Peering through the small one-centimeter hole in the wall, Cooper Brown ‘25, lead actor playing Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, watched as his friends performed. Excitement rushed through his body as he ran to tell the others in the cast about his discovery during rehearsal. After that day, there was always traffic backstage as cast members fought for the best view to enjoy the show.

“The thing that I wanted people to take away from ‘Little Women’ is to find themselves in every character,” Brown said. “Apart from playing Laurie, I as [Brown], find little features of myself in every character, and I want the audience to feel the same way in order to see themselves in the March family.”

The Children’s Theater of Western Springs (CTWS) put on “Little Women” through their High School Representative (HSR) program on March 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 15 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and again on March 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. “Little Women” is an adaptation of the original novel by Kate Hamill. “Little Women” follows the lives of the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—growing up during the Civil War. The play explores themes of family, love, and personal ambition, highlighting each sister’s unique dreams and challenges, Brown said.

With auditions on MLK weekend, rehearsals began not long after on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., stage manager Rita Hynes ‘25 said. Tech Week started on March 8, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with rehearsals every day of the week.

“During tech week, one of the actors got sick and wasn’t able to attend one of the rehearsals,” Sound Chair Lily Ruiz ‘25 said. “It was pretty nerve-wracking because we didn’t know what we would do if she couldn’t attend the show. Thankfully, she got better, and the show was great.”

“Little Women” was the best-selling of all of the HSR shows, Ruiz said. Each show was either completely sold out or close to it. HSR, a theater program for high school students, usually puts on two shows a year, one scary or funny show in the fall and one more serious show in the spring.

“It handles all the struggles that everyone goes through growing up,” Hynes said. “It’s kind of reassuring that growing up is okay, and it’s a part of life.”

The adult advisors at the theater thought “Little Women” would be the perfect fit for the HSR program,  Brown said. With their already female-dominated program, they were set on doing “Little Women.” But no matter who heard about the title, everyone was super excited to have the opportunity to perform such an adored play with their friends.

“I auditioned because of the people,” Brown said. “The creative crew that we had already decided coupled with the people who I knew were auditioning was such an incredible group that I couldn’t not be a part of it. And with a title as iconic as ‘Little Women,’ it was a no-brainer to do that incredible story with such an incredible group of people.”