Little House, Big Show

Many of us have fond memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the heroine of Little House on the Prairie, either from reading the books or watching the 1970s television series. Midwesterners in particular have a deep interest in the itinerant nineteenth-century family who lived in Minnesota before continuing their journey west into the wilderness. So it should perhaps come as no surprise that the Guthrie Theater is producing and premiering a musical adaptation of these beloved books.

The Guthrie’s musical version of Little House on the Prairie isn’t just another Guthrie production, however. It’s also an attempt on the Guthrie’s part to produce a popular show that might have legs (and revenue potential) beyond Minnesota and, possibly, Broadway.

In order to give this show the best possible shot at being picked up by other theaters around the country, the Guthrie has hired an A-list team of collaborators to help develop the show, and about half the singers and performers are being recruited from New York and elsewhere around the country. Little House playwright Rachel Sheinkin won a Tony Award for her book for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Composer Rachel Portman became the first woman to win an Academy Award for best original score for her music for Emma. (She was also nominated for an Oscar for The Cider House Rules.) Director Francesca Zambello, an internationally acclaimed opera director, is probably best known to American audiences as the director of the Disney Broadway musical The Little Mermaid. Zambello specializes in shaping new operas and putting ingenious spins on classics such as La Bohème and Don Giovanni. Her theatrical productions have been honored around the globe—she’s won three Olivier Awards and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (the Russian government is also a fan), among many other international kudos.

The cast includes Broadway veteran Steve Blanchard, who spent eight years as the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, as Charles “Pa” Ingalls; Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura in the 1970s TV show, as Caroline “Ma” Ingalls; and recent Carnegie Mellon grad Kara Lindsay as Laura.

“I, along with the set designer, [Adrianne Lobel], instigated the project,” says Zambello. “We wanted to develop a new musical that would have wide-reaching audience potential, and these were books that we both loved. It’s a universal story told through one girl’s life. I don’t think you have to know this material to love this musical. It’s this great story of independence and strife and it has this incredible romance as well. It has many of the things that make great plots for musicals.”

Condensing nine books into a musical wasn’t an easy task, so Zambello, Sheinkin, and lyricist Donna di Novelli chose to focus mainly on the time when Laura goes from adolescence to adulthood. “A lot of it is about trying to domesticate the land and also about domesticating Laura,” explains Sheinkin.

Portman’s score can best be described as “Copeland-esque,” and di Novelli calls Portman the “Richard Rodgers of our time—hummable, singable, and grand.” The music is beautiful, infused with a distinct wit and humor, and complemented by Michele Lynch’s choreography.

“I wonder what the people of Minneapolis will think of the material,” muses Sheinkin. “We’ve already been told by people at the Guthrie, ‘Don’t forget, this is the story of the land.’ It’s interesting that the material keeps saying, ‘Home, home, home.’ ” Opens Aug. 15. Guthrie Theater, 218 S. 2nd St., Mpls., 612-377-2224