Evan Sullivan, playing the role of Pa, and Ruby Stanton, playing the role of Laura, perform a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie on Tuesday evening at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
Evan Sullivan, playing the role of Pa, and Megan Cowin, right, playing the role of Ma, act out a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie during a rehearsal on Tuesday evening at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
From left: Megan Cowin, playing the role of Ma, Evan Sullivan, playing the role of Pa, Evelyn Murray, playing the role of Mary, and Narrator Duncan Eastman act out a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie on Tuesday night at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
Evelyn Murray, playing the role of Mary, holds the head of Megan Cowin, playing the role of Ma, during a rehearsal of Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie on Tuesday evening at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
James Alviar, playing the role of Chief, looks on during a rehearsal of Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie on Tuesday night at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
Evan Sullivan, playing the role of Pa, and Megan Cowin, right, playing the role of Ma, act out a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie during a rehearsal on Tuesday evening at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
Evan Sullivan, playing the role of Pa, and Megan Cowin, top right, playing the role of Ma, and Ruby Stanton, playing the role of Laura, act out a scene on a wagon from Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie on Tuesday evening at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
Evan Sullivan, playing the role of Pa, Syda Anzelini, bottom left, playing the role of Mary, Megan Cowin, top right, playing the role of Ma, and Ruby Stanton, playing the role of Laura, perform a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder Voice of the Prairie on Tuesday evening at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia.
Actors at the Evergreen Playhouse will be performing a classic American story of hardships and triumphs focused on a pioneer family trying to create a life on the prairie.
The 15-person cast will open “Laura Ingalls Wilder: Voice of the Prairie” on Friday.
The play will span Wilder’s life from early childhood into her older years. The dramatic and heartfelt scenes will depict her family’s extraordinary survival of life on the prairie.
Director Angela Wilcox said she was inspired to do this play because it is one of her daughter’s favorite stories. It holds personal significance to her, but she also said it’s a very important and meaningful story loved by many.
“It is dramatic and genuine. The thing about the Ingalls and Wilder families is that they endured a lot of heartache throughout their whole lives, but they were farmers and pioneers so they just kept moving on,” Wilcox said. “It’s really about love and family and moving forward in the time of grief and loss.”
The play is unique because it features over 24 scenes and spans about 60 years of Wilder’s life, Wilcox said. The entire production is accompanied by a live musician who plays fiddle and guitar.
“We get to see basic snapshots of poignant memories in her life and her story,” she said. “You get to relive the books if you are a Laura Ingalls fan and get to relive some of those favorite scenes.”
Wilcox is a new director at the Evergreen Playhouse although she has directed in the past for Performing Arts to Homeschoolers, a Lewis County branch of a homeschool cooperative.
Her cast varies in age and features children to actors with a lot of stage experience behind them.
For the opening weekend, a local fiddler family will play music from the Wilder era during intermissions. The Fiddlin’ Brownies feature six children from the Brown family. The new addition provides something new for audience members that have enjoyed plays at the Evergreen Playhouse before.
The play itself is family-friendly and suitable for all ages, Wilcox said.
“Laura Ingalls is a favorite character, so if you love Laura Ingalls Wilder, come and see this because you will be blessed by it, and it will be a meaningful night for your family,” Wilcox said. “My actors do a wonderful job, and it really is a beautiful, heartfelt story.”
The play will run Feb. 12-14, 18-21, and 26-28. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for students with a valid ID.
There will also be a Thursday pay-what-you-can night on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Proceeds from the play will help support the Evergreen Playhouse, which is located at 226 W. Center St., Centralia.
