Show Synopsis:
A young aspiring author named Jo is living in New York, and she is upset that her friend, the German professor Friedrich Bhaer, does not care for her latest story. She remembers when she was full of hope for her writing career as a young woman growing up in Concord, Massachusetts during the Civil War with her three sisters. She remembers a Christmas when they put on a play that she wrote while missing their father, who was fighting in the war. Jo meets a neighbor boy Laurie at a dance while her older sister Meg begins to fall in love with Laurie?s tutor Mr. Brooke. The third sister, Beth, becomes a friend of Laurie?s grumpy grandfather Mr. Lawrence and Jo learns the importance of sisterly love when Amy angers her but Jo saves her from falling into a frozen pond. Mr. Brooke and Meg become engaged, but Jo rejects Laurie?s marriage proposal and begins to focus on her writing career. Back in New York, Jo tells Professor Bhaer that she has sold a story to a notorious editor just before she finds out that Beth has scarlet fever and she must return to Concord. Beth dies and Jo grieves by writing the story of her life with her sisters, which becomes Little Women. Laurie and Amy marry and Professor Bhaer proposes to Jo and tells her that he has sold her manuscript for publication.	

Character:
Marmee, a courageous wife and mother who wants her family to be safe and well.

Song Context:
At the end of a long day during the Christmas season, Marmee reads a letter from her husband, who is fighting in the Civil War, to her daughters, who all have their various concerns and anxieties about life. She sits down to write him back and finds how hard it is to communicate what she is thinking and feeling to him.

Fun Facts:
1) This musical was based on Louisa May Alcott?s famous novel of the same name, which is loosely based on Alcott?s life story and relationships with her sisters. 
2) Maureen McGovern originated the role of Marmee on Broadway, and it was the first time she originated a role on Broadway. She was honored with a Drama Desk Award nomination.