Once upon a time, an Author named Frances Hodgson Burnett penned a novel about a spunky little girl moving to her uncle’s foreboding old manor house in Yorkshire, England that, in the ensuing decades, has reached legendary status.

 Published in 1911, even then it had all the makings of a dynamic musical—which is precisely what happened when Playwright and Lyricist Marsha Norman set the story to music with the help of Songwriter, Lucy Simon. Now, to celebrate the December season (renowned for its shortening days and lengthening nights) “The Chance Theater” in Anaheim California have taken this ‘spellbinding’ stage adaptation and are once again presenting it as their Yuletide offering on “The Cripe Stage” of the “Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center.  Co-Directed by Casey Long and KC Wilkerson, the Musical Direction is by Gabrielle Maldonado with sumptuous Choreography by Robert Hahn. Part Gothic Mystery/Part Bittersweet Romance/Part Fairy Tale and ALL delightful, this latest staging at “The Chance” is guaranteed to warm the hearts of audiences of all ages. 

As the spectre of her deceased Aunt “Lily Craven” glides ethereally across the stage, the prologue commences, immediately introducing us to our 11-year-old Heroine, “Mary Lennox”—now living with her ultra-refined ex-patriate Socialite parents in British Colonial India where her father, a Colonel in Her Majesty’s army is stationed. As the youngster sleeps, an abrupt and deadly bout of cholera instantly obliterates much of their colony, leaving her orphaned quite literally overnight. This part is actually handled with terrific ingenuity and restraint—staging it as a “shadow play” behind a screen bathed from the rear in jolting red lights, thus casting silhouettes of the unfortunate souls and victims of this sudden plague. Ironically, if Mary’s dream was to leave India, she suddenly finds herself pushed into a Yorkshire nightmare instead. Critics and reviewers alike have often beheld Ms. Burnett’s classic tome as a kind of “Wuthering Heights” or “Bleak House” for children. Marsha Norman’s moody libretto accented by Lucy Simons’ soaring tunes pay excellent homage to their source material. Indeed, the score by Mesdames Norman and Simon could be considered as an Operetta in its vast quality and sheer magnitude. (Fitting too, given that this style was all the rage among the populace during the times the show is set.)  From mournful to miraculous, one amazing melody frequently flows seamlessly into the next. These are perfectly accentuated by the intricate chorale work—which, in this production, is nothing less than sublime. What’s even more astounding is how the accompaniment here consists solely of an upright piano at which sits Ms. Maldonado, who somehow manages to make it all sound far larger and more rhapsodic. This is established shortly after the opening with the portentous “House Upon The Hill”, which sings of Mary’s dreary destination: the solitary and even ghostly “Misselthwaite Manor”—home of her only living relative to speak of, “Uncle Archibald Craven”.

This is a once-stately bastion of life and love that is now infused with grief (which becomes obvious with the lyrics and the saturnine delivery of a choir signaling an impending apocalypse!) “High on a hill sits a big old house with something wrong inside it; Spirits haunt the halls and make no effort now to hide it,” they carol ominously; “What will put their souls to rest and stop their ceaseless sighing? Why do they call out children’s names, and speak of one who’s crying?” Happily, this same group do just as magnificently with (slightly) more upbeat refrains like “The Final Storm”, the lively and surreal “Come Spirit, Come Charm”, and on to the joyous finale.

  On opening night. The central role of “Mary Lennox” was played by Catherine Last—a role she will share throughout the run with her identical twin sister, Elizabeth. Likewise, that evening Mary’s cousin “Colin Craven” was undertaken by Charlie Firlik (which he will share with Jacob Voight.) As “Mary Lennox” the head-strong pre-teen waif around whom all the action is revealed, Miss Last demonstrates an enviable versatility (not to mention likeability) that many actresses of longer experience would very much like to lay claim to. Comedic, contrary, downcast or driven, her acting is always spot-on. Add to it, she has a powerful singing talent that belies her young years. This she expertly puts in the service of her numerous musical outings such as the pensive “I Heard Someone Crying”, “Show Me The Key” and the uplifting “The Girl I’m Meant To Be” (in which our protagonist resolves to move away from the dour and cold-spirited lass she’s been, and into her new role of an equally iron-willed heroine of her cousin, herself and all of Misselthwaite––especially its enchanting garden. As her cousin, the sickly, (but sullen) “Colin Craven” Charlie Firlik too, did a superlative job on opening night. Together with Firlik’s equally vivacious take on “Colin”, there’s a fine, natural, sibling-esque chemistry between the duo, and they play well together and play off one another superbly. Charlie for his part has a practiced way with a song and he soon validates this with the pensive and quietly affecting “All Thats Good And True”—through which we learn that he too, despite basically being a captive there, also dreams of better days for himself and the father whom he really only knows as “a mysterious round-shouldered man”. 

