Little House on the Prairie (musical)
Encyclopedia
Little House on the Prairie is a book musical adapted from the children's books, Little House on the Prairie
, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
. The creative team includes Rachel Sheinkin (book), Rachel Portman
(music), Donna di Novelli (lyrics), and Francesca Zambello
(director). The musical premiered in regional theatre at the Guthrie
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by a tour in 2009-2010 of the United States, starting at the Paper Mill Playhouse
in Millburn, New Jersey
.
The musical takes place in the 1880s, when the Ingalls family takes advantage of the government opening land for settlement in the Dakota Territory
.
as "Ma", Steve Blanchard
as "Pa", Kara Lindsay
(Laura), Jenn Gambatese (Mary), Sara Jean Ford (Nellie), Kevin Massey (Almanzo Wilder) and Brian Muller (Clarence Brewster).
The musical then began a 5-week engagement at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey, on September 10, 2009 prior to a US National tour that began in October 2009 at the Ordway Theatre, St. Paul
, Minnesota
. Gilbert, Blanchard, Lindsay and Massey continue their roles. Direction is by Francesca Zambello
, with choreography by Michele Lynch (Broadway's Everyday Rapture
, Coast of Utopia) , scenic design by Adrianne Lobel
, costume design by Jess Goldstein (Broadway's Jersey Boys
), and lighting design by Mark McCullough.
The First National U.S. Touring Cast (2009–2010) included: Kara Lindsay as "Laura", Melissa Gilbert as "Ma", Steve Blanchard as "Pa", Kevin Massey as "Almanzo Wilder", Alessa Neeck as "Mary", and Carly Rose Sonenclar as "Carrie". The musical also starred (in alphabetical order) Taylor Bera, Michael Boxleitner, Megan Campanile, Kurt Engh, Shawn Hamilton, Jessica Hershberg, Meredith Inglesby, Caroline Innerbichler, Lizzie Klemperer, Garen McRoberts, Brian Muller, Will Ray, Tyler Rhodes, Gayle Samuels, Dustin Sullivan, Todd Thurston, Tony Vierling and Christian Whelan. (Playbill program notes)
Prior to these productions, workshop presentations were held April 16–17, 2007; the cast included Melissa Gilbert and Patrick Swayze
.
The Federal government opened the Dakota Territory for settlers in the 1880s. Pa decides to move to the Territory, and while their daughter Laura is eager for the move, Ma is not certain. She finally sees that this is a good opportunity, and the family, including the young daughters Laura, Mary and Carrie, moves, settling in De Smet. They build "a little house on the prairie" there.
Laura causes some problems in her new school, and the girls are sent home, where Ma wonders about the differences between her daughters ("How Can You Be So Good?"). In the winter, blizzards cut the town off from supplies, and the young settler Almanzo and Cap Garland go out in search of food for the town ("Blizzard"). Pa blames himself for subjecting his family to dangers, as Ma, Carrie and Mary become ill. Laura tries to help Mary when Mary starts to lose her sight by telling her that "I'll Be Your Eyes".
Finally the spring and summer arrive, and with the good weather comes a good wheat crop. Almanzo invites Laura to go for a carriage ride, but a fire destroys the wheat crop and the family is left with no money. Laura decides to aid the family to pay for Mary to attend a school for the blind, by teaching many miles away.
Act I
Act II
§ Not in Paper Mill/tour version
§§ New/renamed
wrote "Kara Lindsay is filled with the same kind of charm and youthful exuberance that Ms. Gilbert exhibited in the role".
The New Jersey Star Ledger "Rachel Portman's music has the right feel of the 19th Century west, and conveys the majesty of wide-open spaces."
The Houston Artsweek reviewer praised the score, calling it "lush" and the performers, noting that Kara Lindsay "shines" and that "Steve Blanchard gives a great performance as Pa Ingalls, and Kevin Massey packs a theatrical punch as Laura’s beau, Almanzo."
Little House on the Prairie
Little House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
. The creative team includes Rachel Sheinkin (book), Rachel Portman
Rachel Portman
Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...
(music), Donna di Novelli (lyrics), and Francesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello is a leading American opera and theatre director. Zambello lived in Europe when she was a child, learning to speak French, Italian, German and Russian. Zambello is of Italian descent, the daughter of Jean , an actress and Charles C. Zambello, a former actor who became head of...
(director). The musical premiered in regional theatre at the Guthrie
Guthrie
-People:*Guthrie , for information on the nameSurname* A. B. Guthrie, Jr.* Allan Guthrie* Arlo Guthrie, American folk singer, son of Woody Guthrie* Bruce Guthrie* Charles Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank...
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by a tour in 2009-2010 of the United States, starting at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
in Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
.
The musical takes place in the 1880s, when the Ingalls family takes advantage of the government opening land for settlement in the Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
.
Production history
The musical premiered at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota and ran from July 26 in previews, opening August 15, through October 19, 2008. It broke numerous records at the Gutherie. The cast included Melissa GilbertMelissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
as "Ma", Steve Blanchard
Steve Blanchard
Steve Blanchard is a stage actor best known for his musical theatre roles, being most closely associated with the role of Beast in the musical Beauty and the Beast, which he played both on Broadway and on tour for eleven years...
as "Pa", Kara Lindsay
Kara Lindsay
Kara Lindsay is an American theatre actress.-Career:In 2009, Lindsay appeared as Laura in a musical-theatre production of Little House on the Prairie with Melissa Gilbert as Ma. The play is an adaption of the children's book of the same name by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Gilbert had originally played...
