Melissa Gilbert News.
Archive News
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August 2008
The New York Times have a wonderful article online.
Click here to read on the NY times website - many thanks to Carola.
To read our own archived version - Click here
June 2008
The Musical
June 30, 2008
PRAIRIE SETS GUTHRIE BOX OFFICE ON FIRE!
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
BREAKS BOX OFFICE RECORDS!
(Minneapolis/St. Paul) The world premiere production of Little House on the Prairie broke box office records at the Guthrie Theater this past Friday by selling more tickets on a single day than any other show in the venue's history. Day-of-sale box office receipts reported that 5,461 tickets for the world premiere musical were sold on Friday. The previous one day box office record for a Guthrie production was set in 2006 when 1,363 tickets were sold for the annual holiday show, A Christmas Carol. The box office record for a presentation at the Guthrie was set in 2007, when 3,639 tickets were sold in one day for the Guthrie WorldStage presentation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of King Lear, starring Ian McKellen.
The Prairie fire in the box office remained strong over the weekend, resulting in a three day total of 8,408 tickets sold. Friday's ticket sales were conducted by phone and in person only, and reports indicate that tickets were sold to residents of more than 25 American states and several Canadian provinces. Of the more than 5,000 people who purchased tickets on Friday, a stunning 58% have never before attended a show at the Guthrie.
"The numbers from Friday's sales clearly indicate the wide appeal of this material," Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling said, "We knew that the Little House stories resonate in this region in a profound way, and now we know that Little House on the Prairie as a musical – a truly American art form –speaks to people across the nation in a powerful way."
The new musical based on the classic tales penned by Laura Ingalls Wilder will be directed by Francesca Zambello, and feature a book by Tony Award-winning writer Rachel Portman, lyrics by Donna di Novelli and music by Academy Award-winning film composer Rachel Sheinkin.
Broadway veteran Steve Blanchard (eight years as the "Beast" in Disney's Beauty and the Beast) leads the Ingalls family through the joys and hardship of pioneer life as Charles "Pa" Ingalls. Melissa Gilbert, best known for her work in the 1970s television series, returns to her Little House roots to play Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, with her signature character Laura coming to life on the musical stage through the talents of Kara Lindsay, a 2007 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Jenn Gambatese (Broadway's All Shook Up and Disney's Tarzan) plays the role of eldest daughter Mary, a character who struggles with scarlet fever and its resulting blindness. Rounding out the Ingalls family as Carrie, 14-year-old Twin Cities native Maeve Moynihan (A Christmas Carol, 2003-2005) returns to the Guthrie stage following numerous roles at the Tony Award-winning Children's Theatre Company. The cast also features Sara Jean Ford (Christine in the Broadway National Tour of Phantom of the Opera) as the prissy, spoiled and manipulative Nellie Oleson, and Kevin Massey (Broadway's Tarzan and Big River), who brings romance to the prairie as Almanzo Wilder.
Previews begin July 26, with opening night set for August 15 and performances continuing through October 5. Season ticket packages, which include Little House on the Prairie, are still available. Single tickets are priced from $29 to $65, with opening night prices ranging from $54 to $75. Little House on the Prairie is being produced at the Guthrie by special arrangement with Global Prairie Productions, Inc.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Finally!!!!
I've been waiting to confirm this!!
It's real.
It's actually happening!!
MGB
Melissa Gilbert back on 'Prairie'
Actress set for musical version of 'Little House'
By GORDON COX
Melissa Gilbert is heading back to the prairie. Thesp has signed on for the world preem of the tuner version of "Little House on the Prairie," bowing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis this summer.
Gilbert, who grew up starring as protag Laura Ingalls Wilder on NBC's 1974-83 series rendition of "Prairie," will play Laura's mother, Ma, in the musical. Steve Blanchard ("Beauty and the Beast") will play Pa, and recent Carnegie Mellon grad Kara Lindsay will portray Laura.
Jenn Gambatese ("Tarzan") will play older sis Mary, with Sara Jean Ford as neighborhood brat Nellie and Kevin Massey as Laura's eventual hubby, Almanzo Wilder.
Gilbert appeared in a developmental workshop presentation of the musical last year, with Patrick Swayze co-starring as Pa.
Ben Sprecher, who heads a team of commercial producers attached to the project, approached Gilbert about returning to "Prairie," a property that remains much loved today.
"I'm very careful about the way the legacy is handled," she said. "My primary concern was that the material was done the right way."
Plot, based on the autobiographical series of books by the real-life Laura Ingalls Wilder, centers on the pioneer lives of the Ingalls clan in late 19th-century South Dakota.
Francesca Zambello ("The Little Mermaid") will helm the show, with music by film composer Rachel Portman ("Emma") and lyrics by Donna DiNovelli. Rachel Sheinkin ("The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee") provides the book, replacing the previously attached Beth Henley.
"Prairie" looks primed for future life if its proves successful, although no concrete plans for Broadway or a national tour have yet been made.
Tuner begins previews at the Guthrie on July 26 ahead of an Aug. 15 opening.