Review: Jo - The Little Women Musical (Theatre Royal Drury Lane)

Review by Daz Gale

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For six days a week, London’s iconic Theatre Royal Drury Lane may play host to Hercules, but they’re mixing it up a bit on Sundays, with a series of one-night-only concerts planned for the next few weeks, including Once On This Island and the world premiere of Sea Witch. It's another world premiere that kicks off the season, however, with the hotly anticipated debut of Jo - The Little Women Musical. Already accruing a fan base thanks to its acclaimed album release, hopes were high for its long-awaited stage debut. Would this Jo be able to take flight, or would it prove that some beloved stories are better left on the page?

Of course, this isn’t the first time Little Women has been adapted for the stage. Louisa May Alcott’s novel has been the subject of many adaptations since its 1868 debut, with a different musical adaptation, also titled Little Women, proving astonishing for theatre lovers on both sides of the Atlantic. Jo - The Little Women Musical attempts to carve out its own take on the story, focusing on Jo and her three sisters - Meg, Beth and Amy. Focusing on the sisters' lives as they come of age and each navigate love, ambition and sacrifice.

Jo - The Little Women Musical is a project that has been in the pipeline for decades, with its origins harking back to 1996. It went on the back burner until 2020, when it was dusted off and reshaped into the version that premiered at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25th January 2026. Though it has had presentations in America, London has proven a natural home for this musical, with the studio album recorded in the iconic Abbey Road studios last year. Having attended the launch of that album and falling in love with the music, I was keen to see how the story exploded on stage, so when this world premiere performance was announced, there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

The greatest aspect of Jo - The Little Women Musical is undoubtedly the music itself. Soaring to glorious heights, their riches were exquisite to experience on the bustling Theatre Royal Drury Lane stage. There is a real timelessness and romantic quality to this music, with an immediate familiarity that gives the sense this was a musical from another time - perhaps one you grew up with, as opposed to the stark realisation this is a brand new work. Its influences are clearly felt, with aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber and even a bit of Les Misérables in places. Its biggest influence seems to be Alan Menken, with a distinct similarity to some of the most classic of Disney movies, essentially turning Jo into a Disney Princess - a weird comparison, maybe, but one that strangely works.

Dan Redfeld’s music is a thing of beauty, resulting in one of the strongest scores I have seen on stage in many a year. The underscoring present throughout adds to the charm and intricacy of the material, with moments I regularly sank back into my seat and enjoyed the outstanding sound emanating from the stage. The entr’acte and post-curtain call playout were two moments that perfectly represented the stunning nature of the material, incredibly performed by an orchestra, orchestrated and conducted by Redfeld himself. 

The quality of the music is so strong that it made the book pale in comparison. Written by Christina Harding and John Gabriel Koladziej, it has the unenviable task of taking all of the necessary elements from the novel, making harsh cuts and honing in on specific elements to tell - without doing this, you would be looking at a show that is on stage for far too long, though arguably this still was. The book in its current form doesn’t quite work, blitzing through stories at a rapid pace so that no impact is felt - a character is sick then recovers a minute later, a character rushes off urgently and returns seconds later. There needs to be some breathing room to really allow the heart of the story to flourish, and the result is a book that lacks the depth and emotion needed to truly convey the story.

Quite often with musicals based on existing stories, such as novels or movies, you get the sense that the songs have been shoehorned in and can sometimes be noticeably weaker than the book. Jo has the opposite problem, with the book feeling as if it is filling the gaps between the songs, with its only purpose being to build up until the next song. This meant that the dialogue often felt clumsy and clunky, with certain moments feeling wooden and making the story drag, despite the breakneck speed at which it is told. It also lacks identity in places - though this is meant to be a far more Jo-centric version of Little Women, sometimes she fades into the background as the other characters take centre stage. While that is, of course, fine to a certain degree, Jo would be a lot better with a lot more Jo. Though the book is not as strong as the music, the same cannot be said for the lyrics, also penned by Harding and Koladziej, matching the strength perfectly, resulting in beautifully complemented compositions.

