I arrived in Pepin, WI this afternoon after flying from Los Angeles to Minneapolis this morning. I had to check six cases of video equipment onto the airplane. The good news is that it all seems to have arrived in good shape.

The drive into Pepin is a narrow country highway. The leaves are still beautiful so I should get some great shots tomorrow. Before going to the Pepin Motel for the night I made the 7 mile drive from Pepin to the Wayside Little House. Its simple but very pretty setting. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get inside the replica log cabin. In addition we will be shooting stands of native trees to simulate The Big Woods and Lake Pepin before departing for Spring Valley, MS in the early afternoon.

I love being out here… Laura’s story awaits.

Dean

I have been somewhat illusive about the content of our upcoming LHOP project…but now I can talk about it. Beginning on October 23 we are shooting a new Laura Ingalls Wilder documentary…the first of its kind ever undertaken because it will include not only footage from the places where Laura lived, but also recreations of scenes and written words from her classic Little House books.  In addition we will be including the expert comments of historians and Laura Ingalls Wilder scholars, who will add their insights about Laura’s life on the prairie. This is a project I have been trying to do for more than ten years and its finally going to happen.

I will be adding many more details in the weeks ahead.

Dean

Just a quick update before running out the door to the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls…this is going to be a weekend about the LHOP musical. I’ll be seeing the theatre, meeting visitors, signing autographs and talking about the show.  I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Any lover of the Little House TV series will enjoy reading Melissa Gilbert’s book, PRAIRIE TALE. Having known Melissa for 30 years I can tell you that she’s always been candid and direct. Her memoir is fun and revealing with wonderful insights into a life that has been lived in the spotlight, through good times and bad, from the time she was old enough to walk and talk.

On a personal note while Melissa and I are good friends now, we didn’t have an easy time working together thirty-years ago largely because of the difference in our ages…eight years. When it all started for us I was 23 and she was 15. Eight years is insignificant now, but at the time they were huge and it wasn’t easy for either of us to navigate the demands of playing even a chastely romantic couple on the Prairie. It was a wonderful fantasy for young girls to watch, but it wasn’t easy for her to do. All that said, while she was challenged by it she did an amazing job and the work we did together continues to be enjoyed by audiences all over the world. That’s a good feeling.

Get the book…its funny and revealing. I think Melissa Gilbert has a new career on her hands. She’s a writer now too.

Dean

This weekend Katherine and I traveled to Minneapolis to see the LHOP musical twice at the magnificent Guthrie Theater. We were knocked out.  The show builds its plot around the premise that Laura is a willful “wild child” who embraces self sacrifice and learns the important lesson that love and connectedness is the source of life’s greatest happiness and freedom.

It was great to see my Laura on stage as Caroline. While Melissa is a newcomer to the musical theater she came through huge, creating the show’s seminal emotional moment in the closing measures of “Wild Child”. There were tears all around. My old West Side Story buddy, Steve Blanchard as “Pa”, captured the wandering spirit of Charles and sang beautifully as the leader of the Ingalls family. But the show belongs to Laura, Mary, Nellie Oleson, and Almanzo…with very strong support from a very spunky and funny Carrie. The character focus of the musical is just as Laura Ingalls Wilder intended it…on the children. The show’s most memorable song — I’ll Be Your Eyes — is sung by Laura and Mary after Mary goes blind.  Its terrific. 

As in the series, the tension between Laura and Nellie in the musical is pivotal and its set up very effectively as the Ingalls girls prepare to enter school for the first time. Nellie is a worthy antagonist…funny and self absorbed but ultimately resigned when Laura and Almanzo become husband and wife.

Ah yes…Almanzo. At the Guthrie Kevin Massey plays Almanzo with a quiet confidence and focus that is heroic and compelling. His songs reveal his character in a way that Little House readers will love.  The dynamic between the Laura and Almanzo absolutely works and that’s why the show pays off in such a satisfying way in the end.

Those who saw it know…those who haven’t will definitely want to beginning in the summer of 2009. All comments are most welcome.

