides opportunities for students across majors to develop skills onstage and behind the scenes while gaining hands-on experience in bringing a production to an audience.
“Little Women” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, which also supplies the authorized performance materials.