Like so many other shows of its kind, Jo - The Little Women Musical uses the term “concert” loosely, with minimal props, choreography and staging. Joann M Hunter’s direction uses creative ways to tell the story, though some of the weaker elements of the book may well feel stronger when the show is fully staged, allowing for scene changes and an easier sense of what is going on in terms of timelines. There is one urgent aspect of the production that needs to be addressed, however, and that is it is far too long in its current form. There needs to be a sense of going back to the source material and working out what needs to be there and what doesn’t, while also looking at the elements that are blitzed through too quickly. There are some truly breathtaking elements in this musical, so to have people checking their watches or shifting in their seats as it shows no sign of finishing (or even heading to the interval) acts as a disservice to the material.

There are two elements of Jo - The Little Women Musical that are so strikingly good, it makes you gloss over the flaws present in this first outing. The first, as already mentioned, is its sensational music. The second is the out-of-this-world cast. Christine Allado leads the pack as the titular Jo March. Whenever Allado is on stage, she is a force to be reckoned with, and her Jo is no exception. Her magnetic stage presence and vocal prowess are always incredible to witness, and this may well be a career best for her, with her immeasurable talents beautifully utilised throughout. The best moments of Jo are when Jo herself is singing, with numbers such as ‘Journey’ and the rousing Act One finale ‘Fly Away’ among the highlights of the show. Closing number ‘This Is Our Story’ also highlights Allado’s strengths and further demonstrates why a show called Jo needs a lot more Jo in it.

The other March sisters are equally impressive, with Kelly Mathieson, Eleanor Grant and Sophie Pollono all delivering phenomenal turns as Meg, Beth and Amy, respectively. When Allado, Mathieson and Pollono come together for ‘A Prayer For Beth’, it proves spine-tinglingly good. Mathieson gets some strong moments early on, namely in ‘The Simple Truth’, though is disappointingly sidelined later on, noticeably absent in Act Two. There is a slight Cosette and Marius quality to her relationship with John Brooke (wonderfully played by Liam Tamne), with their duet ‘To Swear My Love To You’ feeling as if it could have come from Les Misérables. Tobias Turley is another standout in the cast with his joyous turn as the sweet Laurie. His big Act Two number ‘No Turning Back’ brings the house down, while his duet with Pollono’s Amy on ‘My Captive Heart’ provoked one of the biggest reactions of the night, and was my personal favourite of all the largely addictive musical numbers.

Though she has comparatively little stage time, Kerry Ellis delivers a memorable turn as Marmee, getting one standout number in each Act in the shape of ‘Little Women’ and ‘Between the Earth and Sky’, while a disappointingly underused Julian Ovenden gets one standout moment as Father March with instant classic ‘The Heart Of a Woman’. Chris Mann has a solid performance later on as Professor Bhaer, while the ever-reliable Tracie Bennett is as scene-stealing as ever with her small but mighty turn as Aunt March. In her own distinctive style, Bennett gives a camp and over-the-top performance as the eccentric relative, receiving the biggest laughs of the night with her cutting one-liners, brilliant looks and her brief but fabulous musical numbers. Though this musical is meant to be centred around Jo, I wouldn’t be opposed to a spin-off focusing on Aunt March - as long as the amazing Bennett could reprise the role, of course.

These one-night-only concerts have a tendency to be plagued by sound problems, and sadly Jo - The Little Women Musical is no exception. Though Nick Pugh’s sound design was frequently crystal clear and perfectly filled the space at its best, there were a few too many missed sound cues with characters plunged into silence, often at crucial moments. The balance did prove off at moments too, with loud vocals making it difficult to understand the words. There were also some gorgeous usages of Rory Beaton’s lighting design, though that also suffered from some missed cues, with characters performing in darkness. The costumes also didn’t match the quality of both the cast and the music, needing a much finer detail if/when this show is seen again.

If this were a fully staged production, the weighting of the book would influence my overall enjoyment of the show more than it did on this occasion. However, Jo - The Little Women Musical was billed as a concert, with the music rightly front and centre. Though it is very clear that the book needs a lot of work before it inevitably returns for a full run, the potential is clear to see, and the songs themselves are reason alone to immerse yourself in Jo’s world. Imperfect as it may be, this is one of the better new musicals I have seen debut in concert form in recent years, and it has me excited for the bright future I’m sure it has ahead of it. Certainly a story worth telling, it just needs a little more lift before it can truly fly off the page.

Jo - The Little Women Musical played at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 25th January 2026. Keep an eye on https://jothemusical.com/ to find out when it will return in the future.

Photos by Roger Alacorn