At its core, “Little Women of Orchard House” by David Longest is about family, following your dreams and listening to your heart. The play follows the daily drama and growing pains of four adolescent girls, who struggle to keep their family afloat while their father is away serving as an army chaplain in the Civil War.

Who better to portray the March girls — motherly Meg in her airy, eldest elegance, flames of Jo’s temper, shy Beth and spoiled baby Amy — in this beautifully dramatized adaption of the classic novel than students at East Juniata High School.

“Little Women is a classic story of unconditional love,” East Juniata High School Theatre director Jacqueline Malocu said. “The tale is endearing as everyday life unfolds to reveal that relationships are more complex and beautiful than they appear.”

The production of “Little Women of Orchard House” is this year’s fall play, and it opens on the high school stage today and runs through Sunday. Showtimes for all performances are 7 p.m. in the East Juniata High School auditorium.

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The Alcott Family (Kennedy Seigler-Lewis, Sylvianna Hund, Avery Mitchell, Eowyn Rendall, Lily Poorman, and Colton Leitzel) are lost in the woods and meet Henry David Thoreau (Rylan Feehrer).

“The students have worked incredibly hard to capture the essence of their characters and bring a full range of emotion to the stage,” Malocu explained.

“I am so proud that they are willing to stretch way beyond the edges of the comfort zone known to junior high and high school students,” Malocu added. “This effort brings a story to the stage that will make you cling to the moment and feel to your core.”

Little Women has remained enduringly popular since its publication in 1868, becoming the inspiration for a whole genre of family stories. Set in a small New England community, it tells of the March family: Marmee, who is played by Adelie Fisher, looks after her four daughters in the absence of her husband.

Meg (Aubrey Fogle), Jo (Rebekah Ehrisman), Beth (Emma Mattern) and Amy (Seraphina Malocu) experience domestic trials and triumphs as they attempt to supplement the family’s small income.

Longest has taken the classic Louisa May Alcott novel and expanded it into a sweeping historical tale. The play begins with Louisa May (Jordana Steffen) recalling her own childhood.

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Aubrey Fogle (Meg March) and Adelie Fisher (Marmee) console Emma Mattern (Beth March).

Audiences will quickly meet the real Alcott sisters and the many literary greats who visited Orchard House, their home in Concord, Mass.: Henry David Thoreau (Rylan Feehrer), once Louisa May’s teacher; Thomas Niles (Brayden Howard), her editor and publisher; Ralph Waldo Emerson (Declan Burger), a close friend of the family; George Bartlett (Camden Feltman), a local Concord actor; and a host of other real-life characters who influenced Alcott throughout her life.

As the dramatization of “Little Women” begins, the fictional plot of the novel and the real-life friends and family of Alcott are cleverly entwined.

This powerful, tender and touching play brings new insight into the person Alcott actually was and showers us with renewed hope in the strength of family bonds and the spirit of love.

The cast also features Colton Leitzel as Bronson Alcott, Lily Poorman as Abba Alcott, Sylvianna Hund as young Anna and Anna Alcott, Kennedy Seigler-Lewis as young Louy and Louisa May, Eowyn Randall as young Lizzie and Lizzie Alcott, Avery Mitchell as young Abby May and May Alcott, Kamerin Duffy as Mrs. Emerson, Sage Matthews as Elizabeth Peabody and Alyssa Kerstetter as Margaret Fuller.

Additionally, Poorman was also cast as Hannah, Chase Kerstetter as Theodore “Laurie” Laurence, Wyatt Burdge as Mr. Laurence, Matthews as Aunt March and Burger, Duffy, Feehrer, Fogle, Matthews, Layla Folk, Gabrianna Price, Ella Snyder and Bryanna Swartz as Mr. Laurence’s party guests.

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Jordana Steffen (Louisa May Alcott) introduces the audience to her story, ‘Little Women.’

Leitzel also plays John Brooke, with Burger as Mr. Davis, and Fogle, Folk, Hund, Price, Rendall, Seigler-Lewis, Snyder, Swartz, Joanna Hess, Vivianna Kerstetter, Nevaeh Mesmer and Avery Mitchell as schoolhouse children.

Rounding out the cast are Swartz as Mr. Moffat, Snyder as Mrs. Moffat, Duffy as Mr. Gardiner, Alyssa Kerstetter as Mrs. Gardiner, Hund as Annie Moffat, Price as Belle Gardiner, Folk as Sallie Gardiner, Evie Symmerman as Daisy Gardiner, Mesmer as Clara Gardiner, Brayden Howard as Captain March, Burdge as Professor Friedrich Baehr and Feehrer as Freddy Vaughn.

The crew includes Kole Boop, Addison Dimm, Zebediah Ehrisman, Autumn Fronk, Lillian Leach, Tanner Kerstetter, Quinn Reichenbach, Cloe Snook and Emma Tabb.

Tickets can be purchased at the door one hour prior to showtimes or online at https://cur8.com/25770/project/125711.