THE
SECRET GARDEN
adapted by Marsha Norman
Gateway Theatre, Richmond
December 9 - January 2
$28-$34
604-270-1812
www.gatewaytheatre.com
Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The
Secret Garden is certainly
one of the classic children’s novels. Along with the Peter
Rabbit books and anything by Robert Muensch, it was required bedtime
reading for many years when my kids were young. The story of an
orphaned girl raised in a cold, unhappy home in the Yorkshire moors
where she finds salvation for herself, another child and a bereft
adult through a dead woman’s abandoned garden never failed
to excite and move the read-to or the readers in my house. The
Gateway’s production of this large-scale musical adaptation
is as handsome and accomplished as any you’d expect to see
on a major stage around the city. But be warned—this is not
exactly a kids’ show.
When young Mary Lennox, the sole survivor of a cholera epidemic
that has wiped out her family in India, is sent to England to live
with her Uncle Archie, she soon discovers that he has his own problems.
His beloved wife Lily died in childbirth, leaving a sickly son,
Colin, whose care Archie has given over to his physician brother,
Neville. Archie is permanently depressed, and Colin has been bedridden
for ten years, thinking that he’s a cripple, near death,
encouraged by the frustrated doctor who overmedicates him and insists
he stay permanently in bed. Through alliances with various proles—the
housekeeper, her nature-boy brother Dickon, and the Cockney gardener—Mary
revitalizes Lily’s forbidden garden, and with its help she
brings Colin and Archie back to life, heals the wounds in the family,
and finds a new family of her own.
The Secret Garden has been adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize
winning playwright Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon (Carly’s
sister). Norman is best known for ‘Night
Mother and Getting
Out, two of the darkest plays in the contemporary American canon.
True to form, she has emphasized the shadows in her version, not
the light. And she gives more stage time to the adults than the
children. Mary is haunted by the ghosts of her past, continually
surrounded by her dead parents and servants from India (whom she
doesn’t see), and Archie is haunted by his dead wife. In
fact Archie and Lily’s story is given as much weight as Mary’s,
and much more than Colin’s. The magical garden itself gets
short shrift in both the script and the production. Combined with
a musical score that leans toward the semi-operatic, there’s
not really a whole lot of fun to be had by the youngsters at this
show, especially if they aren’t already familiar with the
story.
That said, David Adams’ production is pretty amazing. Though
he uses only three Equity actors in the cast of 25, the singing
is splendid and the acting (and English accents) solid. Matt Palmer
as Archie anchors the show, his beautiful voice and intensely pained
character reminding me at times of Jean Valjean in Les
Miz. Evelyn
Thatcher is a beautiful Lily, her presence haunting and blessing
the house behind gilded picture frames, and her gorgeous operatic
soprano soaring over the other voices. Pretty Ashley Macdonald
also has a lovely voice, though her Mary lacks a little emotional
range when she’s not being angry. Excellent support from
Jeremy Crittenden as the playful Dickon, John Payne as the kindly
gardener, Lindsay Sterk as curmudgeonly Neville, Natalia Sudeyko
as Colin, and the entire ensemble. Kevin Michael Cripps as Mary’s
dead father has a particularly sweet voice and the choral numbers
are powerful, though a muddy sound system often obscures individual
lyrics. Adams creates beautiful stage pictures with his large cast
in Rebekka Sorenson’s period costumes, aided immensely by
three ballerinas—“Spirits of the Garden.” The
orchestra under the direction of Allen Stiles is first rate.
Phillip Tidd’s beautiful, ghostly two-story set is fine
for as long as the story remains inside the house. But it was disappointing
to see the garden represented by a lone spindly tree pushed downstage
and dressed with a few leaves and garlands representing blooming
roses when spring arrives at the end. Shane Droucker’s lighting
with its swirling shadows and multi-coloured gels is one of the
real stars of the show. More colour, more kids and more garden
is what I’d want to make this more than a bedtime story for
adults.
Jerry Wasserman
The Secret Garden runs
Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8:00 with 2:00 matinees on Dec. 18, 19, 26
and 28 (the latter a benefit for the Actors’ Fund
of Canada). No shows on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.
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