Melissa Gilbert Reprises Little House On The Prairie

Welcome back to The Expressionist Magazine

Laura Ingles Wilder wrote some amazing stories about her life in rural Iowa, growing up in the late 1800s.  The stories told of survival, and how families worked together to get things done.  It was a simple time in American history captured in some wonderful editions by Wilder that kids of all ages can enjoy reading about.  The main books in the set are Little House on the Prairie and Little House in the Big Woods.

In 1974 Little House on the Prairie came to life on television. Michael Landon starred as Pa, and Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingles.  The show was a family time tradition. Everyone would come home from work or school, do their chores, eat dinner then sit down together in front of the television to watch this amazing show.  Little House on the Prairie ran from 1974 to 1983, in which time we watched Melissa Gilbert grow and blossom.  She played the role of Laura flawlessly, branding her forever as the lovable character, despite her playing some dramatic roles on Lifetime Television.

Set to hit Broadway, Melissa Gilbert will once again show off her 19th century garb and join this big stage version of Little House on the Prairie.  This time however, she will portray Ma in the play, mainly due to her age. It would be very hard for her to pull off girlish Laura at the age of 45.

I doubt this will be a smash hit for Broadway, but the play will be wholesome and family friendly as the television show was.  It will be nice seeing Melissa in the story again, one that she helped make into a household name in the mid-70s.  I think this would be a show I would go to see, if it came to my area. I grew up watching it on television. I read the entire series of books from Laura Ingles Wilder and truly believe in the message they tell that family comes first even back then.  It’s a history lesson in a fun way that will benefit people of all ages.