Lillian Hellman’s taut and tense play about a scheming set of siblings and how women cope at a time when they are, for the most part, powerless makes for fascinating theater at Northampton Community College.
Staged in the intimate Lab Theatre, the talented cast of “The Little Foxes” draws the audience right into the manipulative power plays of this disturbingly dysfunctional family.
Set in the post-Civil War South, a businessman (a suave Akash Verma) puts the plot into motion by enticing brothers Oscar and Ben Gibbens to invest in a cotton mill that they hope will make them rich. Their sister Regina also wants in, but must convince her estranged husband Horace who has a bad heart, to put up the $75,000 stake.
Regina, played with calculated charm and dogged determination by Carter Reichard, has always been controlled by the men in her life – from her father who left all his money to her brothers to her husband who refuses to release the money for the investment she thinks will give her the freedom she craves. 
As she ultimately demonstrates, the selfish and manipulative Regina literally will do whatever it takes to get her way, destroying the men in her life and even wrecking her relationship with her daughter.
Oscar’s cowed wife Birdie, played with desperate sweetness by Grace Misciagna, is the opposite of Regina and has been utterly destroyed by the men in her life. Misciagna is heartbreaking when a drunken Birdie reveals the painful reality of her abusive marriage to Oscar.
As Regina and Horace’s daughter Alexandra, Tamara Decker starts out innocently naive and pliant but by the end of the three-act play has a steely resolve, daring her mother to try to force her to do anything.
She is aided in her transformation by the encouragement of her father, who is determined to get something better than what has happened to Regina and Birdie, for his daughter.
Justin Fenner’s Horace is sardonic and quietly vengeful in his efforts to punish his wife, but still sympathetic, making the final act all the more shocking. He convincingly portrays Horace’s physical deterioration and collapse,
The undisputed leader of the Gibbens’ clan, Ben is played with bemused ruthlessness by Brandon Costanzo. He oozes confidence that he has it all figured out, but yet still gives Regina grudging credit when she bests him.
The cruel Oscar is played with his anger simmering just below the surface by Joe Dionne. It is discomforting when the mercurial Oscar lets his vitriol fly, usually at the expense of the hapless Birdie.
Oscar and Birdie’s weaselly son is given a conniving slickness by Jake Geske.
Rounding out the cast are Taylor Colbert and Tyrese Goodridge, solid as the family servants who watch the goings on with knowing eyes.
Director Clair M. Freeman maintains the tension throughout as the family members try to outmaneuver each other and keeps the pacing brisk.Scenic designer Brett Oliveira has created a well-appointed Southern home that envelopes the entire space.Due to mature themes, the show is recommended for middle school and older.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29 and March 2; 2 p.m. March 1, in Norman Roberts Lab Theatre, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem.
Tickets are $5 and free for NCC students who make a donation of a non-perishable food item to NCC's H.O.P.E. Food Bank.
For information, call 484-484-3412, or go to ncctix.org.