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Laura Ingalls Wilder is famed for her youth spent in the westward expansion of the US, and for her Little House on the Prairie book series about that time. She had a life full of songs and music which appear in her books as characters’ comments on the action, and as part of their joy and pastime in an otherwise heartbreaking time of hunger and deprivation. I use these songs, stories, and poems to talk about Laura’s experiences and those of the people whose paths she crossed.
Two other women are important in this story: Laura’s mother, Caroline Lake Ingalls, who left her own family and friends to marry Charles Ingalls and go to the Dakota Territory, and Laura’s daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who grew up to be a newspaper writer and Libertarian. This show brings you close to three generations of women over a hundred years, to explore their entertainment and how it shaped their country.
Due to the narrative form of this show, it is only available in a full evening version (two 45-minute sets with an intermission). It’s suitable for all ages, but it is aimed at adults.
Songs and poems in this concert include: