New York Times
By: Ben Brantley
"Beth is memorialized in a power ballad sung in a strong, lovely alto by Ms. McGovern."
USA Today
By:
"Maureen McGovern’s Marmee emerges as Little Women’s chief asset. As singer and actress, McGovern exudes a shimmering warmth ideally suited to the mother who dotes on, but never smothers, Jo and her sisters. And composer Jason Howland and lyricist Mindi Dickstein offer McGovern the show’s most affecting ballads."
Wall Street Journal
By: Terry Teachout
"Maureen McGovern’s Marmee is superb – her speaking voice is as musical as her singing."
AP
By: Michael Kushwara
"Maureen McGovern, as Marmee, the benevolent matriarch of the March family, is equally affecting. She has a beautiful voice, which Howland and Dickstein take full advantage of in the evening’s most accomplished songs, "Here Alone" and "Days of Plenty."
New Yorker
"…Maureen McGovern (as Marmee, their mother) gives a stirring rendition of the ballad, ‘Days of Plenty’…"
Variety
By: David Rooney
"Thereafter, the familiar story and characters start to kick in, given an assist by Maureen McGovern as the girls’ devoted mother. Marmee’s wistful song to her husband away at war, "Here Alone," provides one of a handful of emotional peaks.
Hollywood Reporter
By: Frank Scheck
"…Maureen McGovern (the pop thrush who gave us "The Morning After" three decades ago), as the stalwart Marmee, ... invests her musical numbers with a real emotional and vocal intensity."
Daily News
By: Howard Kissel
“…Maureen McGovern who invests surprising emotional power...”
New York Post
By: Clive Barnes
"Maureen McGovern as Marmee, the brood’s mother who sings like a lark."
The New York Sun
By: Jeremy McCarter
"The show’s best number is one of its simplest: "Here Alone," which the girls’ mother sings as she writes a letter to her far-off husband. As performed by Maureen McGovern, the song pulls a neat double duty: It gives emotional depth to her character, and to the rest of the show. Her other song, a big second-act pep talk called "Days of Plenty," also wows the crowd. It leaves the audience cheering her exit. McGovern gives a lovely, understated performance, so you can’t fault the impulse for throwing another number her way."
Newsday
By: Gordon Cox
"As Marmee, Maureen McGovern has a proper matronly demeanor that acquires unexpected force when she lets loose with that powerful voice of hers."
Philadelphia Inquirer
By: Desmond Ryan
"As their loving but not doting mother, Maureen McGovern captures the trials of a woman whose husband is away at war. One of the few memorable songs in the show is her wistful ‘Here Alone.’"
Toronto Star
By: Richard Ouzounian
"There is one performance worth seeing, and that is being given by Maureen McGovern as the faithful maternal Marmee. McGovern has dignity and a warmth that surrounds her like a golden bubble, not to mention that rich, honest voice that ennobles any song it touches.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
By: Christopher Rawson
"Maureen McGovern is as warm and supportive as you want, with a rich voice to boot."
Broadway.com
By: Eric Grode
"…And especially Maureen McGovern as the materfamilias Marmee roots the drama with a heartfelt confidence …
McGovern, who has burnished her beautiful instrument with a welcome maternal warmth, makes the most of her two songs..."
Theatermania.com
By: Barbara & Scott Siegel
"For example, we both believe that Maureen McGovern is a revelation as Marmee. If you have a character who’s one of the greatest mothers of all time, why not get a woman with one of the greatest voices of all time to play her? McGovern invests Marmee with a warm dignity that makes the audience immediately understand why her four girls love and respect her, and when she sings, there is perfection in the air. She literally stops the show in Act II with her soaring rendition of "Days of Plenty." In years to come, look for this stirring anthem to be performed in benefit events across the country.
American Theater Web
By: Andy Propst
"MaureenMcGovern, whose chest caresses each note and whose upper register sounds glowingly light, is fortunate to get two of Howland’s best numbers. In the first act, it’s "Here Alone", which begins with a lone violin (fiddle might be a more apt noun) sounding from the pit. The same can be said for "Days of Plenty" which McGovern sings in Act Two as Marmee provides words of wisdom to Jo, discouraged that she might never achieve any importance in her life. Kim Scharnberg’s orchestrations, here, call to mind the work of Aaron Copland, creating a majestically soaring ballad that McGovern delivers exquisitely."
Talkin’ Broadway
By: Matthew Murray
"McGovern’s is the finest performance: mannered, controlled, maternal, all-encompassing. She commands the stage whenever she’s present, and commands your attention and heart every time she speaks or sings."
Next Magazine
By: David Hurst
"The sublime Maureen McGovern almost steals the show as Marmee, with her luxurious voice and effortlessly understated performance."
Gay City News
By: David Kennerley
"And McGovern’s soaring ballad, "Days of Plenty," is worth the price of admission alone."
Danbury News Times
By: Chesley Plemmons
"The vocal assignments are handled well, with McGovern’s style particularly soothing."
Poughkeepsie Journal
By: Barbara Mehlman
"...The best voice in the show, Maureen McGovern...What an incredible talent. As Marmee, the girls' mother, McGovern sings the achingly beautiful ''Here Alone'' and ''Days of Plenty'' with polish, range and nuance..."
CurtainUp
By: Elsye Sommer
"Maureen McGovern's, "Days of Plenty," is probably the show’s most memorable song. It was the big show stopper at the performance I attended."
