It's maybe not by accident that a new adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's semi-autobiographical book series, "Little House on the Prairie," returns to screens this summer, the 250th anniversary of the country's founding."A lot of people consider them children's literature, but I really do think they're really about sort of how America became America," said writer and showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine.
The new series, a joint Netflix-CBS Studios production, follows the trials and tribulations of the Ingalls family.Sonnenshine says "Little House on the Prairie" is about our country's big dreams: "It's all about myth-making.
Our culture is really wrapped up in the stories we tell about ourselves.And the Ingalls, in the books, they told stories all the time, and they sing songs that tell stories."Asked what music means to the Ingalls family, Crosby Fitzgerald (who plays the mother, Caroline), replied, "It's, like, one of the only things they have.""Other than each other!" said Skywalker Hughes, who plays Mary Ingalls."They couldn't really do a lot on the prairie," said Alice Halsey, who plays Laura Ingalls.
"There weren't a lot of available activities, other than go farming!""And that's the tradition," said Fitzgerald."These songs have been passed down.
It reminds them of the home they left.It is something they probably taught the girls.""Music gives them hope," said Hughes.
And Luke Bracey (who plays Charles, the father), adds, "It's one thing that can't be taken away from them." You could say hope for a better life drives the Ingalls family by covered wagon on their perilous journey from Wisconsin to the West, to what was then Osage territory.Fans of the beloved 1970s television show with Michael Landon might not remember how much actual danger and suffering the family experienced.The new show was shot in Manitoba, Canda, which provides the big sky – and the raging rivers.
"Laura's in a life-or-death situation every single day," sa...