To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Tony award-winning musical The Secret Garden, a special youth oriented production is heading to the Ambassadors Theatre for a limited summer Season. The show will run from 27 July to 31 August 2016.
The musical, based on the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, with a script and lyrics by Pulitzer prize and Tony award-winning winner Marsha Norman and music by Grammy award-winner Lucy Simon.
Orphaned while living in India, 10 year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire, England to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald, whom she has never met. There, the ill-tempered and lonely Mary meets Martha, a chambermaid, who tells her of a secret garden which belonged to her aunt Lily before she died. Mary’s search for the garden introduces her to a slew of other characters including Dickon (Martha’s brother), Ben (the head gardener), Neville (her other uncle), and a spirited robin that seems to be trying to talk to her. This compelling tale of forgiveness and hope reveals that even the cruelest of environments can blossom with new life.
This specially “Spring” version of the show has been adapted to 75 minutes by its creators to be performed by young people. The Secret Garden is from the same production team as Annie Jr, which smashed box office records last summer at the Arts Theatre, at the same time giving 350 youngsters the chance to act for the first time in the West End.
More than 2,000 children have auditioned for The Secret Garden and 300 youngsters will be cast in the show.
Producer Matthew Chandler of P2P Productions said: “This is the European premiere of a new version of The Secret Garden, specially adapted to be performed with just 4 adult actors and 20 children. We have 21 teams child actors who will perform in rotation throughout the season. of It is a fantastic opportunity for all the youngsters involved.”
