The Secret Garden at HCT

I am not a big fan of the musical The Secret Garden but Director/Choreographer Dave Tinney made me love HCT's productions of Matilda and Cinderella (shows I don't usually enjoy) and I didn't hate their version of Seussical (a show I almost walked out of when the Broadway touring production came to town and then vowed to never see again) so I was hopeful when I walked into Hale Centre Theatre last night because he is also at the helm of this show. As predicted Tinney worked his magic once again because I absolutely loved it! Mary Lennox (Olivia Dietlein) is orphaned by a cholera outbreak in India and sent to live with her uncle Archibald Craven (Quinn Dietlein) at Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire. He has been grieving the death of his wife Lily (Lisa Zimmerman), who died in childbirth, for the past ten years and has closed off his heart, his house, and Lily's garden. Mary receives a cold welcome from the housekeeper Mrs. Medlock (Linda Jean Stephenson) and an indifferent one from her uncle. She is lonely and unhappy but is encouraged by a maid named Martha (McKelle Shaw) and her brother Dickon (Ben Butters) to play outside and she soon discovers Lily's abandoned garden. She also discovers her cousin Colin (Toby Worland) who has been kept an invalid by Archibald's brother Neville (Alex DeBirk). As Mary brings the garden back to life, she also brings Colin and Archibald back to life.  I always love the interactions between Mary, Colin, Dickon, and Martha but my biggest problem with this show is the emphasis on the adults because I find them, especially the ghosts of characters who have died, to be almost superfluous to the story (this is the biggest change from the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett). In this production, however, I really loved how the choreography involves the ghosts in almost every scene, particularly when Mary wanders the corridors of Misselthwaite Manor at night (with characters holding windows for her to run between), when Archibald remembers waltzing with Lily in the ballroom (with characters dancing between candelabras shrouded in dust cloths), when Mary and Dickon bring Colin to the garden for the first time (with characters summoning spirits to heal Colin), and when Archibald despairs at his loneliness without Lily (with characters holding mirrors to reflect the ghosts all around him). I don't remember seeing these characters so intimately involved in the action before and their inclusion made so much more sense to me. There are even ghosts behind windows at each entrance to the theatre which creates an eerie atmosphere. The set design, as is usually the case with HCT, is absolutely brilliant. I loved all of the dark and ponderous pieces of furniture because they emphasize how gloomy Misselthwaite Manor has become but each piece features painted flowers and vines to show that Lily's garden also haunts the inhabitants. Speaking of the garden, I loved it both when it is in its dormant state and when it is in bloom (the wisteria hanging down from the rafters was my favorite). Butters performs "Winter's on the Wing" and "Wick" (my favorite songs in the show) beautifully but I was absolutely enchanted by the animal puppets (including a dog, the all important robin who leads Mary to the garden, rabbits, a fox, and geese) used in these numbers and I may have even giggled out loud the first time the dog appeared. I also really enjoyed the songs "Come Spirit, Come Charm" by the children and the ghosts and a powerful rendition of "Hold On" by Shaw. I loved everything about this production, which I was not expecting, so I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through October 23.