“Little Things” comes home on August 29, when the Philadelphia-rooted musical gets its first showcase at a League of Resident Theatres house — Philadelphia Theatre Company, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre — after nearly a decade spent moving through readings, workshops, and festivals across the country. The complimentary showcase begins at 3 p.m., with general admission seating available by advance reservation. More on the show’s development history and digital media is available at littlethingsthemusical.com.
A Nine-Year Path to the Philadelphia Stage
The development history behind “Little Things” runs deep, and mostly through Philadelphia itself. The show went through two 29-Hour readings with 11th Hour Theatre Company in 2019 and 2020, followed by an AEA workshop at Ardmore Music Hall in 2022. That same year, it was selected as the sole staged reading at MusicalWriters.com’s inaugural national conference in Dallas-Fort Worth.
From there, the show kept collecting momentum: a spot in Philadelphia’s MusiCoLab New Works Showcase, the only production selected across all four workshops of CreateTheater’s “Smash It!” YouTube series in front of Broadway producers and dramaturgs, and a Gretna Theatre workshop that won Best Director for Michelle Tattenbaum along with acting honors for two cast members.
A Broadway cabaret at New York’s Laurie Beechman Theatre followed in November 2025, setting up this month’s return to Philadelphia.
The Story and the People Behind Little Things
“Little Things” follows Ben, a middle-aged Philadelphia father of three, as he moves downtown after accepting his marriage has ended, working to reunite with his kids while navigating a divorce attorney, memories of his courtship, and the disorienting freedom of starting over. Writer David Smith drew directly from his own life for the score, composing it in real time as his own separation unfolded.
“I wanted to honestly and genuinely depict how a marriage ends — but also show it can be done differently,” Smith said. “It’s an adventure.” The show marks his first musical.
Director Michelle Tattenbaum, whose work spans theater, film, and audio fiction podcasts downloaded millions of times monthly, leads a cast of ten Philadelphia-based performers, six of whom are Barrymore Award winners or nominees, with music by Tom Fosnocht, currently music director on the national tour of “The Music Man.”
What Comes Next for Little Things
Philadelphia Theatre Company Co-Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowski called the partnership a natural fit: “We’re thrilled to work with David, Michelle, and the team on this wonderful new musical, and we’re excited to see where it goes from here.”
Manhattan Stage Productions is already planning to lead-produce an Off-Broadway run in 2027, which means this showcase isn’t really an ending to the nine-year journey — it’s a hometown checkpoint on the way to something bigger.
There’s something quietly moving about a show this personal — written in real time, through an actual divorce, by a first-time musical writer — finding its way back to the city it was written in and about, right as it prepares to leave for a wider stage. What does it mean for a story this specific to Philadelphia to travel? And will the version audiences see Off-Broadway still feel like the one that started in a living room, or a 29-hour reading room, nearly a decade ago? For answers, go see “Little Things” on August 29th, before it grows big.
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