Melissa Gilbert Returns To ‘Little House On The Prairie’
Melissa Gilbert returns to her “Little House on the Prairie” roots, but this time as “Caroline Ingalls” on the musical version of the popular TV show and book.
Gilbert sat down with NBC17 to discuss her new role and the on stage production.
“At first I didn’t think they could make this into a musical,” said Gilbert. “But the creative team did a beautiful and brilliant job and that’s what got me to do it.”
Gilbert says listening to the music that was written for the show sealed the deal. And she adds, the fact that she already has a connection to the show, was an added plus for producers.
Melissa Gilbert played Laura Ingalls for 10 years in the television series and is now playing the role as “Ma”. For her, this role required a lot of reading and research. The character of “Caroline Ingalls” was written a lot differently from the character portrayed on television and within the book series.
But no matter how many different characters Gilbert plays through out her career, she will always be known to fans as Laura.
“Fans will sit for two hours and watch me being called ‘Ma’ and ‘Caroline’ on stage and as soon as I walk out the stage door will say ‘Laura we love you’ or ‘Half-pint will you sign this’.”
Whether you’re there to see Melissa Gilbert or to relive the stories of the past, Little House on the Prairie the musical is sure to please. And audiences in Raleigh are in for a special treat. According to Gilbert this is the first city “officially” where audiences will see a stronger voice that has grown into a better solo number.
Click on the video below for the full, raw interview with Melissa Gilbert and to hear what Melissa says is her fondest memory of the late Merlin Olsen.
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Comments
I too, was so dissapointed not to see Melissa Gilbert in the roll of “Ma” in the productiona on Satruday night. My daughter, granddaughter and myself drove from Richmond, Virginia just to see her. I wish there had been an announcement at the beingining of the show as to her condition. The show definitely was missing something without her! I am assuming that as the show was definitley missing something!!! I would be interested in hearing how others felt about the overall play.
Brenda, I actually thought the other actors did an excellent job. But, honestly, I would have never paid to see it and take the time to drive there if Melissa was not in it.
I am still upset over this. You would think some explanation would be given as to what happened. If she was sick and wasn’t able to be in multiple shows, then it should have been cancelled and scheduled again for another time!
Have you heard if she performed on Sunday?
Glad she showed up for the interview, and wasn’t a no-show like she was for the last show of the tour in Raleigh!
Karen,
She was a no show for the last 3 shows! I am very sorry if her back was hurt again….but there are many upset and sad fans…we paid a lot of money to have the opportunity to see her perform in person….The shows should have been cancelled and rescheduled…
I really enjoyed the show. However, I too was VERY disappointed that Melissa wasn’t in the Sun. afternoon show. I was so looking forward to seeing her in person. It just wasn’t the same without her.
I thought it was a wonderful musical I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Laura’s books, but honestly Melissa was the reason I bought the tickets. It seemed like the PAC was trying to quietly announce the fact that she was not able to be there. I didn’t quite catch the announcement at the start myself, and I heard lots of other people around me who were also confused and asking, “what did they say?”, “did they say Ma Ingalls is being played by someone else?” I thought her understudy did an excellent job, but I think the PAC should have come right out and said Melissa Gilbert is not able to perform. I feel think otherwise if she was considered just another cast member, but the PAC touted “Melissa Gilbert as Ma” at every opportunity. We asked an usher at intermission who is playing Ma, and he said Melissa was injured. I hope she’s ok. Of course, I wish she wasn’t injured, but I also hope we weren’t lied to at the same time. Reading some of the other posts about her other “no shows” does give one reason to wonder.
So she had a back injury? Is that what happened? Well, then I take back what I said about her other “no shows”. She couldn’t do all the dancing with a bad back.
I purchased tickets for the show last night in Appleton, WI, and Melissa wasn’t in it. No explanation as to why she wasn’t there. I’m really upset about this. I paid a lot of money to see her, and all the promos make a big deal of her starring in the show. Where was she???????
My family of 5 planned a Spring break around this play, after watching the series. What a huge disappointment that Gilbert was not even a part of the play. So, what was the reason?
I heard her replacemet, Blanchard, was much better as Ma after somebody else saw Gilbert on Wed. in Appleton and said Gilbert couldn’t sing.
Gildbert is the one that will bring this show to an end. It’s sad because there were so many talented performers that rode on her coat tails, only to be tossed off.
The play was boring. The performers were great…but, the play was a snoozer.
I am about to purchase tickets for my mom and grandma and I to see the upcoming show in Spokane WA and am just curious if Melissa Gilbert will be in the show or not? Does anyone know???
I too was disappointed not to see Melissa Gilbert at the Saturday afternoon performance at the PAC in Appleton. My husband sprung for row B tickets as an anniversary gift, and I know he would never have spent that kind of money if it weren’t for Melissa Gilbert. I too think the brief announcement right before the musical began was rude, and I wished they would have told us about her condition. (I asked an usher at intermission, and all she said was that there was some kind of “accident” on Wednesday.)
That said, Angela Ingelsby, Gilbert’s understudy, did a fabulous job. The fact that she was the real-life wife of the actor who played “Pa” was kind of neat, as well. Laura and Almonzo were excellent, and they were really the main characters anyway. This was my 7th broadway musical to see live, and it is my favorite so far. The music, choreography, condensed story true to the real-life themes. The reminders of a simpler time when family and the other important things were valued over material things was a refreshing, as well.
I would recommend this musical, even without Gilbert, but I would have never gotten such good seats!
Tammy, i am happy that someone can leave a positive comment about the play. So many fans leave rude comments on how she wasn’t there. Yes, we all would love to see her, but the play isnt just about Gilbert, it’s about the meaning, the story line. The main characters are Laura and Almanzo. Gilbert was just an added character to make the lay more interesting. She is a wonderfull actress and 100% devoted to her fans. She is goin for a surgery soon to fix her back, she has bad back problems. Even through all her pain she manages to do all the other plays. She is aloud to miss a few!
Kelsie, sadly no, she will not be performing in spokane. She is going fr surgery, and hoping to be back on stage only by the 28th of april!
Sometimes things in life happen and we have no control over them. Im sure Melissa never intended to hurt herself and not be able to perform. The flip side of re scheduling a performance like this: These theatres are booked YEARS in advance. There would be no way around it. I understand the disappointment. I have tickets in Sacramento in two weeks. So dosent look like I’ll see her either…….SHucks.
My family bought tickets as well to see Melissa Gilbert in Raleigh. There was a small board in the lobby that announced who would be playing who because the person who was playing Ma actually had 2 other roles in the play. I went to the box office and asked if she would be in Sunday’s show and they said they did know and were willing to give money back for tickets. Had I lived locally and not driven 4 hours I would have taken them up on it. The play was so so. The songs all sounded the same and were drawn out. I have seen much better plays that my local university students give. It would have also been nice if they had children playing children rather than adults.
The whole production was amazing!! The music, actors and actresses did a fantastic job. I was more than disappointed though to discover that Melissa Gilbert was not the person playing Ma. I specifically got tickets to see her and she wasn’t there. No mention of change or notification to the audience. Very disappointing!!!
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Melissa wasn’t at the Saturday afternoon performance!! What a let down!!! And waste of money!!