Musical (1991)


Musique: Lucy Simon
Paroles: Marsha Norman
Livret: Marsha Norman
Production à la création:

Version 4

Secret Garden (The) (2001-02-Aldwych Theatre-London)

Type de série: Original London
Théâtre: Aldwych Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Durée : 3 mois
Nombre : 111 représentations
Première Preview : samedi 17 février 2001
Première : mardi 27 février 2001
Dernière : samedi 02 juin 2001
Mise en scène : Adrian Noble
Chorégraphie : Anthony Ward
Producteur :
Avec : Eliza Caird/Tamsin Egerton Dick/Natalie Morgan (Mary), Philip Quast (Archibald), Peter Polycarpou (Dr Neville Craven), Meredith Braun (Lily), Eddie Brown/Adam Clarke/ Luke Newberry (Colin), Linzi Hateley {Martha), Craig Purnell (Dickon), Dilys Laye (Mrs Medlock), Duncan Smith, Freddie Davies, Ray C Davis
Commentaires : A previous musical version of “The Secret Garden” ran at the King’s Head in January 1987 - music by Steven Markwick and book and lyrics by Diana Morgan. This different version had opened on Broadway in April 1991, running for 706 performances with Rebecca Luker and Mandy Patinkin. Its UK premiere was first seen at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon in november 2000. The West End run was a short one - just 9 weeks.
Commentaires longs: Transfert dans le West End de Secret Garden (The) (2000-11-Royal Shakespeare Theatre-Stratford)
Presse : NICOLAS DE JONGE for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "A weeping melodrama that bursts out in a riot of forgettable tunes, unexceptional songs and dreary dance routines."

JONATHAN MYERSON for THE INDEPENDENT says, "Adrian Noble's staging is magnificent, using sliding screens and waltzing doorways to say everything you need to know about the darkness of the house and the hopes buried in the garden." He goes on to say, "This is family entertainment - something for everyone though rarely everything for someone."

BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "Norman's lyrics may occasionally plod, but Simon's music stays upbeat and agreeably tuneful."

CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Irresistible - but it could have been better." He goes on to say, "By the end, intellectual resistance to The Secret Garden has become futile, as the tear-ducts start pumping out the briny. You'll be needing your tissues."

In a lonely manor house on the Yorkshire moors, Archibald Craven yearns for his beautiful, late wife, and becomes ever more isolated and remote from his crippled son. But their quiet routine is turned upside down when young Mary Lennox is sent to live with them following the death of her parents in India. She finds a secret walled garden hidden in the grounds and releases the magic and adventure locked inside it, changing their lives forever.

Synopsis complet


The Secret Garden premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on April 25, 1991 and closed on January 3, 1993 after 709 performances. Directed by Susan H. Schulman with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, the cast featured Daisy Eagan as Mary Lennox. It won the 1991 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Daisy Eagan), and Best Scenic Design (Heidi Landesman). Eagan at age 11 was the youngest female recipient of a Tony Award. The set resembled an enormous Victorian toy theatre with pop-out figures, large paper dolls, and Joseph Cornell-like collage elements.

Theoni V. Aldredge designed wardrobes and was nominated for Best Costume Design. The wardrobe is on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida.

The musical was produced in Australia in 1995 in Brisbane (opened on 27 July 1995), Sydney (opened on 7 September 1995), and Melbourne (opened on 20 December 1995). Directed by Schulman and with sets by Landesman, the cast starred Philip Quast as Neville Craven and Anthony Warlow as Archibald Craven.

A heavily revised Royal Shakespeare Company production ran at Stratford (UK) from November 13, 2000 until January 27, 2001, with Philip Quast and Meredith Braun and directed by Adrian Noble, staged and choreographed by Gillian Lynne. The RSC production transferred to the West End Aldwych Theatre, running from February 2001 until June 2001.

The Secret Garden was The Third Annual World AIDS Day Benefit Concert, held on December 5, 2005 at the Manhattan Center Studios Grand Ballroom, New York City, directed by Stafford Arima and produced by Jamie McGonnigal.

In February 2010, Mirvish Productions announced that The Secret Garden will open in Toronto in March 2011.