Were the talents of the juvenile members of the company not enough, Laura M. Hathaway dazzles as “Lily Craven” (or, more accurately, the ghost of her.) Gifted with a mesmerizing coloratura voice, the songs she’s given and her inspiring ability to make them live are an even more pressing reason to run out and get a ticket to this one. In an early expositionary flashback, we learn more about her courtship with “Archibald”—a budding romance her haughty sister “Rose” (Mary’s mother) completely disdained because Lily’s suitor had a small arch in his spine and this lack of physical perfection repulsed the woman and she wasn’t exactly reticent to let Lily know! This gives rise to the lilting “A Girl In The Valley/a Man Came To My Valley” As Lily tries (vainly) to explain her intense feelings for he, her unlikely Beau. After intermission, “Come To My Garden”—a key interlude in the show is every note worth waiting for given Ms. Hathaway’s genuinely breathtaking rendition. Soon she is joined by Firlik with his counter-obbligato, “Lift Me Up’, making the duet the most stunning of the entire program.  So too, one of the production’s cleverest effects has most of “Lily’s” songs performed with an added echo to further the idea that she is not in this world. This is ceased at one time only—for her poignant descant “How Could I Ever Know”—when she momentarily reaches back into the land of the living to comfort her still desperately grieving husband, advising he needs to leave her to yesterday and move on for the sake of their son. Theatrical moments don’t come more stirring than what you’ll see here.       

  Mary’s Uncle “Archibald Craven” (who was married to her late aunt) is played by Troy Dailey, who confronts us with a man who truly exemplifies the term “Haunted” or “Beleaguered”. He’s in love with the past to the complete detriment of the ‘here and now’. Forlornly, the present is where dwells his poor son—a child confined in an isolated room somewhere in the house while being endlessly told he’s ‘dying’. However, (as we’ll discover) “Uncle Archie” isn’t a ‘bad’ man—just a troubled one, His tender soliloquy “Race You To The Top Of The Morning” is undoubtedly among his finest minutes on stage, as he earnestly sings to his slumbering son (which is the only time he can bear to see the lad) about all the secret dreams that every father has for their child: To be safe, sturdy, healthy and treasured. This is not Archibald’s only opportunity to express his basic decency and empathy (regardless of any inner-torment.) His mid-Act One musical musing, “A Bit Of Earth” is a moving, if a tad wistful, glimpse into this character’s real compassion after “Mary” asks him is she might ‘borrow’ a small plot of land to grow her own garden and “to make it live!” ‘Archie’s’ ‘brother’ “Dr. Neville Craven” is equally well played by Kyle Critelli. “Neville”, you see, is the closest thing to a ‘traditional’ villain this piece contains—and even that’s debatable. Is he short-sighted? Yes; Manipulative? That also. Still, as we learn, he’s just as damaged as his brother is over the loss of his brother’s wife (whom he too secretly loved.) This makes their’ duet, “Lily’s Eyes”, (in which they ‘confess’–in several intriguing lyrics how “Mary’s” presence and the startling family resemblance she has to her late aunt, is all the more disquieting for both men.) Yet, whereas this makes Archibald more convinced of his need to take care of the girl, it only serves to make Neville more consumed with being rid of her. Granted, the pair each have a strong reverberant timbre to their voices, but they nonetheless impressively prove you CAN have a heated argument through song and still make it sound beautiful.  Ranking as one of the better, more complex expressions of human emotions to be so concisely articulated in any Broadway showtune, count this a bona-fide showstopper!

Fine support is also supplied by Sarah Pierce as “Martha” a housemaid and “Mary’s” first real friend at her new home. Her “If I Had A Fine White Horse” is an Act One highlight early on (to say nothing of being a needed bright spot in the entire goings on.) Subsequently, her Eleven O’Clock anthem, “Hold On”—providing “Mary” some crucial strength late in Act Two is arguably one of the very finest songs of its kind—and certainly among any written for this musical! (On opening night Ms. Pierce gave this a brilliant ‘ride-out’ with the closing notes and those in attendance couldn’t applaud fast or loud enough!) 

