Skurnick has two Little House books in her online Fine Lines arsenal: Little House in the Big Woods and The Long Winter. Unfortunately, the link to the Big Woods column is broken [UPDATE: No, it's not! Thanks to reader Jim for supplying it], but The Long Winter, in which she draws comparisons between the book and today’s economic climate, still stands:

The Long Winter, for those of you who (shame!) never made it the entire way through the Little House series, picks up with the family when Laura is fourteen, and tells the story of an epic winter that strikes the tiny town of De Smet, South Dakota, nearly starving out all of its inhabitants. When I first picked up the book for a Fine Lines reread, I was quite sure that I’d be interested mostly in the domestic details of the Ingalls family …

Read the rest of it here.

@HalfPintIngalls: Almanzo likes big bustles; he cannot lie.
@RoseWilderLane: As the young people say, Mama Bess, TMI.

Here’s how they looked opening night:

Photo by gilbertboxleitner.com

They’re in the middle, flanked by Melissa on the right and the actresses playing Carrie and Mary on the left.

The Homesteader talked to Kevin and Kara a year ago at the close of the Minneapolis run, where the musical premiered and spent several weeks. One reader said–I’ll never forget this–that reading how Kevin fell in love with “Laura” onstage every night just as he was falling in love with the real Laura as he read the books brought tears to her eyes.

In the past year, the play has been augmented and changed in ways that significantly affect Kevin and Kara’s performances. I’m excited to hear their take on it. Make sure your subscription is up to date–you don’t want to miss this.

PS: The musical’s web site now plays a medley of instrumental songs on the opening page, instead of just one. As one who likes the music a little more than the lyrics, I love this change.

As I folded laundry in front of the TV today I was reminded of another reason to love it: the few tie-ins to the books. Apparently, someone on the writing staff was a close reader of the books. The name of Almanzo’s horse, first of all, is Barnum. Then when we’re inside the schoolhouse (which is filled with kids like Chad Brewster, Ruby Dobkins, and Tommy Dobkins … pretty close), we hear snippets of Little Town on the Prairie. When Tommy’s reading aloud during his lesson, he’s on the very closing lines of a stanza we know: “… no reward is offered, for it is gone forever.”

Then when the superintendent (Mr. Williams, of course) visits, he asks to hear a mathematical recitation. Chad Brewster volunteers to do the division of this problem:

347,264 /16

The answer is 21,704.

If you recognized this as the exact problem Laura herself had to solve during the school exhibition, congratulations. You’ve earned yourself a third grade certificate.

Almanzo and Cap hunt the wheat onstage during the Long Winter. Refresh my memory — did they do that in the earlier version?

It’s during the Hard Winter that Mary gets sick and goes blind. This seemed new too.

Mrs. Brewster — the shadow of a woman that she is, and how Laura sees this — is a definite factor in Laura’s decision not to be a wife. Thus Almanzo is despondent and frustrated when she tells him she won’t go with him anymore. (Guess this is the Little House couple “on a break,” hee hee.)

There’s a note in the play that Mary gets a scholarship, with the broader result being that Laura no longer needs to teach to keep her in school. Laura feels lost — Nellie is now riding with Almanzo — and sings a song called “My Restless Heart” expressing this. All of this seems to serve as as a catalyst for her decision-making about Almanzo.

Let’s talk about what didn’t work first. The New York Times’ review of the play, my theatergoing companion reminded me, complimented the music while dissing the lyrics. I wanted not to agree, but in the end, I did.

That’s not to say there aren’t some wonderful songs in the production. After all, the few songs I did remember from the Guthrie made quite an impression, and I was scared walking into the theater that my favorites would be MIA. But I needn’t have worried. From “The Earth Doesn’t Care How Old You Are” (sung by Almanzo when he’s filing his own claim as an underage homesteader) to “Faster, Faster” (sung by Laura and Almanzo in the cutter) to “Teach the Wind” (Mrs. Brewster, driven mad from the prairie gusts) to “Wild Child” (Ma to Laura) to “I’ll Be Your Eyes” (Laura to a newly-blind Mary), every song that had lodged in my subconscious was retrieved. There was also at least one new song, when Almanzo sings about his frustration in the wake of Laura’s rejection after the Brewster school.

But the rest of the songs? Unfortunately, forgettable.

Another thing that didn’t work very well for me was Melissa’s portrayal of Ma. She plays the character well–very well–but the character she’s playing is not Caroline Ingalls. I’m not a diehard TV show fan, but Karen Grassle was, in my opinion, the epitome of Caroline. I’m not saying that Melissa should have played Karen playing Caroline. After all, I don’t think that Kara should play Melissa playing Laura–not at all. But Melissa’s Ma … she’s saucy. She’s a little devilish. She hardly resembles the Caroline Ingalls we know. As the NYT put it,

“She still has a little bit of the devil in her demeanor, rather than the signature serenity of Karen Grassle, who played the mother in the series. Ms. Grassle always seemed to take the attitude that if you were stuck in the middle of nowhere (the Ingalls claimed a homestead in Minnesota) with an unrelentingly hard life, you might as well smile resignedly, bear it gracefully and hope for comfort and ease in heaven.”

But Melissa likes Caroline that way; she’s said as much in interviews. And it does serve the story, so I can’t get too upset over it.

