A Little Princess

by V. Glasgow Koste

Play based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett for 5 women, 4 men (with doubling, 2 men). 70 minutes. $ 6.50

From riches to rags--from the extreme wealth suggested by diamond mines to such extreme poverty that a fourpence in the mud is a treasure beyond counting--A Little Princess has been so popular with generations of children that it has never gone out of print.

This dramatization captures the spellbinding power of storytelling and imagination at the heart of Sara Crewe's gallant fight against deprivation. The drama unfolds so inevitably that one almost thinks it should have been written as a play in the first place. And it has five rich roles for women . . . Sara herself, her schoolmates Ermengarde and Lavinia, the chambermaid Becky, and the choice character role of the headmistress. The age appeal of this solid classic is broad, and boys enjoy it as much as girls. They are equally engrossed in the dramatic exploration of the question: what does it mean to be a princess inside?