(Laura), Jenn Gambatese (Mary), Sara Jean Ford (Nellie), Kevin Massey (Almanzo Wilder) and Brian Muller (Clarence Brewster).
The musical then began a 5-week engagement at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey, on September 10, 2009 prior to a US National tour that began in October 2009 at the Ordway Theatre, St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Gilbert, Blanchard, Lindsay and Massey continue their roles. Direction is by Francesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello is a leading American opera and theatre director. Zambello lived in Europe when she was a child, learning to speak French, Italian, German and Russian. Zambello is of Italian descent, the daughter of Jean , an actress and Charles C. Zambello, a former actor who became head of...
, with choreography by Michele Lynch (Broadway's Everyday Rapture
Everyday Rapture
Everyday Rapture is a musical with a book written by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan and music by various composers. It ran Off-Broadway in 2009 and opened on Broadway in 2010...
, Coast of Utopia) , scenic design by Adrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel is an American scenic designer and producer for theatre, opera, and dance known for her "very daring and creative sets."Lobel was raised in Brooklyn and took classes at the art school at the Brooklyn Museum, then worked as a draftsman at film studios...
, costume design by Jess Goldstein (Broadway's Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
), and lighting design by Mark McCullough.
The First National U.S. Touring Cast (2009–2010) included: Kara Lindsay as "Laura", Melissa Gilbert as "Ma", Steve Blanchard as "Pa", Kevin Massey as "Almanzo Wilder", Alessa Neeck as "Mary", and Carly Rose Sonenclar as "Carrie". The musical also starred (in alphabetical order) Taylor Bera, Michael Boxleitner, Megan Campanile, Kurt Engh, Shawn Hamilton, Jessica Hershberg, Meredith Inglesby, Caroline Innerbichler, Lizzie Klemperer, Garen McRoberts, Brian Muller, Will Ray, Tyler Rhodes, Gayle Samuels, Dustin Sullivan, Todd Thurston, Tony Vierling and Christian Whelan. (Playbill program notes)
Prior to these productions, workshop presentations were held April 16–17, 2007; the cast included Melissa Gilbert and Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
.
Synopsis
Act 1The Federal government opened the Dakota Territory for settlers in the 1880s. Pa decides to move to the Territory, and while their daughter Laura is eager for the move, Ma is not certain. She finally sees that this is a good opportunity, and the family, including the young daughters Laura, Mary and Carrie, moves, settling in De Smet. They build "a little house on the prairie" there.
Laura causes some problems in her new school, and the girls are sent home, where Ma wonders about the differences between her daughters ("How Can You Be So Good?"). In the winter, blizzards cut the town off from supplies, and the young settler Almanzo and Cap Garland go out in search of food for the town ("Blizzard"). Pa blames himself for subjecting his family to dangers, as Ma, Carrie and Mary become ill. Laura tries to help Mary when Mary starts to lose her sight by telling her that "I'll Be Your Eyes".
Finally the spring and summer arrive, and with the good weather comes a good wheat crop. Almanzo invites Laura to go for a carriage ride, but a fire destroys the wheat crop and the family is left with no money. Laura decides to aid the family to pay for Mary to attend a school for the blind, by teaching many miles away.
Songs
Note: as presented at the Paper Mill Playhouse, 2009; differences from the Guthrie production notedAct I
- Overture - Orchestra
- Thunder – Laura
- Up Ahead – Full Company
- The Prairie Moves – Pa
- Old Enough – Almanzo
- Make It Home – The Ingalls
- Up Ahead (reprise) – Pa, Almanzo, Men
- Country Girls –Nellie, Sarah, Ida, Laura, Mary, Carrie
- I Can Rock – Laura, Miss Wilder, School Children
- (How Can You Be So) Good?§§ – Laura, Ma
- Fire in the Kitchen §§– The Ingalls
- Uncle Sam, Where Are You? – Pa, Almanzo, Cap, Full Company
- Blizzard §
- Tin Cup – Pa
- I'll Be Your Eyes – Laura, Mary
- Almost Wheat §
- Go Like the Wind – Almanzo, Laura, Pa, Full Company
- I'll Be Your Eyes (reprise) – Laura, Mary
Act II
- Entr'acte - Orchestra
- Prairie Strong – Full Company
- Without An Enemy – Nellie
- (How Can You Be So) Good? (Reprise) – Laura, Mary
- Faster – Laura, Almanzo, School Children, Mary
- Teacher Girl §§ – Mrs. Brewster
- Leaving – Almanzo
- Make It Home (Reprise) – Mary
- Restless Heart §§ – Laura
- Wild Child – Ma
- Go Like the Wind (Reprise) §
- Finale – Laura, Almanzo, The Ingalls, Full Company
§ Not in Paper Mill/tour version
§§ New/renamed
Reception
In the review of the musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote "Kara Lindsay is filled with the same kind of charm and youthful exuberance that Ms. Gilbert exhibited in the role".
The New Jersey Star Ledger "Rachel Portman's music has the right feel of the 19th Century west, and conveys the majesty of wide-open spaces."
The Houston Artsweek reviewer praised the score, calling it "lush" and the performers, noting that Kara Lindsay "shines" and that "Steve Blanchard gives a great performance as Pa Ingalls, and Kevin Massey packs a theatrical punch as Laura’s beau, Almanzo."