LHOTP the Musical article

Oh good Gin, I'm glad. That is just what I heard was happening in Toronto. When she arrived at the end of Jan, she was also getting over pnemonia. Beth missed her in Madison due to her illness. But she is hoping to catch her in Appleton on mid March.

This musical is really wearing Melissa down. I bet she will be ready for a break by June.
Yes, I did know about Beth going the end of March. I'm working on another drawing of the photo of Melissa and Beth. Beth is going to give it to Melissa. This one will be just a pencil sketch.

I was hoping to catch the show when it came to Madison, but I didn't find any information until the day of the show and by then it was too late. :(

It's in Appleton right now. Is that far from you?

Yee-ah, that's four hours, but thanks for the heads-up. :)

Talked with Beth Ingalls- Leisses today and she says that Melissa didn't make the performance on Saturday due to her back. She was in the hospital but I believe on the mend.
I wont be happy til I see her on May 1st!

I hope she is there Gin....I know how disappointing that would be if not!

Kara Lindsay is back playing Laura though after a leave of absence, so that's a plus!

Melissa Gilbert was having a MINOR surgery today on her back. I will check with Beth soon, to see how all went. I hope things are going to turn around for her. I know she has had this injury since the muscial first started.

Melissa had the surgery and is back home recovering. Hope she feels better soon and can continue on tour so you can see her. She was absolutely wonderful in Toronto.

What a shame to hear about her back. My friend had to have two back surgeries and they certainly aren't fun to recover from. I hope Melissa bounces back quickly!

Heading into Houston tomorrow to see the Musical! I'm so excited!!!

How exciting Gin!

Have fun!

I sure hope MG is all healed and ready for the stage......the show is really physically tiring. They move the sets around themselves.....not an easy job for 6 or 7 days a week.....

Hope you had a blast Gin!!!! I'm looking forward to your review!

Okay....I know alot of you have been wondering if I made it to the musical or if Melissa was actually there. YES, to both. I guess the past few days I've just had to gather my thoughts on everything.
When you are able to go to something like this you can't talk about it with anyone that wouldn't understand what you can't find words for. Therefore you just stay quiet and take it all in. I realized before even getting to the theater that this is the closest I could ever get to do a time warp into my childhood. Who whould have thought I would be so blessed to see Melissa Gilbert?? My seat was not close but not the farthest either. It didn't have to be close for me to hear the emotion in Melissa's voice. After watching her for years and knowing her expressions you begin to feel each scene easily.
For those that don't know Laura's story thoughly, I'm sure there was at least a respect if nothing more for the story itself. The roots of what America is was built by the Ingalls and thousands of families just like them.
For us that remember Laura's words and see scenes come to life cheer silently: "Tell it."
I want more people to not only hear of Laura and see the show, read the books or come here to this website(we are her legacy too) I also need them to FEEL Laura too.
Thank goodness for all those within this theater company, homesites, and book promoters.
I wonder how far we can take Laura before we run out of new information. I hope we never find out.
The musical as a whole was very well written. It covered so much from the books: "Little House on the Prairie through These Happy Golden Years. It gave Laura's character as the spirited girl she was. Kara Lindsay (Laura) did a wonderful job in showing Laura's maturity and struggle of growing up. Her dedication in helping to fund Mary's education, and her own grief in growing older.
"The Long Winter". the scarlet fever, Mary's blindness, prairie fires , Ma's pregnancy with Grace, and finally Laura's marriage to Almanzo were all vital points that made it in each scene. I was a bit puzzelled by the timeline of some of these: ex. Ma pregnant with Grace. That seemed to come right before Laura's marriage. But that was all I questioned.
The humor was simple yet still has me laughing. It reflected the jolly times that the Ingalls has while bogged down with hard luck. I truly felt that Laura herself might very well approve. After all, this would once again gather a visual audience.
There were Laura's books, T-shirts, buttons, as well as Melissa's book "Prairie Tale" available for purchase. I wondered how many people came due to reading Melissa's book but something tells me there were there because of her talent more than her words.
I've watched Melissa act for years knowing her talent, but to see it live made it truer.
There were no outtakes, or cuts in this and there were times her tears held a geniune quality.
She lived those scenes as she always has. I'm not someone that knows exactly how that is done but when it makes the viewer "feel" its a winner.
It is my understanding that there will be a cd of the songs sung. MAYBE one day there will be dvd's sold. I'm thankful that once again as with the show, I was able to see a very family friendly chapter of Laura's legacy.

Gin wrote:

I realized before even getting to the theator that this is the closest I could ever get to do a time warp into my childhood. Who whould have thought I would be so blessed to see Melissa Gilbert??

I totally get what you're saying Gin. This in and of itself was the biggest thing for me....it was a very emotional experience for me.

