[NEohioPAL]Berko review: SECRET GARDEN (Cain Park)

[Roy Berko]

‘SECRET GARDEN’ FAILS TO ENCHANT AT CAIN PARK

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Most young girls have read Frances Hodgson Burnett’s
‘THE SECRET GARDEN,’ which tells the story of Mary
Lennox, a lonely little English girl who is sent to
live with her Uncle Archibald after being orphaned by
a cholera epidemic in India. Still grieving over the
loss of his beloved wife Lily, who died ten years
earlier during childbirth, and distraught over the
physical condition of his bedridden son, Archibald
casts a dark shadow over the manor and its inhabitants
until Mary discovers a secret garden that had once
belonged to Lily.  By nursing this garden back to full
bloom, Mary restores life to her grieving uncle and
his son.

‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ was first published as a novel in
1910 and became an instant best selling children’s
book.  In 1937 a statue of its heroine was dedicated
in New York’s Conservatory Gardens located in Central
Park.  The art piece has become a tourist attraction,
not only because of the popularity of the book, but
for some inexplicable reason Mary is practically
naked.

In 1949 the book was turned into a movie starring
Margaret O'Brien and Dean Stockwell.  Later it was
transposed into a musical with Marsha Norman serving
as playwright and lyricist and is scored by Lucy Simon
.  The stage version, which won Norman a Tony Award
for “Best Book of a Musical,” opened in 1991 and ran
for 706 performances.  At that year’s Tony Awards
ceremony, Daisy Eagan became the youngest actress ever
to win a Tony for her portrayal of Mary.

Cain Park’s production, though quite acceptable,
misses its emotional mark due to the one-tone
directing of Meryl Friedman.  The staging lacks
texturing.  There are no emotional highs and lows so
it lacks the necessary realistic emotional depth to
carry the true meaning of the book.  

The vocal elements of the play are excellent.  The
singing voices highlight the lush music.  The acting
of the cast, with few exceptions, is good.   

The children, Sara Masterson (Mary) and Lincoln
Sandham (Colin) are quite acceptable though neither
has the singing or acting depth to expect them to be
on their way to Broadway as has been the case recently
with several local Cleveland kids.  Patrick Janson
sings and acts the role of the tortured Archibald
effectively, though at times he goes over the edge in
his display of angst.  Sandra Simon, as the dead wife,
has a big and pure voice, but is difficult to
understand in the opening number.  Part of this may
have been due to the excessive volume of the
orchestra.

Russ Borski’s representative sets don’t work well with
the realistic story.  When the dead garden comes to
life there is little on stage to excite the audience,
to show the marvelous effect that Mary has had on
everything and everyone she touches.

As I’ve done in the past with shows that have been
aimed at children, I took my grandsons Alex (9 1/2),
Noah (8) and Ian (5) to see ‘THE SECRET GARDEN.’ 
Alex’s summary, “I liked the singing.”  Noah, “I liked
the scene with the thunder.”  Ian didn’t contribute a
summary as he fell asleep early in the second act. 
Those are not exactly ringing endorsements.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   ‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ was
advertised as a show appropriate for children.  I
think not.  There just isn’t enough fantasy to hold
their attention.  This was evidenced when, at the
performance I attended, many children and their
parents left at intermission.  This is not to say the
production is bad, it’s just not all it could be.

‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ runs through July 3 at the Evans
Theatre in Cain Park.  For tickets, which run $14-$20,
 call 216-371-3000. 



Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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>From groundworksmailinglist" <groundworksmailinglist at groundworksdance.org  Mon Jun 27 15:25:13 2005
From: groundworksmailinglist" <groundworksmailinglist at groundworksdance.org (groundworksmailinglist)
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 07:25:13 -0700
Subject: [NEohioPAL]Cain Park This Weekend!
Message-ID: <20050627142515.B3B80A2BD4 at coyote.dreamhost.com>

GroundWorks Dancetheater July 1-3 Cain Park, Cleveland Heights, OH

Join us this weekend at Beautiful Cain Park in the Alma Theater for a spectacular performance you won't want to miss!

July 1-3, 2005
Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and NEW Sunday matinee at 2pm
Tickets: $18-$25
Call 216-241-5555 or visit Ticketmaster online at Ticketmaster.com

For more information and driving directions visit groundworksdance.org

See you there!


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