This 1991 Tony Award ®) Winner
(Best Book of a Musical, Marsha Norman)
is a treasure for children and adults.
May 7-8; 14-15; 21-22-23, 2010
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM; Sunday at 2:00 PM
For reservations call: the Box office at 860 292-6068
Go to our website: www.operahouseplayers.org
or www.click4tix.com for on line tickets
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Not everyone has read the book or seen the movie or even heard of its title, but for those who have, by mentioning the name, The Secret Garden, smiles appear, and most want to share their indelible memories of this beloved classic. Appreciation of a tender story (that could have really happened), enhanced with harmonious music, the Opera House Players are demonstrating -- again -- the strength, depth, and professional dedication of their company.
This is a huge production: there are 23 actors to move around and 28 songs to sing. The year is 1906 which means there are yards and yards of costumes. There is a strong narrative that covers anger, happiness, sorrow, fear and lighthearted moments. In one scene, frustration triggers a loud tantrum which is suffocated by controlled, louder anger. Humor has a way of insinuating itself.
Here are the bare bones of the story: In British colonized India, social butterfly parents spoil their daughter with the trappings of the idle rich (personal servants, beautiful clothes) so they may avoid parenting responsibilities. A cholera outbreak kills everyone except the little girl, Mary Lennox. She is shipped off to England where her uncle, a widower, becomes her guardian. Mary is lonelier and more ill-behaved than ever. A patient chambermaid and her good-natured brother help Mary to become acclimated to her new home. Mary discovers the key to a neglected garden and gradually restores the garden to its earlier beauty which, seemingly like magic, lifts everyone’s spirits, beginning with Mary’s.
The production’s charm cannot be found in a summary because much of it lies within the music. Every song advances the story. With few exceptions, every word sung is enunciated clearly. The melodies are pleasantly unpredictable: they are lilting or stern or inspirational or whatever complements the lyrics (by Marsha Norman) which are complementing the play. Indeed, I was so puzzled trying to pigeon hole a composer's identity that could have written a Broadway score so cleverly nuanced that a form of writer’s block set in. How could such seemingly simple music also be sophisticated? Where did the exquisite harmony come from? Who, for crying out loud, is Lucy Simon, the woman who composed this music? Thanks to Google, here’s her biography written in 2005 by American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards:Lucy Simon is the composer of the new musical Zhivago which recently had its premier at La Jolla Playhouse. She made her Broadway debut in 1991 as the composer of The Secret Garden, for which she received Tony and Drama Desk nominations, the DramaLogue Award and a Grammy nomination for the recording of the score. She received two Grammy Awards for her In Harmony albums, which she co-wrote and produced. Simon wrote songs for the film A Simple Wish and contributed songs for the long-running review A? My Name is Alice. She began her professional career at the age of 16 with her sister Carly as part of The Simon Sisters.
There it is -- Lucy Simon's family of origin that created her, Sister Carly, and an environment that promoted creative thinking. That pastime led to honing the ability to compose music that does not intimidate but that welcomes participation; that seemingly plucks chords from the firmament and then with a saucy flip or low rumble tweaks listeners -- surprise!
Archibald Craven (Carl Calhoun), Mary’s uncle and guardian is kind but distant because the death of his beloved wife keeps him from moving through his grief to acceptance. When he sings, his rich, expressive voice embraces the lyrics.
Both Amy Facey as the warm-hearted maid and Scott Gilbert who plays her brother Dickon are country folk who have the ability to focus on what matters; their singing is equally direct and upbeat.
As Mary Lennox, described as a 10 year old girl, Hollis Long changes the most: from a petulant, scared little girl who not only loses her parents but her entire support system and is uprooted from India to England, 8,000 miles and another world away. She learns that to survive, she has to adapt. Like the garden she nurtures, so does she accept nurturing, and both she and the garden blossom. The Secret Garden is Mary’s story, and young Hollis Long is an ideal Mary. Not only is she totally believable as Mary, her singing voice is made for the musical theater.Of the many books written by Frances Hodgson Burnett (including Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, The Lady of Quality, The Lost Prince, The Making of a Marchioness, and others), chances are if the world could vote, The Secret Garden would be crowned its favorite. Thanks to the insight Director Sharon FitzHenry and Musical Director Bill Martin bring to the production, the talented Opera House Players' performances honor The Secret Garden.
CAST
Fakir - Gary Rhone
Ayah - Reva Kleppel
Albert - Roger Gove
Rose - Erica Romeo
Major Holmes - Chris Berrien
Claire Holmes - Susan Howland
Alice - Lyndsay Smolka
Lieutenant Wright - Andrew Holl
Lieutenant Shaw - Dallas Hosmer
Mrs. Medlock - Marge Stepansky
Mary - Hollis Long
Lily - Melissa Dupont
Archibald - Carl Calhoun
Neville - Keith Johnson
Martha - Amy Facey
Dickon - Scott Gilbert
Ben Weatherstaff - Steven Dombeck
Nurse - Moonyean Field
Mrs . Winthrop - Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe
Colin - Kenny Bell
Housemaid - Elsa Berrien
DreamersKhara Hoyer - Erin Maloney
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