Release date is 2026-04-19

Tapio Riikonen

"Preerian prinsessa" by Kaarle Halme is a three-act comedy play written in the early 20th century. Set during a festive summer Saturday at a rural volunteer fire brigade hall, it blends small-town bustle with political jitters and romantic entanglements. At its center are the capable hostess Ritva Immilä, her returning sister Helinä, the gentle surveyor Raju Halla and his brash brother Pekka, plus a gallery of locals from waitresses to would‑be suitors. Expect lively banter, malapropisms, and farcical mix-ups set against rumors of looming conflict.

The opening of the play shows the V.F.D. hall being put in order by Ritva and the waitress Eeva-Kaisa while they await Helinä’s arrival from America and a community celebration. Flirtations and teasing swirl as the gruff doorman Korsu and the bumbling suitor Naskali-Ville appear, soon joined by Pekka, whose jokes and swagger clash comically with Ville’s communist bluster. A painter, Loironen, brings an alarm of a “threatening enemy,” prompting the local Civil Guard to mobilize; Eero Timilä tasks Pekka with gathering boats at Varvaslahti for a flanking move. Amid the stir, Raju privately begs Pekka to help undo his engagement to Ritva, confessing he pines for a mysterious girl from a past city dance, while Eeva-Kaisa’s feelings for Korsu peek through. The flamboyant Eveliina Lello breezes in with grandiose malapropisms, and the wily Mutkalan Ansu sings, jokes, and trades in coded talk hinting at illicit liquor. As preparations, rumors, and romantic schemes tangle, Ritva appears ready for a visit to the vicarage, while Pekka stalls and turns the moment into a dance—leaving the scene poised between duty, desire, and festivity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Porvoo: WSOY, 1923