Porchlight production of The Secret Garden is a wonderful rendition of this Tony Award winning musical (1991). L. Walter Stearns' use of the small stage at The Theater Building is superb and the set by Richard and Jaqueline Penrod works well without all of the grandeur of the Broadway production.
This is an enchanting musical based on the classic novel that tells the story of a young girl, Mary Lennox (Mallory Baysek with a powerful voice), who has been orphaned in India and sent to England to her uncle Archibald's (Michael Aaron Lindner—who can tackle this difficult music effortlessly) estate. His wife passed away while giving birth to his son Colin (Drew Mikuska) who has been crippled and near death for years. All these characters have some ghosts in their pasts, a situation which make for great storytelling.
On the estate lies a mysterious secret garden which has been locked up for years—a once lovely getaway for Lily (Archie's deceased wife, Bethany Dawn Lindner). Mary, with the aid of Dickon (Luke Mills), brings it back to life and in doing so brings all the characters back as well.
This is a very talented cast with some wonderful voices and characterizations. Of particular note are the accents which are close to perfection. Hats off to Walter for finding the talent to fill this stage (Anjali Asokan, Gabrielle Brite, Nicholas Foster, Elizabeth Haley, Angela Ingersoll, Jim Sherman, Abigail Traube, Stan Q. Wash and Brandon Zale) and to Musical Director Eugene Dizon, who once again makes the music fill the theater brilliantly.
The Secret Garden
Theater Building Chicago
1225 W. Belmont
through May 28th
Tickets: $30 (open seating)
Reservations: 773-327-5252 or online at www.porchlighttheatre.com
Alan Bresloff writes theater reviews for the Chicago area.
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