Laura
Ingalls Wilder:
Voice of the Prairie
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SMALL
CAST (Touring) VERSION
Running Time:
About 50-55 minutes
Cast of 4: 2
Male, 2 Female
Easily adapted
for larger cast
ALMANZO:
Laura's Husband (M)
Also plays
Narrator, Neighbor, Doctor, Indian
LAURA INGALLS
WILDER (F)
Also plays
Susan B. Anthony, Citizen
MA: Caroline
Ingalls (F)
Also plays
Northerner, Mary, Rose
PA:
Charles Ingalls (M)
Also plays
Southerner, Alfred A. Knopf
MEDIUM
CAST VERSION
Running Time:
About 50-55 minutes
Flexible cast
of 14: 4 Male, 5 Female, 5 M/F
Easily
adapted for smaller cast.
Arts Live Theatre,
Fayetteville AR
In Alphabetical Order:
ALFRED A. KNOPF: Publisher and Editor (30 lines, M)
ALMANZO WILDER: Laura's Husband (62 lines, M)
DOCTOR: (6 lines, M/F)*
INDIAN: (3 lines, M/F)*
LAURA INGALLS WILDER: (140 lines, F)
MA: Caroline Ingalls (50 lines, F)
MARY INGALLS (45 lines, F)
NARRATOR: (28 lines, M/F)
NEIGHBOR: (1 line, M)*
NORTHERNER: (4 lines, M/F)*
PA: Charles Ingalls (79 lines, M)
ROSE WILDER LANE: Laura's Daughter (53 lines, F)
SOUTHERNER: (3 lines, M/F)*
SUSAN B. ANTHONY: (1 line, F)*
*These parts are easily doubled.
Laura's
Life On Stage for Kids & Families.
Evergreen Playhouse, Eugene OR
- Arts Live Theatre, Fayetteville AR
"With quick, sure brush strokes Miller evokes both the vivid sensory world and the loving family circle that surrounds Laura."
Andrea Urice, Director, Imaginary Theatre, St. Louis
LAURA INGALLS WILDER
SCRIPT SAMPLE
Laura's life on the Prairie is full of hardship and hope. The rugged American landscape helps shape her into a courageous young woman. When she meets Manly, she knows exactly what kind of life she wants to live...
LAURA: I thought when I grew up I’d wander, wherever the horizon took me. But when Almanzo – I called him Manly - asked me to ride in his buggy...
(ALMANZO helps her into buggy and then climbs up beside her.)
ALMANZO: Would you like to hold the reins?
LAURA: Oh, I shouldn’t! The horses look so young and wild.
ALMANZO: All of them are that way at first. They’re not wild exactly. They just haven’t decided to behave yet.
LAURA: But they wouldn’t be as much fun if they behaved.
ALMANZO: You think so? Here give them a try.
(LAURA sits and takes reins. The "horses" immediately kick up and LAURA and ALMANZO are thrown back.)
Hold on now, keep the reins tight. Don’t let him get the start on you.
LAURA: Look how the people stare, Manly. (Waving.) Oh, hi, Nellie! Yes, it’s me, Laura Ingalls! Aren’t these some fine horses? They’re from Egypt! (To ALMANZO.) Why is it such a sight to see a woman drive a horses anyway?
ALMANZO: They just don’t expect it, I guess.
LAURA: (Waving.) Maybe they should get used to it.
(ALMANZO takes the reins and stops the horses.)
ALMANZO: Laura.
LAURA: Hmm?
ALMANZO: Would you like an engagement ring?
LAURA: What kind of engagement ring?
(ALMANZO opens a box.)
Pearls!
ALMANZO: I asked your Pa yesterday. He said it would be all right. If you should decide to say yes.
LAURA: He did, did he? I’ll take the ring ... on one condition.
ALMANZO: Oh?
LAURA: I don’t want the preacher to ask if I’ll obey you. I see how hard Ma and Pa work together and it seems like they’re partners. And they should agree on things together. Pa never asks Ma to obey him.
ALMANZO: That’s fine with me. I never had a single thought you’d ever obey me.
LAURA: And two...
ALMANZO: Two? You said you had one condition.
LAURA: Oh, Manly, I know you want to be a farmer, but I have a different kind of life in mind. A farmer is a slave to the animals, the weather...
ALMANZO: (Crestfallen.) Laura, I’m a farmer. That’s all I know how to be.
LAURA: I’ll make a deal with you.
ALMANZO: A deal?
LAURA: Three years. I’ll farm with you for three years and if we’re successful we’ll stay and earn our claim. And if we’re not – we’ll find another way to live. Agreed?
(She puts her hand out for a shake. ALMANZO is take aback by the business deal but finally decides to shake on it.)
ALMANZO: Agreed.
LAURA: You may kiss me now.
(He is so shy he barely pecks her cheek. Satisfied with the deal, she takes the reins and shakes them.)
All right then! Giddy-up!
Note: This is a sample from the actual script. To review the entire play, order the PERUSAL SCRIPT (online instant download).
Laura Ingalls Wilder has two versions:
Medium
Cast Version
Recommended
for Jr High, Middle Schools, High Schools, Theatres.
Flexible Cast
of 10-14 (5M, 3F, all others M/F)
Small
Cast (Touring) Version
Recommended
for Professional Tours and Outreach Programs.
Cast
of 4 (2M, 2F) for adult actors, larger cast possible.
Includes
suggestions for easy touring.
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