LHOTP the Musical article

Full "House"; Gilbert, Blanchard, Lindsay, Massey, Loprest Plant Themselves in 'Prairie'
The musical plays Millburn to Oct. 10. Opening is Sept. 20.

Gilbert, who, as a child actress, famously starred as Laura in the TV series based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, will be joined by Beauty and the Beast veteran Steve Blanchard (Charles "Pa" Ingalls); Kara Lindsay (Laura Ingalls); Kevin Massey of Broadway's Tarzan and Big River (Almanzo Wilder); Paper Mill Happy Days veteran Kate Loprest of Broadway's Xanadu (Nellie Oleson); Alessa Neeck of Lincoln Center's Happiness (Mary); Carly Rose Sonenclar, a Young Cosette in Broadway's Les Miz (Carrie Ingalls); plus Taylor Bera, Michael Boxleitner, Megan Campanile, Kurt Engh, Shawn Hamilton, Jessica Hershberg, Meredith Inglesby, Caroline Innerbichler, Lizzie Klemper, Garen McRoberts, Brian Muller, Will Ray, Gayle Samuels, Dustin Sullivan, Todd Thurston, Tony Vierling and Christian Whelan.

Little House on the Prairie - The Musical had its world premiere at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in summer 2008; principals Gilbert, Blanchard and Lindsay were featured there. It was initiated for the stage by Adrianne Lobel and Francesca Zambello. The project has libretto by Tony Award winner Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), music by Rachel Portman (Oscar winning composer for "Emma"), lyrics by Donna di Novelli and direction by Zambello (director of Disney's The Little Mermaid on Broadway and The Old Globe's The First Wives Club).

According to Paper Mill, "Little House on the Prairie has remained one of the most beloved celebrations of early Americana since the appearance of Laura Ingalls Wilder's popular classic book series 70 years ago. Now the inspirational stories take on a brand new frontier in an uplifting new musical. Melissa Gilbert, who played 'Laura' for ten years in the much-loved television series, continues her legacy by playing 'Ma.' Families will continue to fall in love with these life-affirming stories about the Ingalls' struggles and triumphs through the celebration of the pioneering spirit and the core values on which this country was founded - a spirit that resonates within each of us today."

Music supervisor is Kevin Stites; music director is Richard Carsey. The creative team includes Michele Lynch (choreographer), Adrianne Lobel (scenic designer), Jess Goldstein (costume designer), Mark McCullough (lighting designer), Carl Casella and Dominic Sack (sound designers). Charles LaPointe is the hair and wig designer. The production stage manager is Michael Danek.

Little House on the Prairie - The Musical will play the following performance schedule at Paper Mill: Wednesdays at 7 PM, Thursdays at 1:30 PM & 7 PM, Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1:30 PM & 7 PM and Sundays at 1:30 PM & 7 PM.

Single tickets will go on sale Aug. 3 and range in price from $25 to $92. Student rush tickets are $20 and are available the day of performance in person with current student ID.

Tickets may be purchased by calling (973) 376-4343, or at the Paper Mill box office on Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org.

How cool!

That's great, Rhonda!

You're so lucky Rhonda!!! I'm so hoping that show will come to the east coast.

Nice birthday present!

Cool. I plan to see it in Houston next April. Can't wait.

You guys will love it! I saw it last October here in Minneapolis.

Rhonda wrote:

I have a friend that told me the LHOTP Musical was coming to Little Rock and to Tulsa. She said that if I didn't already have plans....or a date....she wanted to take me to it, as a late birthday present......I am SO EXCITED!!!

Gin wrote:

Cool. I plan to see it in Houston next April. Can't wait.

That's wonderful!! I'm so happy for both of you!!

Savannah wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

I have a friend that told me the LHOTP Musical was coming to Little Rock and to Tulsa. She said that if I didn't already have plans....or a date....she wanted to take me to it, as a late birthday present......I am SO EXCITED!!!

Gin wrote:

Cool. I plan to see it in Houston next April. Can't wait.

That's wonderful!! I'm so happy for both of you!!

Me too. Wish I could go with you both.

Ya if we all went they would probably throw us out for whistling and being noisy! Its so fun to do things with those that share your interests. :woohooo:

Melissa as "Ma"

Our little Laura!!

