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The Secret Garden by La Jolla Stage Company  Millions are familiar with Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic
story of Mary Lennox and her Secret Garden. Orphaned in India where her parents
and everyone she knew died swiftly in a cholera epidemic, young Mary is taken
back to England to live with her Uncle Archibald. At first a very sullen,
spoiled, and stubborn little girl who expects to be waited on hand and foot and to
always have her way, Mary is soon transformed into a caring, courteous, and
curious child who falls in love with her new home and the people she shares it
with -- becoming especially intrigued by a secret garden that has been locked up
for years
since her Aunt Lily, who used to tend the garden, died during
the birth of her son, Colin. Neglected for so many years, the
garden is now dead. But encouraged by her newfound friend Dickon, Mary soon
sees her opportunity to breathe new life into the garden, at the same time
breathing new life into the Craven household that has been as dormant as the
garden since Lily’s death.
This engaging story has become the basis of a musical by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon (Carly Simon’s sister), with the mesmerizing, enchanting score enhancing the story beautifully. And surely those songs have never been sung more beautifully than they are currently being sung at the La Jolla Stage Company. You’d be lucky to hear some of these voices on Broadway or a national tour. To get them at the small La Jolla Stage Company feels like getting a private showing of a Broadway blockbuster. Not surprisingly, a couple of the most notables were recently on national tours. As the deceased Aunt Lily still haunting the house, Michelle Hakala, who recently completed a tour with Titanic, embarks on a far better musical in The Secret Garden. Her gorgeous operatic voice had me hoping each of her songs would go on a little longer – especially the lovely How Could I Ever Know which she sings to her widowed husband. Michelle is newly arrived to San Diego, and is an extremely welcome addition to our local stages. Another standout included Karin Reed Bamesberger as Mary’s servant Martha. Karin also arrives in San Diego after performing in a national tour – hers being Aladdin in which she starred as Princess Jasmine. Karin not only impressed with her singing and stage presence, but also brings us virtually all of the comedy with her amusing performance as Mary’s kind, no-nonsense, sometimes sarcastic servant. Karin’s touching and uplifting Hold On was one of the highlights of the show. Other strong performances included Cory Thomas Hibbs as Mary’s uncle, Archibald Craven. An SDSU graduate, Cory has a fine voice, and his uneasiness at suddenly becoming the adoptive father of a little girl was genuinely done. Patrick McNaughton offers his clear voice and a charmingly innocent demeanor as Mary’s friend and wildlife guide Dickon. And the rest of the cast blended their voices nicely in several scenes filled with the lovely, haunting quality that runs through the entire score. And of course, at the center of the story and the music, is Mary Lennox played alternately by Marcelle Friedman and Shannon Partrick. Shannon played the night I went, displaying a sweet voice and mostly melancholy expressions that can instantly turn into fits of rage (as she kicks a boarding school representative out of the house), nurturing kindness (as when she comforts her sickly cousin Colin Craven played by Michael Cullen), and contented glee as when Uncle Archibald finally comes around and becomes a new father to both Colin and Mary. Set Designer Stephanie Parker and Lighting Designer Jason Eberwein combined for an elegant and pleasant house and garden setting – at times dark and mysteriously ominous, at other times light and hopeful. Jannifer Mah’s costumes were fittingly stoical nineteenth-century garb except for the calmingly natural attire of Dickon. All the elements were brought together by Director Tim Heitman for the theatre company's most extraordinarily polished production to date, inaugurating the second full season under La Jolla Stage Company’s new management in a way that would seem to presage an exciting new year for the company. Their new season certainly has the potential to be a great one with The Secret Garden to be followed by the likes of Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona, a repeat of my favorite show last year – The Mystery of Irma Vep, Truman Capote’s gentle Holiday Memories, and a world premiere musical The Willows based on The Wind in the Willows.
Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
Lily: Michelle Hakala Mary Lennox: Marcelle Avital Friedman Shannon Partrick Mrs. Medlock: Carolyn Burgoyne Dr. Neville Craven: Christopher Miller Martha: Karin Reed Bamesberger Archibald Craven: Cory Thomas Hibbs Dickon: Patrick McNaughton Colin Craven: Michael Cullen Luke Marinkovich Ben/Male Dreamer 1: Don Worley Male Dreamer 2: Robert Kirk Female Dreamer 1: Catherine J. Webb Female Dreamer 2: Laura Carden Male Swing: Justin Duval Female Swing: Bebe Brodie Director: Tim Heitman Musical Director: G. Scott Lacy Stage Manager: Eric Ryan Assistant Stage Manager: Ellen Layritz Set Designer: Stephanie Parker Lighting Designer: Jason Eberwein Costume Designer: Jan Mah |