Sisters laugh together. Sisters cry together. Sisters throw each other’s transcripts in the fire.

Mark Adamo’s adaptation of “Little Women” will be performed by the NIU Opera Workshop, in collaboration with the NIU Philharmonic, today at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m., in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building.

“The audience can expect a very well-crafted and heartfelt retelling of a novel,” said James Tucker, stage director. “It’s sentimental and moving.”

The novel, written by Louisa May Alcott, depicts the story of four sisters growing up in New England during and immediately after the Civil War. Adamo’s version is condensed, focusing on the four main events of the novel.

Graduate student Molly Morrissey plays Jo, the central character. Morrissey has been in the workshop for two years. This role is the most challenging she has played, she said.

“She is a very human character with a lot of contradictions to herself,” Morrissey said. “She is portrayed as a real person in the opera, which is what I love most about it.”

The two-hour opera is in English, as opposed to most operas which are presented in Italian or German, said Brett Mitchell, director of orchestra.

When deciding which opera to perform, recent presentations need to be considered, Mitchell said.

“If you do Mozart one year, you don’t want to do Beethoven the next year,” Mitchell said. “You want diversity.”

The size of the orchestra needed is also a factor, with this production’s orchestra of 30 pushing at the seams in the pit, Mitchell said.

The orchestra began rehearsing for the opera in February.

“The sound of the music will sound like music the audience has listened to, whether it’s Broadway or jazz,” Mitchell said. “It’s pretty diverse. It’s an eclectic kind of sound.”

The strong vocalists enrolled in opera this year were predominantly female, allowing the production to choose “Little Women” for an ample number of singers to fill the leading female roles.

The costumes reflect the period nearing the end of the Civil War, the time period the novel was set in. The cast of about 20 will show women donning long skirts and blouses, while the men sport vests, Tucker said.

The NIU Opera Workshop presents one fully staged opera a year. L’Enfant et les Sortilège was performed last year.

Tickets can be purchased at the door at $8 for general admission and $6 for non-NIU students. NIU students are admitted free with a valid student ID.