Angela Lansbury Joining 'Little Women' BBC/PBS Series? Who Will Actress Play?
Angela Lansbury is reportedly plotting her return to television. The star of the series "Murder, She Wrote," is in talks to join the adaptation of the classic novel "Little Women."
BBC and PBS are behind the television adaptation of the story that American novelist Louisa May Alcott published in 1868 and 1869. "Little Women" follows the lives of four sisters -- Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy -- during the Civil War. It's a tale of love and loss and of how young women lived during the time period.
If Lansbury agrees and joins the series, she will be playing Aunt March in "Little Women." In the book, Jo takes care of Aunt March, a relative from the girls' paternal side. The character is described as a wealthy and fussy elderly who likes Jo's younger sister Amy better because she behaves more like a lady than Jo.
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"Little Women," a formidable literary institution, has had plenty of adaptations in films, the Broadway stage and even in anime. The novel has been touted as an influential read for young adults, especially women. In 1994, Columbia did a "Little Women" movie with Winona Ryder as Jo, Claire Danes as Beth, Kirsten Dunst as Amy and Trina Alvarado as Meg.
Lansbury is an institution herself, with an illustrious career that started 75 years ago. Lansbury won numerous Tony and Golden Globe awards and is best-loved in modern films as the voice of Mrs. Potts in the Disney "Beauty and the Beast" animation.
Her role as Jessica Fletcher in the TV show "Murder, She Wrote" made her a household name. The light-hearted detective drama aired from 1984 to 1996 on CBS.
No other casting announcements have been made for the rest of the actors on "Little Women" so far. BBC and PBS plan to develop this into a three-hour miniseries with Heidi Thomas serving as writer and Vanessa Caswill as director. "We hope to deliver a new screen version that will speak to contemporary audiences, meet the expectations of the book's ardent fans and bring a whole new generation to this great classic," producer Colin Callender said in a press release.