By Chip Chandler — Producer
Amarillo-area audiences can get a sneak peek of the upcoming new PBS adaptation of Little Women.
Panhandle PBS and Amarillo Public Library will host a preview screening of the first hour of a new Masterpiece limited series at 6:30 p.m. May 8 in the downtown branch, 413 S.E. Fourth Ave. Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided.
Adapted by Heidi Thomas (creator of Call the Midwife), Little Women will premiere on Mother’s Day at 7 p.m. May 13, then conclude with two installments at 7 and 9 p.m. May 20.
Heading the cast are Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson (The Theory of Everything, Hilary and Jackie) as Marmee, the devoted mother of the four adolescent March girls; Michael Gambon (Churchill's Secret, Page Eight) as Mr. Laurence; and Academy Award-winner Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote, The Manchurian Candidate) as the March family matriarch, Aunt March.
Set against the backdrop of a country divided, the story follows the four March sisters on their journey from childhood to adulthood while their father is away at war.
“Little Women is one of the most-loved novels in the English language, and with good reason,” writer and executive producer Thomas said. “Its humanity, humor, and tenderness never date, and as a study of love, grief, and growing up it has no equal. There could be no better time to revisit the story of a family striving for happiness in an uncertain world.”
For information on the screening, call 806-371-5277.
Chip Chandler is a producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
