the original British musical stage adaptation of the famous story
The Secret Garden, musical
Book by Jim Crabtree Based on the Novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett Additional Material by Alfred Shaughnessy, Diana Matterson, and Sue Beckwith-Smith Music and Lyrics by Sharon Burgett with Additional Lyrics by Diana Matterson and Sue Beckwith-Smith Directed by Darlene J. Lentz Musical Direction by Timothy D. Turner Production by Storybook Theater Company of DeLand, Florida
Performances December 6, 13 @ 8 p.m. December 7, 8, 14, 15 @ 2:30 p.m. All Performances at Sands Theater Center of the Cultural Arts Center in DeLand, Florida
Young Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle at the English Manor of Misselthwaite after losing her parents to a cholera epidemic in India. Her uncle, Archibald Craven, who has never recovered from the death of his wife, has had most of the mansion locked up, including his wife's favorite garden, to obliterate her memory. Even his only son Colin has been hidden away in the large gloomy house. Mary, an unhappy girl herself eventually unlocks the secrets of Misselthwaite, restoring life not only to the garden, but also waking hope in the manor's inhabitants.
This Secret Garden, the original British musical stage adaptation of the famous story, focuses especially on the children's characters and Mary's friendship with the maid Martha and the gardener Ben. It includes several of Frances Hodgson Burnett's delightful animal characters conceived as puppets. The American premiere at Tennessee's Cumberland County Playhouse brought raves from the audiences and critics alike. This exceptional family audience musical can be staged on a grand scale or very simply, on a bare stage with props to suggest various locations including an Episcopal funeral in India; a sailing ship at sea; a resort in Italy; Mary's room at Misselthwaite; and, of course, inside the Secret Garden.