PRODUCTION HISTORY

The World Premiere production of this script was produced by the Orlando Shakespeare Theater.

SYNOPSIS

Misselthwaite manor in Yorkshire, England is a dreary place full of secrets and sadness. The biggest secret is that ten years ago Archibald's wife Lilly died in childbirth, leaving him with a son named Colin. Overcome by grief, Archibald locked up Lilly's favorite rose garden and buried the key. As time passed, ivy grew over the door, so that it is now completely covered. Archibald has also covered his heart, preferring to spend his time in Europe than with his son.

Orphaned by a cholera outbreak in Colonial India, a neglected and petulant child, Mary Lenox, is sent to live at the manor. Mary's arrival heralds change for Misselthwaite. With the help of a friendly robin, she finds first the key to the garden and eventually the door. As her new friend Dickon teaches her how to make the garden thrive again, Mary blooms from a sad child into a lovely young girl.

One rainy night she follows the sound of crying and discovers Colin, who has been raised to believe that he is sick and needs a wheelchair. Mary refuses to accept this diagnosis, and takes Colin into the secret garden, where he learns to walk. When Archibald returns from Europe and sees his son standing for the first time, he opens his arms and his heart, pledging to love and care for the children, and the garden, forever.

Jennie Sirianni as The Garden Tree in full bloom

What Makes This Version So Special

This lovely story by Frances Hodgson Burnett has certainly been adapted before for the stage. What makes this version so powerful is the addition of The Garden Tree. The Garden Tree symbolizes the healing and forgiving power of nature. Played by a woman, The Garden Tree moves subtly in relation to the action on stage. When Colin starts to walk, she gives him support with her branches, when Mary dances with joy, The Garden Tree rains petals on her shoulders, etc. In addition, the original costume design included subtle transformations from scene to scene, so that the tree began bare in the cold winter months and grew lush with spring.

Colin (Corey Loftus) learning to walk with The Garden Tree's support

Mary (Jennifer Drew) and Mrs. Medlock (Sam Stern)

Joe Kemper as Ben Weatherstaff

CHARACTERS

• Mary Lenox - a ten-year-old English girl. She was raised without love or boundaries and as a result is singularly selfish and self-contained.

• Colin Craven - a ten-year-old English boy. Colin was raised to believe that he was ill and would die before adulthood. His every whim has been indulged while his heart was neglected by a father wracked with grief.

• Dickon - a twelve-year-old Yorkshire boy who communicates with nature

• Martha - Dickon's older sister and a maid at the manor

• The Garden Tree - Nature's living symbol, connected to all of the animals, played by a female actor. At the top of the show she is covered in dead growth but as Mary works in the garden The Garden Tree comes alive and blooms.

• Mrs. Medlock - A stern Yorkshire matron who is fearful that any change in the status quo will cost her job.

• Archibald Craven - A wealthy, well educated middle-aged man who never got over the loss of his wife ten years ago. He has a hunchback.

• Ben Weatherstaff - A craggy old Yorkshire gardener who speaks his mind.

• Soldier - English soldier in colonial India.

• Puppet Animals - The Robin, a squirrel, a rabbit

Mary meets The Robin

Optional Song: Composer Jennifer Drew created a new arrangement of "Mistress Mary Quite Contrary" to be sung at the conclusion of the show by the full company. A recording of the original cast singing the song as well as a recording of the piano accompaniment are available to all contracted producers at no extra cost. Use of the song is entirely optional.

For Six Actors

This script is intended for six flexible actors. The suggested doubling to make this possible is Dickon & Soldier, Ben & Archibald, Martha & Tree, plus all cast members switch off performing the animals as needed and participate as the Chorus in scene one.

For Larger Casts

This script easily expands to fit a large cast giving you 8 speaking roles, the pivotal roles of The Garden Tree and the Robin and the ability to add many actors as the Chorus in scene one and as various animals throughout the garden scenes.

Script Excerpt: Click here to read three excerpts from the play

Free Perusal Scripts are currently available in PDF formatt. To receive a script, please fill out the Perusal Request Form and email it to info@tyascripts.com

Mrs. Medlock and Mary forgive and forget under the gentle eye of The Garden Tree

PRESS

'Secret Garden' Has Magic to Share!

Rebecca Swain | The Orlando Sentinel

October 26, 2007

Young Mary Lennox is shuttled off to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, England, after her parents die in a cholera epidemic in India. The spoiled girl (played with an impish delight by Jennifer Drew) is accustomed to having her own retinue of servants do everything for her but soon develops into a cheerful sprite -- no less willful, but far happier once she learns to do for herself. With her independent spirit and cheerful heart, she begins to have an effect on others around her.

While playing around the grounds of her uncle's estate, Mary discovers the key to a secret garden, a wild and long-forgotten place in need of love. Mary and her friend Dickon (Benjamin Cole) pour their energy and their joy into the neglected garden until the small patch of land blooms with the first tentative signs of life.

"It's magic," Mary says in wonder, and it could well be. Magic so strong it can revive the spirit of her sickly cousin Colin (Corey Loftus), long trapped by rigid rules in a lonesome part of the estate. Magic so powerful it can thaw the cold heart of her uncle, or make the spiteful housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock, see the error of her ways.

To embody the idea of the garden's living soul, Gladu and Lee have an actor play the part of the Garden Tree, which watches over the action like a benevolent spirit. Indeed, as played by Jennie Sirianni, the tree is like a graceful wood sprite.

(above: Archibald sees The Garden Tree for the first time in ten years. Photo: Rob Jones)

The Secret Garden is perhaps one of Gladu's best adaptations to date . She approaches the task with a delicate eye, moving the story along as briskly as possible to fit into an hourlong run time while maintaining the story's sense of gothic grandeur. Her touching interpretation is a perfect match for Lee's sense of visual drama. The production has so many lovely visual touches that add to the sense of mystery and magic surrounding Mary's secret garden. In the opening scene, a robin puppet glides by against a rich orange background, a nod to Julie Taymor's use of puppetry in storytelling. The set, which begins as a starkly beautiful lattice-work background, morphs into a moody English garden, wild and gray, just waiting to be reborn -- all with just a few touches of color.

The story has charm to spare, but the extra touches really bring a true sense of the magic to life, and leave you with a sure feeling that anything is possible if you just wish it so.

Artwork copywrite Sean Simon Ramirez 2007.
All photos on this page are from the World Premiere production at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Except where noted, all photos are by Tony Firriolo.