I have exciting news----I am going to see this at the Fox theater in Detroit for my 40th birthday!!! :woohooo: I am going with my best friend on December 2nd, and my bday is Dec 9th! AND we got front row seats on the main floor!! For $30 each!! Not too shabby! I really can't believe it's happening---first, that it's coming so close to where I live, (maybe two hours away, so I'm praying for good weather), and that it's my 40th, of all years, and that something so special as seeing Melissa Gilbert in person AND seeing a musical based on my all-time favorite show is happening within such a special year!

Here's a pic of the theater I'll be seeing it in....I LOVE it!!




Rhonda, I missed this post, that you might be going to see it too, for a belated bday present! Is that still happening--when will it be coming near you?

Oh wow, how exciting, Amy! And front row??

The Fox is beautiful.

OK.......Melissa looks like she had botoxed her lips.....much fuller than I remember...........

Yes Amy, I am still going and I think it is sometime in November....Still checking for the tickets and all, but it is going to happen....

I am going when the show comes to Toronto. I won the trivia contest at Keystone and won 4 tickets. I am planning to go with a friend and my mom, need to find another friend. I have a few ideas but we will have to see.

Amy, that's awesome!! You're going to love the show! It's soooooo cool watching Melissa walk out on stage for her first scene. It's awesome to see her in person. And you'll be right up close!!

For some of the shows, they have a question and answer period for some of the cast, following the show. Unfortunately, we didn't have that at our show, but my mother-in-law and sister-in-law got to see it at their show. Melissa answered quite a few questions. That would have been fun to see. Maybe they'll have it following your show. There will be a sticker on the front of your program that says something about it if they do it. Right when I got my program, I looked for the sticker and was bummed when I didn't see one. It was still a wonderful show, though!!

Rob wrote:

Oh wow, how exciting, Amy! And front row??

The Fox is beautiful.

I know Rob, I'm still in shock that I'll be in the front! It's off to the side a bit, but not the farthest side. I didn't want to spend too little and not even be able to see! Have you been to the Fox before? Gosh, judging from the pics, it looks absolutely amazing! So exciting to think of the history there...Elvis even performed there! Just so cool.

Savannah wrote:

Oh WOW!! That's amazing, Amy! I'm so happy for you! (Pictures. I'll be hoping to see pictures...)

Thanks Savannah! And I will take pictures if I can---I'm just not sure that they'll allow it? :think:

Rhonda wrote:

OK.......Melissa looks like she had botoxed her lips.....much fuller than I remember...........

Yes Amy, I am still going and I think it is sometime in November....Still checking for the tickets and all, but it is going to happen....

I was thinking her lips looked a bit 'odd' too, Rhonda, like she'd had something done. I'm glad to hear you're going to be going too! Let me know what you think!

LIWnut wrote:

I am going when the show comes to Toronto. I won the trivia contest at Keystone and won 4 tickets. I am planning to go with a friend and my mom, need to find another friend. I have a few ideas but we will have to see.

Wow, you won a contest?! Cool Marilyn! When is the show coming to Toronto?

Teresa wrote:

Amy, that's awesome!! You're going to love the show! It's soooooo cool watching Melissa walk out on stage for her first scene. It's awesome to see her in person. And you'll be right up close!!

For some of the shows, they have a question and answer period for some of the cast, following the show. Unfortunately, we didn't have that at our show, but my mother-in-law and sister-in-law got to see it at their show. Melissa answered quite a few questions. That would have been fun to see. Maybe they'll have it following your show. There will be a sticker on the front of your program that says something about it if they do it. Right when I got my program, I looked for the sticker and was bummed when I didn't see one. It was still a wonderful show, though!!

Thanks Teresa! I remember you saying you enjoyed it; I'm sure I will too! Goodness knows we share similar tastes in things! And I hope they do the question and answer thing too---that would be awesome! How I would LOVE it if they had a 'meet and greet'...I would absolutely DIE if I was to actually meet MG in person! What a dream come true that would be!!

Amy wrote:

Have you been to the Fox before?

I haven't, but I read that the theater's been around since the 1920s, so it's got a lot of history.

That's great, Amy!

Thanks Lori! And Rob, I had never known about the history of the theater until now. So exciting!

Not sure if this website has been posted yet, but check it out!

http://littlehousethemusical.com/

Very cool, Carol! Thanks!

Rhonda wrote:

OK.......Melissa looks like she had botoxed her lips.....much fuller than I remember...........

At least she hasn't had anything else done.