Act I
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 II
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, Mary
Letter Song — Archibald, Mary, Martha
Where in the World — Archibald
How Could I Ever Know — Archibald, Lily
Finale — Company

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Secret Garden (The)


Version 1

Secret Garden (The) (1987-01-King's Head Theatre-London)

Type de série: Original
Théâtre: King's Head Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Durée :
Nombre :
Première Preview : Inconnu
Première : jeudi 15 janvier 1987
Dernière : Inconnu
Mise en scène : Joan Kemp-Welch
Chorégraphie : David Toguri
Producteur :
Avec : Lucinda Edmonds (Mary ), Gian Sammarco (Colin), Tony Bateman (Truscott), Madeleine Christie (Mrs Medlock,), Richard Gauntlett (Dickon), Michael G. Jones (Tregaron), Karen Lynne (Martha), Hugh Futcher (Ben), John Harwood (Macory)
Commentaires : Based on the 1911 children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Steven Markwick was the young winner of the 1986 Vivian Ellis prize, and Diana Morgan a successful and well-established playwright, but in spite of this, their joint effort was roundly condemned, with the music described as dreary and the lyrics as possessing a cloying tweeness. However, the book itself was felt to be an expert adaptation. A completely new version (Lucy Simon, music and Marsha Norman, lyrics and book) ran for 706 performances in New York in 1991)

Version 2

Secret Garden (The) (1991-04-St. James Theatre-Broadway)

Type de série: Original
Théâtre: St. James Theatre (Broadway - Etats-Unis)
Durée : 1 an 8 mois 2 semaines
Nombre : 23 previews - 709 représentations
Première Preview : vendredi 05 avril 1991
Première : jeudi 25 avril 1991
Dernière : dimanche 03 janvier 1993
Mise en scène : Susan H. Schulman
Chorégraphie : Michael Lichtefeld
Producteur :
Commentaires longs: It won the 1991 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Daisy Eagan), and Best Scenic Design (Heidi Landesman). Eagan at age 11 was the youngest female recipient of a Tony Award. The set resembled an enormous Victorian toy theatre with pop-out figures, large paper dolls, and Joseph Cornell-like collage elements.

Version 3

Secret Garden (The) (2000-11-Royal Shakespeare Theatre-Stratford)

Type de série: Revival
Théâtre: Royal Shakespeare Theatre (Stratford-Upon-Avon - Angleterre)
Durée : 1 mois 4 semaines
Nombre :
Première Preview : lundi 13 novembre 2000
Première : mardi 28 novembre 2000
Dernière : jeudi 27 janvier 2000
Mise en scène : Adrian Noble
Chorégraphie : Gillian Lynne • Anthony Ward
Producteur :
Commentaires longs: The creatative team behind the acclaimed The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (RST 1998 & 1999), RSC Artistic Dircetor Adrian Noble and Designer Anthony Ward, are reunited on The Secret Garden and are collaborating with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning playwrite Marsha Noman and Tony Award nominated and Grammy Award winning composer Lucy Simon. This version has been completely revamped from the Broadway production.

Version 4

Secret Garden (The) (2001-02-Aldwych Theatre-London)

Type de série: Original London
Théâtre: Aldwych Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Durée : 3 mois
Nombre : 111 représentations
Première Preview : samedi 17 février 2001
Première : mardi 27 février 2001
Dernière : samedi 02 juin 2001
Mise en scène : Adrian Noble
Chorégraphie : Anthony Ward
Producteur :
Avec : Eliza Caird/Tamsin Egerton Dick/Natalie Morgan (Mary), Philip Quast (Archibald), Peter Polycarpou (Dr Neville Craven), Meredith Braun (Lily), Eddie Brown/Adam Clarke/ Luke Newberry (Colin), Linzi Hateley {Martha), Craig Purnell (Dickon), Dilys Laye (Mrs Medlock), Duncan Smith, Freddie Davies, Ray C Davis
Commentaires : A previous musical version of “The Secret Garden” ran at the King’s Head in January 1987 - music by Steven Markwick and book and lyrics by Diana Morgan. This different version had opened on Broadway in April 1991, running for 706 performances with Rebecca Luker and Mandy Patinkin. Its UK premiere was first seen at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon in november 2000. The West End run was a short one - just 9 weeks.
Commentaires longs: Transfert dans le West End de Secret Garden (The) (2000-11-Royal Shakespeare Theatre-Stratford)
Presse : NICOLAS DE JONGE for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "A weeping melodrama that bursts out in a riot of forgettable tunes, unexceptional songs and dreary dance routines."

JONATHAN MYERSON for THE INDEPENDENT says, "Adrian Noble's staging is magnificent, using sliding screens and waltzing doorways to say everything you need to know about the darkness of the house and the hopes buried in the garden." He goes on to say, "This is family entertainment - something for everyone though rarely everything for someone."

BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "Norman's lyrics may occasionally plod, but Simon's music stays upbeat and agreeably tuneful."

CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Irresistible - but it could have been better." He goes on to say, "By the end, intellectual resistance to The Secret Garden has become futile, as the tear-ducts start pumping out the briny. You'll be needing your tissues."

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