Photo by Deb Gau In a scene from the “Fragments of a Dream” pageant, townsfolk join in a square dance during a centennial celebration in Walnut Grove.

WALNUT GROVE — The story of Laura Ingalls Wilder might be familiar to many fans of “Little House On the Prairie.” But this summer, the cast and crew of the Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove hope to bring some new perspectives as they bring the story to life.

“It’s exciting every night,” said Bill Richards, president of the Wilder Pageant committee.

The pageant, which starts performances July 7 and 8 in Walnut Grove, will feature an updated script that expands the story of the Ingalls family’s time in Walnut Grove in the 1870s. This year’s show, “Chasing the Dream,” is part of a three-episode series that will continue in 2024 and 2025.

The Wilder Pageant has gone through some changes over its 46-year-history, including script revisions and the move to an outdoor theater, Richards said. But starting around 2016 or 2017, organizers started thinking of ideas to bring something different to the pageant stage.

“At the same time, we decided maybe we should do a re-write” of the pageant, Richards said. There was a lot of history that didn’t make it into Wilder’s books. However, with new information from notes and papers by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and recent books and research on her life, co-authors Richards and Mark Rosenwinkel were able to add more of those details into the script.

“We tried to follow the history,” Richards said. He and Rosenwinkel also got some good criticism and advice from authors William Anderson and Pamela Smith Hill, who both wrote about Wilder.

“We were also fortunate to have a local historian, Dan Peterson,” he said.

Richards said the Ingalls family only lived in Walnut Grove for a few years, and there seemed to be some natural chapter breaks in their story during that time.

“We thought a three-year rotation would probably work out well,” Richards said.

Richards said this year’s show, “Chasing the Dream,” is really the second episode in the trilogy. The first episode, “Faith In the Dream,” included a lot of material already familiar to audiences from past pageants, he said.

“This year’s script is more about the second year of their being in Walnut Grove,” Richards said. “Chasing the Dream” begins with the Ingalls family in their new house on Plum Creek. The show includes events like the Ingalls’ struggles with blizzards and grasshoppers, and the birth of Laura’s baby brother Freddy. “Chasing the Dream” ends with the family preparing to move to Burr Oak, Iowa, to manage the Masters Hotel.

Richards said pageant organizers plan to present part three of “Fragments of a Dream,” where the Ingalls return from Iowa, next summer. In 2025, the cycle will come back around to part one, with the Ingalls first arriving in Walnut Grove and living in a dugout house.

Richards said part of the fun of coming to see the pageant is the connection the actors make with the audience.

“We hope that people not only enjoy the show, but that it helps them think about themselves and their place, and to appreciate the hard lives these people lived,” he said.

“Fragments of a Dream” performances begin at 7 p.m. on July 7 and July 8, and continue the weekends of July 14-15, and July 21-22. More information on the pageant, including ticket information, is available online at https://walnutgrove.org/pageant.