LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE With Melissa Gilbert Launches This Week, Kicks Off 10/13 At The Ordway Center

On Tuesday, October 13, 2009, the eagerly anticipated new stage production of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, THE MUSICAL -- with Melissa Gilbert as "Ma" -- kicks off a two-year, 26-city national tour at The Ordway Center in St. Paul.

Directed by Francesca Zambello (Disney's The Little Mermaid), LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, THE MUSICAL just completed a five-week, pre-tour engagement at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey (Sept. 10 - Oct. 10, 2009).

The Paper Mill engagement garnered 23 sold-out performances, with a cumulative box office gross of more than $2 million and audiences totaling more than 45,000 people, making it one of the most successful productions in the company's history.

Melissa Gilbert, who rose to fame as a child playing Laura in the hugely successful 1970s NBC television series "Little House on the Prairie" now continues her "prairie" legacy by taking on the role of Caroline "Ma" Ingalls.

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, THE MUSICAL also stars Steve Blanchard as Charles "Pa" Ingalls and Kara Lindsay as Laura, with Kevin Massey as Almanzo Wilder, Kate Loprest as Nellie Oleson, Alessa Neeck as Mary Ingalls and Carly Rose Sonenclar as Carrie Ingalls.

Initiated for the stage by Adrianne Lobel (A Year with Frog and Toad) and Francesca Zambello, the production features music by Academy Award winner Rachel Portman (Emma), lyrics by Donna di Novelli and a book by Tony Award winner Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee).

During its world premiere production in August 2008 at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, THE MUSICAL shattered all box-office records (more than $1.9 million) and sold-out for 12 consecutive weeks to audiences totaling more than 65,000 people.

The current 2009-10 tour itinerary is as-follows:

10/13/09-10/25/09 -- St. Paul, Ordway Theater
10/27/09-11/1/09 -- Nashville, Tennessee Performing Arts Center
11/3/09-11/5/09 -- Little Rock, Robinson Auditorium
11/6/09-11/8/09 -- Springfield, MO, Hammons Auditorium
11/10/09-11/15/09 -- Tulsa, Tulsa PAC
11/17/09-11/22/09 -- Oklahoma City, Music Hall
11/24/2009-11/29/2009 -- St. Louis, Fox Theatre
12/1/2009 - 12/5/2009 -- Detroit, Fox Theatre
12/8/09-12/13/09 -- Tempe, Gammage Auditorium
12/15/09-12/27/09 -- Denver, Buell Auditorium
1/5/10-1/10/10 -- Fayetteville, Walton Arts Center
1/12/10-1/17/10 -- Omaha, Orpheum Theatre
1/19/10-1/24/10 -- Madison, Overture Center for the Arts
1/27/10-2/28/10 -- Toronto, The Canon
3/2/10-3/7/10 -- Tampa, Tampa Bay PAC
3/9/10-3/14/10 -- Naples, The Philharmonic
3/16/10-3/21/10 -- Raleigh, BTI Center
3/23/10-3/28/10 -- Appleton, Fox Cities PAC
4/8/10-4/11/10 -- Spokane, Spokane Opera House
4/14/10-4/25/10 -- Sacramento, Community Center Theater
4/28/10-5/9/10 -- Houston, Hobby Center for the Perf. Arts
6/1/10-6/6/10 -- Sioux Falls, Washington Pavilion
6/8/10-6/13/10 -- Ft. Worth, Bass Performance Hall

Visit the official website at www.littlehousethemusical.com.

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