Review - Little House on the Prairie: Look To The (Golden) Rainbow

One of the most interesting chapters in William Goldman's classic book of commercial Broadway, The Season, involves the pre-opening troubles with the musical, Golden Rainbow. (Yes, I'm beginning a review of Little House on the Prairie with an anecdote about a glitzy Steve & Eydie vehicle. Just go along with me on this.) Although the musical had a huge advance sale thanks to the popularity of its husband and wife stars, everyone agreed the book was a disaster. But, according to Goldman, spirits were boosted a bit when rumors started circulating that Neil Simon - who was not only the hottest playwright on Broadway at the time but a guy known for anonymously helping to doctor other shows that were in need of laughs - would be coming in to punch up the script. In the meantime another writer was recruited and told that he didn't have to come up with anything clever; just to write a straightforward, competent book that made sense of the story. Neil Simon would come in later and provide the gags. (P.S. He never did.)

So what does this have to do with the musical adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's collection of "Little House" children's novels, now settled at the Paper Mill Playhouse at the start of its national tour? Simply that the show kept reminding me of the Golden Rainbow story because just about every aspect - from the book to the score to the production - seemed to get its job done competently, while lacking any extra spark or cleverness. If you're looking for a family musical that offers heartwarming homespun and promotes simple, wholesome values, Little House on the Prairie is certainly competent enough to get the job done, though in a rather standard, not especially memorable fashion.

Set in the late 1800s, after congress has passed an act allowing unsettled western land to be claimed free of charge on the condition that homesteaders live there for at least five years, the musical begins with Charles Ingalls (a hearty-singing Steve Blanchard) accepting the country's challenge and moving his family of five out to South Dakota. But the focus of the story is, of course, his rambunctious middle daughter Laura (Kara Lindsay), who starts off as an impulsive and tomboyish adolescent, but after her older sister Mary goes blind and the community is forced to deal with near-famine during a harsh winter and the destruction caused by wild fires, matures into a responsible young lady without losing her taste for adventure. While Lindsay is always completely engaging, displaying open-hearted enthusiasm and an impressive belt, bookwriter Rachel Sheinkin, understandably has trouble sustaining interest in this episodic story built on a series of hardships and their resolutions.

Also problematic is the fact that the production's star attraction is Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura on the popular Little House on the Prairie television series. Now playing Charles' wife, Caroline, Gilbert - appearing in her first musical - handles her singing and dancing perfectly fine and presents a sweet, sturdy character ready to get her family through numerous challenges. The trouble is that her role seems larger than what it would be if a lesser-known actress were playing it. She has a cute number in the first act where she teaches her children to dance as a way of keeping warm during the freezing months but giving her the last song in the musical, a ballad about her relationship with Laura, is an awkward choice because Laura's most developed parental relationship in the text is with her father.

Kevin Massey sings with an attractive tenor and matches Lindsay for open-hearted enthusiasm as Laura's romantic interest, Almonzo. And while Kate Loprest is perfectly fine as Laura's spoiled, self-centered rival Nellie Oleson, hers is another role given too much material, particularly a superfluous second act solo which I'm assuming was intended to be comic but, despite Loprest's efforts, falls flat. But despite that misstep, most of the plot-and-character-driven score is very pleasant. Donna di Novelli's lyrics make sufficient references to big skies and being free of fences and Rachel Portman's music has the expected traces of Aaron Copeland, giving the score the robust sound of the era. Nothing soars, but the craft of good musical theatre writing is always present.

Director Francesca Zambello provides the appropriate rustic visuals and Michele Lynch's choreography, while it never seems to build into anything exciting, sufficiently entertains. Adrianne Lobel's set is understandably sparse, as it's built to tour, but with Mark McCullough's lighting, the snowstorms, fires and changing seasons of the story are effectively portrayed.

I'd be at a loss to name anything especially wrong with Little House on the Prairie. The trouble is that there isn't anything special about it, either.

Photos by Jerry Dalia: Top: Kara Lindsay and Kevin Massey; Bottom: Kara Lindsay, Melissa Gilbert, Todd Thurston and Steve Blanchard.