The Secret Garden Tickets

About ‘The Secret Garden’

The Secret Garden, a children's book published in 1911, has since become a canonical children's text. Despite its title, the book does not contain any supernatural features such as fairies or a fantastical world; instead, it creates magic and splendor in the real world, in the characters' actual lives. The story begins with a nine-year-old British girl named Mary Lennox, who is growing up in India during the British Raj. Her mother and father are usually never around, as the former is busy hosting social gatherings and the latter is an officer in the British Army, leaving Mary to her own devices amongst nurses and maids and making her very spoilt.

A cholera outbreak takes the lives of her parents, and she is sent to her maternal uncle in Britain, who lives in a large, mysterious mansion. Uncle Archibald is reserved and often away from home, so Mary's care is entrusted to Martha, a maid, who does not accept Mary's spoilt ways. She sends the young girl to work in a walled garden on the premises with Dickon, the gardener and Martha's brother. Mary begins planting roses in this garden.

Things become complicated when Mary discovers another young boy in the mansion who turns out to be Colin, Uncle Archibald's son. He has been kept in secrecy and told that he is extremely ill, even though there is nothing wrong with him. Mary encourages him to work with her in the garden and he soon regains his strength.

As things unfold, one discovers that Uncle Archibald lost his wife (Colin's mother) ten years ago when she fell from a tree in the walled garden while pregnant with Colin. She went into labor immediately and passed away while giving birth to Colin. Archibald's love for his wife leads him to dislike Colin and wall off the garden. However, Uncle Archibald has a dream in which his wife asks him to go to the garden. He goes home to find his son all grown up and very healthy, and the two begin discovering their bond.

Significance

The Secret Garden is one of those rare gems that, despite its incredible simplicity, has a great deal of heart involved. It is a feel-good story that turns adversity into a positive force through love and tenderness. As a result, The Secret Garden has become a classic of children’s literature and has been an influential story for many generations of children.

About the Play

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's treatment of this story involves a great deal of song and dance, as it is a musical. The pace of the story changes completely due to this format, as the action becomes quicker and much more heightened than a non-musical representation would have. Even though it presents a realistic story, it is told in such a way that the whole world seems enchanted and removed from reality.

Acclaim

The Washington Post compliments the play in these words: "Lucy Simon's score has a yearning, magical pulse, and book writer-lyricist Marsha Norman's adaptation of the beloved 1911 children's novel has always been blessedly grown up, even as it welcomes audiences of nearly all ages." The show's production quality is lauded by the DC Metro Theatre's publication, particularly Anna Louizos' scenic representation of the secret garden and Ann Hould-Ward's costume designs, which represent the accuracy of Victorian England while incorporating a vibrancy that is far removed from the era.

Where’s it playing?

"The Secret Garden" is a touring production and will first be heading to Austin, running from October to November 2017 at the Sarofim Hall. It will then move to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a run at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts through December 2017. Tickets for both runs are on sale now.