  Her ‘brother’ “Dickon” is blithely portrayed by Christopher Diem—an admired veteran of many shows at “The Chance”—and a proven force to be reckoned with when it comes to interpreting a great song. That’s particularly important to this character. Being one of the few ‘cheerful’ and ‘welcoming’ figures “Mary” meets while wandering around the estate, he MUST have a relaxed geniality and quiet wisdom—and Mr. Diem gives us those in spades! (It’s interesting; “Dickon”, like “Martha”, are among those figures who seem to have the simplest backgrounds but who turn out to possess the greatest and most potent insight.) When he and our girl “Mary” first meet, they share “Winter‘s On The Wing”, through which he demonstrates a deeper knowledge of nature and her workings on top of a kind of guileless, homespun sagacity (that we could all do with now and then) “The sun is climbin’ high, rising fast on fire,” he croons; “Glaring down through the gloom, Gone the gray, I say! The sun it spells the doom of the winter’s reign…”  The number starts out easy enough but by the time they’re done—WOW! Another audience favorite! In the second act, his “When A Thing Is Wick” is itself an immediate triumph—and for excellent reason! “Have no doubt about it, this is the grandest garden you’ve ever seen” he enthusiastically tells Mary. Dickon and Mary’s ‘conversation’ with a nearby Robin is still another pleasant interlude—and in a fanciful turn as you might expect of a children’s story, it’s the bird who leads them to the garden gate’s long-lost key!

Matthew Noah too, contributes a first-class and funny characterization as “Ben Weatherstaff” the earthy ‘merry old soul’ of a grounds keeper who admits that the only reason he still has a job at the manor is that “Miss Lily” asked in her dying breaths that he stay and always tend to her beloved garden. He initially explains the existence of the titular garden and why it’s been locked up for so many years. (It’s worthy of mention too that all three performers sport flawless rustic “Yorkshirean” accents gratis Dialect Coach Glenda Morgan Brown.) Meanwhile, remarkable in her own right is Trina Stanislao, who assays several roles but none so impactful as “Mrs. Medlock”—the head housekeeper of Misselthwaite. Ms. Stanislao’s approach to her character is less severe than in recent productions—less hostile and more resigned to her fate as housekeeper of a cold and bleak domicile out on the moors in the middle of nowhere and with a taciturn (and largely absentee) employer. 

 One of the more refreshing ‘tricks’ to Production Designers Masako Tobaru, KC Wilkerson, and Associate Lighting Designer Jordan “L.J.”  Curiel’s often otherworldly creation on the Cripe Stage, is how they bathe the goings-on in long. looming shadows punctuated with more than a few instances of bold, colorful light for surprise contrast. But where the magic really happens lies in how they utilize at times, (and to sensational effect,) light projections flashed across the rear wall of the set, which opens up the more modest central playing space to ‘become’ a somber old mansion, a huge lightning storm and (of course) a lush and verdant garden (–that, they save for last!) Even better, these projections appear and fade with such subtlety, the scene changes they evoke are almost subliminal to the viewers’ attention. Pulling double-duty as well is Casey Long as Sound Designer with the capable aid of Sound Engineer James Markoski. They do journeyman work (and perform a few auditory miracles in the process.) As part of this specific production, the sound effects—whether those slight or those substantial play an important role in creating the overall mood that the story turns on. Similarly, Costume Designer Erika C. Miller, along with Associate Costume Designer Gwen Sloan have themselves conjured a stately tin-type homage of a bygone (but exceptionally elegant) era in their fashion choices. In fact, one of the better sight gags at the outset involves Mary’s attempt to dress herself in a blue plaid child dress with a matching pinafore which…well, you’ve GOT to see it believe it! At the same time, Lily (with respect to her having “shuffled off this mortal coil”) is clad in flowing, shroud-like, white-lace gowns as befits her…er… condition, while her sister Rose always appears in exquisite-but-harsh black (as also points toward her icy and emotionally distant disposition.)

Shows as downright joyous as this positively put the ‘Happy’ in “Happy Holidays”! “The Secret Garden” officially opened on Saturday, December 2^nd, 2023, after previewing from November 24^th through December first. It is slated to run through Sunday December 23rd, 2023 on the “Cripe Stage” of the “Chance Theater @ The Bette Aiken Theater Arts Center’”, located at 5522 E. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim, Ca. 92807.  Performance times are Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7:45 PM, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM, with Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 3:00 PM. Tickets may be obtained on-line by logging onto: www.ChanceTheater.com or by calling: (888) 455-4212.

Production Photos by Francis Gacad, Courtesy Of The “Chance Theater” http://www.ChanceTheater.com ; Special Thanks To Casey Long, KC Wilkerson, Robert Hahn, Gabrielle Maldonado, Oanh Nguyen, Erika Miller, Bette & Wylie Aitken, And To The Cast & Crew Of “The Chance Theater’s” 2023 Production Of “The Secret Garden” For Making This Story Possible.