Big dreams come true in 'Little House on the Prairie'

Last week, the Guthrie Theater production of “Little House on the Prairie, the Musical” made a visit to St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox Theater, running between Nov. 24-29.

Based on the semi-autobiographical “Little House” book series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder over 70 years ago, the transition of this much-loved tale of a young girl’s life on the Western plains brought tears, laughter and ultimately a standing ovation from enthusiastic audience members.

Loosely-interpreted into a television series that ran from 1974-83, Wilder’s third book lends its name to both the TV series and musical. The musical used elements from both the book and the television series to create an interesting and somewhat new take on the much-loved stories.

The play opens with the journey of the Ingalls family to De Smet, S.D., in the early 1880s. “Pa” Charles (Steve Blanchard) wants to take advantage of the U.S. government’s offer of free land to any citizen who could build, maintain and remain on a homestead for five years.

While dreams of land ownership are chased by Pa, “Ma” Caroline (Melissa Gilbert), a former school teacher, desires an education for her daughters. Ever-responsible eldest daughter Mary (Alessa Neeck) possesses a calm and pleasing nature, and wishes to follow in Ma’s footsteps by becoming a teacher.

 A rebellious young girl in tattered play-clothes, Laura (Kara Lindsay) has no interest in domestic chores or education, preferring instead to help her father work the land. She is intrigued by fast horses and instigates rowdy behavior in school to the dismay of her teacher, Miss Eliza Wilder (Meredith Inglesby).

Youngest daughter Carrie (Carly Rose Sonenclar) is a mixture of her sisters, doing as she is told but struggling to focus in school.
Covering the first three years the Ingalls spent in De Smet, an enemy is found in the town’s resident rich girl, Nellie Olsen (Kate Loprest), who snidely refers to the Ingalls sisters as “country girls.”

Love blossoms between Laura and Almanzo Wilder (Kevin Massey), and Mary loses her eyesight as a result of scarlet fever during their first, very harsh winter.

Possibly the biggest draw for the audience was the actress Melissa Gilbert, who played the lead role of Laura on the television series. The audience’s enthusiasm was revealed in the hearty applause they gave upon her first stage entrance as well as her final bow.

“Little House” as a musical worked well, with music reminiscent of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “Oklahoma!” Unlike “Be Our Guest” in “Beauty and the Beast,” the song-and-dance numbers were not complicated or grandiose, bringing instead a down-to-earth feel that reinforced the simplicity of life on the prairie.

Additionally, in place of stagehands, the actors made all of the frequent set changes, nearly each one taking place in full view of the audience.

A method used by smaller theaters that cannot afford to hire additional crew members, this added to the small-town feel of the musical by paralleling the hard work of the characters with the hard work of the actors.

The timing of the production with Thanksgiving may have been cleverly planned or a simple stroke of scheduling luck as the story’s message corresponded with a day devoted to family and giving thanks. If attendance is an indicator, it may have been a welcome reprieve from the often negative and over-the-top subjects of so much that is deemed entertainment today.

Although the interpretation of the decades-old stories was different or new for many fans, all-in-all it successfully pulled in the many elements which make up a musical.

B+