Dean

When I first started working on Little House there was no debate or doubt…the name of the character was pronounced Ala”MON”zo. Years later, when I began to connect with the Little House book community I was told in no uncertain terms that the name was pronounced Al”MAN”zo.  For whatever reason I decided to cede to the book community because they were so certain and I decided that it wasn’t fun to be continually corrected.    But yesterday I had an interesting conversation with Noel Silverman, the attorney for the Wilder Heritage Trust located in NYC.  As we were speaking about ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA he asked me about my pronunciation of the name. I explained myself as above and they he said something that blew me away and confirmed that maybe…just maybe we got it right on the series after all. Roger McBride, the adopted grandson of Rose Wilder Lane…the man who inherited the book rights from Rose and eventually sold the TV/Film right to Ed Friendly…told his attorney, Noel Silverman, that the name was Al”MON”zo and was certain of it because that’s the way Al”MON”zo’s daughter, Rose —  pronounced the name. If his daughter pronounced his name Al”MON”zo that’s definitive.  I was shocked and really gratified.That being said, there is great certainty in the book community that the name is Al”MAN”zo.  Can anyone provide proof that Al”MAN”zo is factually accurate? If your proof is stronger or more credible than Al”MON”zo’s daughter I’ll be anxious to hear.  While I’ve spelled the name differently to illustrate the pronunciation, there is no debate that the name is spelled AlMANzo.  At least we can count on the spelling. Dean 

In case you haven’t heard tickets for the Little House on the Prairie musical went on sale last Friday.  Here is the release that followed a big day of ticket sales: 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.

About the Guthrie

The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Guthrie is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Led by Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie opened their new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in June 2006. The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Box Office between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily at 612.377.2224 or toll-free 877.44.STAGE. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.guthrietheater.org.

Hi All… This week I’m shooting a wonderful piece of bonus content for the upcoming Little House Mega-Pack featuring the son and daughter of the late Ed Friendly, creator of the Little House on the Prairie television series.  As I’ve learned through my interviews with Brooke and Trip, Mr. Friendly was passionate about the Laura Ingalls Wilder books after discovering that his daughter was enjoying THESE HAPPY GOLDEN YEARS as a Junior in High School.  She had originally been given the book by her parents before being able to read it herself.  Brooke’s mother, Natalie, read to her out loud at first– but once Brooke could read herself she began a ritual of re-reading the books every year on her own.   Ed didn’t get the appeal himself until he appreciatively read LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE days later during a cross country flight from Los Angeles to New York. He immediately called his lawyer with an urgent request to find the owner of the Little House books and arrange a meeting.  When Roger Lee McBride met Ed Friendly and heard his vision for Laura’s stories he was impressed enough to sell him the TV/Film rights to all her books. Prior to acquiring the television rights to Little House Mr. Friendly had worked in advertising at BBD&O following WWII, then at ABC, CBS and finally at NBC as VP of Special Programming.  He opened his own company, Ed Friendly Productions, Inc., in 1967.  His biggest success prior to Little House was the creation of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In — the most outrageous weekly comedy series of its day.  With the rights to Little House under his belt Mr. Friendly created the template for the most popular and enduring family series in the history of television.  There’s more, which you will hear about when the interview is released in the Fall. Its going to be really good…Dean

I apologize for my infrequent entries this spring, but I just want to let you all know that I am now actively preparing for the return trip to Malone, NY during which I will shoot the necessary footage to complete ALMANZO WILDER: Life Before Laura.  Its going to be a very full, but satisfying three days at the Wilder Homestead. We’ll be shooting all three days, with an emphasis on meeting Wilder Homestead visitors on Saturday June 21.  We’ll be doing a one day only signing of special collector DVD cover cards with an attractive commemorative sticker attached.  June 21 will be the only date on which this special cover will be available prior to the release of the documentary in September.  There will be a modest charge of $10…all of which goes to the Wilder Homestead to support the later release of the DVD.More later.All best,Dean 

This summer the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis will present the world premiere of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE…the musical.  There are a couple of interesting developments in this production.  As many of you already know Melissa Gilbert will be making her musical theatre debut playing Caroline…and my former Westside Story understudy, Steve Blanchard, will be there playing Charles.  Its funny how the Little House world stays connected to itself.  I have no doubt that this production will have a huge appeal for Little House fans…the real test of course will be to find out if the production has an appeal for non LIW devotees.  We’ll all be waiting and hoping. Dean