The third thing that didn’t work was Pa’s beard, or the lack thereof. For the love of Pete, why? If it had to be shaved for whatever reason, why not wear a fake one? I couldn’t help but shudder, just a little bit.

Now, what worked. First of all, the show is way longer than it was at the Guthrie. So many new scenes. And I loved them all–thought they all served a purpose. Out of the scenes that were brand-new to me, two themes emerged: First, the show was much more cohesive, really carrying along the theme of Laura changing from a carefree, freedom-loving tomboy to a less carefree but just as freedom-loving partner to the best horseman in Dakota Territory. In this transformation, she draws from Mary’s blindness, her parents’ relationship, and her experiences with Almanzo, this man who suprises her in being her perfect match in every way. And–I’ll be curious to see if anyone else agrees with me–it seems that the biggest force in getting her to see the folly of her ways in rejecting Almanzo is her own Ma. This influence of Ma’s, I think, is really highlighted in the new play. It feels rather odd to me, but it does provide an interesting arc to the story.

And second, it seemed that there were many, many more verbatim lines taken from the books. True book fans will find a lot of gems in the dialogue. (And great news! Steve Blanchard has changed his delivery of the speech after the girls get sent home from school. He’s still severe, but much quieter about it now. Thank you, Steve! We know you know Pa would never yell like that.)

There also seemed to be a lot more scenes–or at least longer ones–inside the Brewster school. And at the Guthrie, did Mrs. Brewster ever pull a knife on Laura? Because she doesn’t now. The knife plays a supporting role in one scene, but it’s nothing like the frightening “Knife in the Dark.”

Another thing that was different — at least I think it was — is that Loftus’ Store is now Olesons’ store. I didn’t necessarily agree with that change, but again, I can see how it helped the story. Still, it was weird seeing Nellie hanging around while the men were discussing wheat prices.

I think Melissa’s voice got stronger. She seemed more confident in her singing, although it’s still clear that she’s not the trained vocalist the rest of the cast is.

I have to sigh here and say one of my favorite scenes was spoiled by my seating. I was in the balcony this time, as opposed to tenth-row center at the Guthrie. And although the scene with the Fourth-of-July horse race was played pretty much the same (except Laura, Mary and Carrie actually bet their pennies on Almanzo’s horses–horrors!), it looked nothing like I remembered. When you’re at ground level, the race is right in front of you, terrifying and exciting. When the race is over, Almanzo pops up from behind the crowd all at once, and the audience cheers, realizing he’s won. But seeing that from up above really spoils the effect. So take note: get seats on the lower level! Simply for this scene, you’ll be glad you did.

As for Kevin and Kara, I stick with my opinion from last time. Kara is a perfect Laura–for this character, in this show–and Kevin is perhaps an even more perfect Almanzo. I could watch them ride the cutter forever.

I talked with both stars after the show, and both were perfectly lovely as always. Kevin is really enjoying his new song, and Kara is clearly excited to get back into her Laura role alongside the actor who originated it.

I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the play, and I’m so glad I made the trip. I’d say I enjoyed it more than the first time, but since my seats were so much better last time, I’d have to say it’s a toss-up.

Well, not that show. The “Little House” show. At the Paper Mill Playhouse. I’ve done a little digging–enough to re-familiarize myself with the show since I saw it almost exactly a year ago in Minneapolis, but not enough to give too much away. Steve Blanchard’s “Pa,” as Rebecca noted, seems to have lost his beard. Ouch. And Nellie, Mary and Carrie have been replaced by new actors. I expected as much about Carrie’s role, since the actress playing her was local to Minneapolis. But I admit I am going to dearly miss the actress who played Nellie. She brought such a delicious combination of sympathy and humor to that character.

Another noted addition is Melissa Gilbert’s son Michael, who is playing Willie Oleson. (Michael, the only biological child between her and Bruce Boxleitner, recovered marvelously from his very preterm birth back in 1994. He’s named after both Michael Landon and Melissa’s best friend’s son, Garrett.)

Kevin Massey and Kara Lindsay (Almanzo and Laura) tell me that the script has seen some changes as well. I wonder how well I’ll be able to pick such changes out.

I’ll report back on the play when I return. I hope I don’t miss anything! Tell me: if you were going tomorrow to see the play, what would you look for? What would you be excited to see again? Or even merchandise-wise … what would you buy?

But did this really go right by me?

I was investigating a DVD collection I have of the series. It’s Season 3, and I received it as a gift. (My husband actually gifted me with the entire series this past Christmas, but I returned it. I’m still not pleased the collection’s been released without complete episodes, and it made me mad that we were filling the pockets of the production company to get an inferior product.) The kids have been watching this collection ad nauseam for the past two weeks. Every night, it’s popcorn and Little House. Popcorn and Little House. (Popcorn and milk?) And when I was studying the DVD case, I noticed a very weird thing, which I assumed to be a mistake that nobody caught.

“Look at this,” I said to my husband. “They got Mary with her eyes closed.”

He looked at the case. “But doesn’t Mary always have her eyes closed?”

“Because she’s blind?” I was incredulous.

He shrugged. To him, a casual fan at best, seeing Mary with her eyes closed to indicate her blindness was business as usual.

Is this really the way it’s always been?