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Overview
Synopsis
Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved victorian classic, The Secret Garden, blossoms anew in this enchanting musical by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon. When young Mary Lennox loses her parents to a cholera outbreak in India, she is sent to live with her uncle, hermit Archibald Craven, who lives in an imposing, secluded manor on the British heath. Inside the haunting house upon the hill, Mary finds a reclusive, long-suffering collection of souls. Since her aunt Lily’s death, Mary’s uncle has pushed away his surviving loved ones, leaving his bedridden son, Colin, alone. Sickly Colin, hidden away in the depths of the manner, bears the guilt of his mother’s death on his crippled shoulders. When Mary discovers her Aunt Lily’s hidden garden, locked shot and overgrown with vines, stubborn Mary is determined to revive the beauty that once was. Surrounded by spirits from the past, who both warn and welcome her, determined Mary begins to peel away the layers of sadness that cover the house and the garden, showing us the power that “one small girl” can have when she “wants things to grow.”
Show Information
- Book
- Marsha Norman
- Music
- Lucy Simon
- Lyrics
- Marsha Norman
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Based on the book
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1991
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- 1906, colonial india and misselthwaite manor in north yorkshire, england.
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Large
- Dancing
- Optional
- Licensor
- Samuel French
- Ideal For
- Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Star Vehicle Male, Theatre For Young Audiences (TYA), Mostly Male Cast, Includes Child, Early Teen, Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen, Mature Adult Characters
Context
Frances Hodgson Burnett, an English playwright and novelist, wrote The Secret Garden in 1911. She was already well-known by that point, having written the children’s novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1885-6) and A Little Princess (1905), amongst other popular books and serials. Because it was her first work that was marketed to both children and adults, The Secret Garden was not one of Burnett’s most popular books, in its time. Since then, however, The Secret Garden has become known as
to read the context for The Secret Garden and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
Ten-year-old Mary Lennox, a young British girl living in India, is dreaming. As she plays with her Victorian dollhouse, British nursery rhymes and Hindu chants interweave in her mind (“Opening”). The next morning, Mary awakens to a world, transformed. She is discovered by Lieutenant Wright and Major Holmes, who inform her that everyone she had dreamed of the previous night (including her parents) has died of cholera (“There’s a Girl”).
Holmes and his wife travel with
to read the plot for The Secret Garden and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Treble/Boy Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano |
Songs
Act One
- Opening — Lily, Fakir, Company, Mary
- There's a Girl — Company
- The House Upon the Hill — Company
- I Heard Someone Crying — Lily, Mary, Archibald
- If I Had A Fine White Horse — Martha, Mary
- A Girl in the Valley — Archibald, Lily
- It's a Maze — Mary, Ben, Dickon
- Winter's on the Wing — Dickon
- Show Me the Key — Mary, Dickon
- A Bit of Earth — Archibald, Mary
- Storm I — Company
- Lily's Eyes — Archibald, Neville
- Storm II — Mary, Company
- Round-Shouldered Man — Colin, Mary
- Final Storm — Mary, Company
Act Two
- The Girl I Mean to Be — Mary
- Quartet — Archibald, Lily, Neville, Rose
- Race You to the Top of the Morning — Archibald
- Wick — Dickon with Mary
- Come to My Garden — Lily
- Lift Me Up — Colin
- Come Spirit, Come Charm — Mary, Dickon, Martha, Lily, Fakir, Company
- A Bit of Earth (Reprise) — Lily, Rose, Albert
- Disappear — Neville
- Hold On — Martha
- Letter Song — Archibald, Mary, Martha
- Where in the World — Archibald
- How Could I Ever Know — Archibald, Lily
- Finale — Company
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
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