Wonderful review Gin! I've been trying to wait patiently for it, but it's been difficult! Thanks for taking your time with it---I agree with you whole-heartedly on all points you've made!

I'm glad that you had such a wonderful time, Gin! I remember first watching Melissa walk out onto the stage. I started tearing up. She just took my breath away as she bounded out on stage, so full of energy.

Teresa wrote:

I'm glad that you had such a wonderful time, Gin! I remember first watching Melissa walk out onto the stage. I started tearing up. She just took my breath away as she bounded out on stage, so full of energy.

Me too----it sounds silly, but seeing my childhood 'idol' on stage, in person, was almost surreal! It wouldn't have been AS unreal if I was seeing MG, just doing any old role in any old play. It was the fact that she was in the story that made her famous. and that made us all love her so much.

I'm glad that all of you were as emotional about this as I was. I thought I was the only one that couldn't put thoughts into words about this. I do wish I had sat closer, but just being there was gift enough.
It means alot that Melissa still wants to see Laura's Legacy continue enough to be involved with LH again. Yes, she making ton's of money on this, but she has to feel good about the whole topic to do it still.

Fab review Gin. Thanks for making me feel like I was really there. I'm SO happy you had such an overall wonderful evening and glad you took the time to convey your thoughts to the rest of us.

And although it's going to be a different experience, I'm starting to feel really emotional already about meeting Karen in August!

Ya you have to give us your own thoughts when you met up with Karen. That is such a special thing. I promise you it will take your breath away so much that you won't have words right away. It will be here before you know it!!!

Amy wrote:

And YES, I DO feel like I want to drag the 'non-believers' to this musical! It IS funny---my friend and I have both been 'hush hush' about seeing "Little House the musical", LOL...silly I know but there IS that 'stigma'....like, you went to see WHAT?!

Gin wrote:

I'm SO over it! When I found these websites, I totally came out of the closet! I recently had someone ask me what I like to watch and I told him LH. The guys head actually bobbed. He said..."hmmm Little House On THE PRAIRIE?" (Like there's some other kind!)
I said "Yes, like ya know.....Melissa Gilbert running down the hill.....YA that ONE."
He knodded, then grinned. At that my horns came out.
"Why?!" I asked. He quickly dropped the grin, and said " Ya, Little House. Good WHOLESOME show." I then kicked his shin. He walks circles around me now.

Let people have their "Friends" . I'll pick Little House anyday.

These two quotes are funny. Now I know for sure there are others out there that have "suffered" (for lack of a better word ) over Little House. Two of my biggest obsessions in life are Little House and Musical Theater. Those are two things that aren't accepted that well. I once had to go through a LONG explanation as to why I love Little House so much. I think the guy understood and he said he was going to give it a try but I know he never did! Then there is an ex of mine. All he ever did was laugh at the show whenever I would try to watch it. I swear that I wanted to cry over it because it was SO frustrating! I never pick on anyone else for what they like (well, not publicly! ). Why do I get picked on for it? Why is Little House so bad to everyone else? Why must the comments be made?

Although, I still think Musical Theater has it beat. I mentioned on a site that I loved showtunes and this guy quoted me and responded with "At least you like baseball". Why???

So, just imagine if any of these people knew about the Little House musical! That is the perfect combination for me!

Since I am this musical fanatic, I pretty much follow everything going on with it. So, needless to say that I was ecstatic over the announcement of a possible musical. When it was being performed in Minnesota, I debated over whether or not I would go. I didn't really feel like making the drive there. Then they announced the tour. I wasn't too thrilled over the fact that it wasn't coming closer to home, but it was coming here and that was all that mattered. I decided to not see it when it was in Madison (weather - never know how it will be here at that time of the year). So I waited for it to arrive in Appleton. I went to the Sunday matinee show. I LOVED IT!!! It did not disappoint at all! I loved the portrayal of Nellie, Laura and Almanzo in it. The music was pretty good. And I really got a kick out of the fact that they managed to cover that much of her "story" in only 2 1/2 hours.

I would recommend it to anyone who loves musicals to give it a try. But I would definitely tell LH fans that they HAVE to see it!

Oh! And I managed to buy myself a program and a t-shirt. I loved the shirt because the design looks as if it is embroidered on but it isn't.

LIWnut wrote:

As for the soundtrack, many people have asked for it and they are thinking of making one but when I asked, they said that it was hard to get all of the original actors at one show to take it. I can understand that, with MG and Kara and others getting days off and being ill or other reasons. I just hope that they can arrange it and get her done, cause I and many others will be in line to buy a copy.

I was actually surprised that they hadn't recorded one during their Minneapolis run. The cast for the "Happy Days" musical had one. So I was really hoping LH would've done the same. I will still hold out and wait (hope) for one.