WALNUT GROVE - "Little House on the Prairie - The Musical" is going national, and folks from Walnut Grove are more than excited.

"That's tremendous exposure again," said Walnut Grove Mayor Greg Hansen.

"I think it's awesome, that's exciting," said Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum board member Lynn Swanson.

"Little House on the Prairie - The Musical" kicks off its national run Oct. 13-25 at the Ordway Center in St. Paul, said the Ordway's Web site.

When the show premiered at the Guthrie in Minneapolis last summer, it set a ticket-selling record its opening weekend, and each of the performances was sold out.

"This will rekindle more of that (interest) again," Hansen said.

Nicole Elzenga, collections manager at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, said she and museum director Amy Ankrum knew the show was going national, as a Christmas 2009 date was mentioned for a performance in Colorado.

"We didn't know it would be coming back to St. Paul," Elzenga said. "It's very exciting."

Melissa Gilbert, who played Caroline Ingalls in the musical, will reprise her role for the national tour.

Gilbert is best-known as playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on the "Little House on the Prairie" television show during the 1970s and 1980s.

Elzenga said she and Ankrum are curious to know if the rest of the musical's cast will also be part of the national run, which included Kara Lindsay as Laura and Steve Blanchard as Charles Ingalls.

"They were a good cast," Elzenga said.

The name Walnut Grove and Little House kept being mentioned during the musical, Hansen said, which will help more people discover the little community in southwest Minnesota.

"That name recognition tells people a lot," Hansen said.

Swanson, Elzenga and Hansen said the national run may be a boost for tourism in Walnut Grove.

"Hopefully it will be more visitors for Walnut Grove," Elzenga said.

"So many fans just keep on rolling in," Hansen said.

"It will be good for the museum, I'm sure," Swanson said. "Anything that promotes Laura is beneficial to the community."

Swanson said that as the time the television show was on the air keeps getting further and further out, the musical would create more interest in Laura Ingalls Wilder.

"Hopefully, things like this will get the next generation interested," Swanson said.

Tickets for the performances at the Ordway will go on sale Sept. 13, and customers have to buy a season membership, said Ordway's Web site.

"We're lucky for it to come back to the Midwest," Elzenga said.