THE WILDER OUTDOOR THEATER IS BRINGING BACK ITS TRILOGY IN JULY, EXPANDING ON ITS LEGACY PRODUCTION OF “FRAGMENTS OF A DREAM.” The pageant began in 1978, when thespians performed inside the school in Walnut Grove. Fun fact: there are two current actors that were there for that performance: Errol Steffen, who played Pa for years, and Kerry Knakmuhs, who while not an actor, continues to do a lot for the pageant. “They’ve been faithful all these years,” said Bill Richards, who has helped direct since 1979.
• ‘CHASING THE DREAM’
Dates: July 10-11, July 17-18, July 24-25
Gates open: 7 p.m.
Pageant Singers: 8 p.m. Performance: 9 p.m.
“It was very hot, but everyone was amazed by all the people that showed up out of nowhere to come to this packed house in that little gym.”
The attendance that year was just over 3,000, and it would only grow from there. By the mid-1980s, attendance for two, three-day weekends surpassed 10,000. The pageant went to three weekends in 1988, and attendance went over 11,000 in 1988 and over 12,000 the following year.
All told, more than 330,000 tickets have been sold since the pageant’s inception.
“Fragments of a Dream” was originally created by James Merchant in 1978 and adapted in 1999 by Mark Rosenwinkel and Richards. Using new historical information including notes and papers by Laura Ingalls Wilder, books by noted authors William Anderson and Pamela Smith Hill and research by local historian Dan Peterson, Rosenwinkel and Richards have expanded the story with increased detail and historical context.
In 2024, “Episode Three: Dream Fulfilled” [1877-1879] revealed the Ingalls’ return from Burr Oak, building the Masters Hotel, getting to know new children like Mattie Masters, Mary’s blindness, more fires, Pa elected to the town council and leaving Walnut Grove for Dakota Territory. In 2025, “Episode One: Faith in the Dream” [1874-1875] will share the arrival of the Ingalls on Plum Creek as they live in a dugout, help build the Congregational church, survive a prairie fire and get to know the Nelsons and, of course, the Olesons.
Now, in 2026, “Episode Two: Chasing the Dream” [1875-1876] tells the story of the Ingalls in their house on Plum Creek with more grasshoppers, moving to town for the winter, adjusting to the Oleson family, a new child in the family, preparing to move to Burr Oak and more.
This year’s cast, as usual, offers a nice blend of young, energetic actors and grizzlied veterans.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing, because you have some who have been with us for a long time,” Richards said. “At least half of the people who come have been in the show five or more years.”
That experience has come in more handy now than ever, as the more recent shows are different than in the past — before the trilogy began.
“There’s always something different,” Richards said. “Even though there’s a script, there is always something different going on, the energy is a little different every year. The veterans bring a sense of, ‘OK, this is what’s expected.’ They also help guide people, help them get to know the set.”
Conversely, Richards has been working with kids at the pageant for years, and said that brings unique challenges.
“You have to be very clear about what you want with most of them,” he said. “There’s a lot of them that this is their first time, and they’re a little nervous. They maybe don’t quite understand the magnitude of what they’re getting involved in.”
Even though the actors are mic’d up, Richards said one of the most important things to convey to the kids is projecting with their voice and movement.
“If there’s 20 people on the stage (the audience) isn’t gonna even know who said anything — it’s little things that the younger ones need to get used to,” said Richards. “They have a tendency of wanting to turn and talk to people — I tell them we prefer to see their face. But they’re a lot of fun; they have a lot of energy, and that’s a good thing for the old-timers, to perk ‘em up!”
One special aspect of the pageants — pre- and posttrilogy — is that everyone is tied into family groups. Richards said this allows actors to learn about the history of these families.
“Those characters were actually people who lived and worked in Walnut Grove,” said Richards.
Work on this revised and enhanced telling of Laura Ingalls story on the banks of Plum Creek and in Walnut Grove has been made possible by grants from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, Walnut Grove Area Foundation and the Remick Foundation.
