Table of Contents Show
After a year of so much grief, it is time to look anew at a musical all about cultivating new life, both within and without, after devastating loss and the death of love. The Secret Garden (1991-1993) is based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic children’s book by the same name. The musical follows nine-year-old Mary Lennox, sent to England to live with her uncle Archibald Craven at Misselthwaite Manor after her parents and ayah die of cholera in India. Mary, who has been spoiled but unloved her whole life, begins to blossom after discovering an abandoned garden that once belonged to Archibald’s late wife, Lily, who died giving birth to their son Colin.
At Misselthwaite, Mary discovers that Colin has been kept in bed all his life by Archibald’s brother Neville under the illusion that he is sick and moribund. With the help of the servant Martha and her brother Dickon, the cousins restore Lily’s garden to its former glory, allowing both Archibald and Colin to believe the latter is well. Archibald, Colin, and Mary all begin to move past the grief and suffering that has haunted them. A ghostly chorus led by Lily and including Mary’s parents provides insight throughout the show.
Though The Secret Garden received critical and audience acclaim upon its debut, the musical has faded into relative obscurity in recent years. It has never been revived on Broadway, which has likely contributed to the dearth of public interest. However, because of the powerful and pertinent message about new life blossoming from grief and death, as well as the cultural importance of the show, now is the perfect time to bring The Secret Garden back to life on a Broadway stage.
Music & Themes
The music in The Secret Garden is composed in a very classical style, with haunting melodies and beautiful ballads. “Lily’s Eyes,” sung by Neville and Archibald, is widely considered to be the best song in the musical, and it encapsulates how much of a hold Lily still has over the family, despite having died over ten years ago. As Neville sings, “from death she casts her spell/all night we hear her sighs” (( Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman. “Lily’s Eyes.” The Secret Garden, Thomas Z. Shepard. 1991. )). But in truth, it is the living members of the family who are casting this pall by quite literally stunting the growth of new life in Colin.
In Act II, the music begins to change from the haunting, ghostly tunes that predominate the first act into lusher, more vibrant songs. As the characters work to bring Lily’s garden back to life, Mary blossoms from a spoiled, selfish, and fundamentally sad child to a hopeful, compassionate one, and Colin begins to believe that he can truly get well. It is a fascinating example of sophisticated, multilayered storytelling in a musical and a children’s musical at that. Martha, Dickon, and Mary sing a song to summon a charm from the garden in order to cure Colin’s “illness.” While Mary and Colin believe in this charm, Dickon and Martha know that simply being outside and acting like a normal child will help Colin grow as a person, the same way it has for Mary.
Wick
When Mary first arrives, the housekeeper Mrs. Medlock says that she has never seen a child who “looks so old” (( Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman. “Scene: A Train Platform in Yorkshire/The House Upon the Hill.” The Secret Garden, Thomas Z. Shepard. 1991. )). Years of having her material needs pandered to but being all but rejected by her mother have left Mary a cynical, emotionally shriveled girl. However, after meeting Martha and Dickon, who cares about her without giving in to her every whim, Mary begins to look beyond herself and feel concerned for others, namely Colin. In the middle of Act II, Mary and Dickon discuss Lily’s garden, which has fallen into disrepair since her death. They sing a song called “Wick,” which means “lively.” As they sing, “Give a living thing a little chance to grow/That’s how you will know if she is wick, she’ll grow,” it is clear that they are singing not only about the garden, but about Mary (( Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman. “Wick.” The Secret Garden, Thomas Z. Shepard. 1991. )).
The idea of caring for nature leading to growth and healing for a person is a vitally important lesson today, when many of us are feeling disconnected from the world around us and when we all need healing after a challenging year. The Secret Garden is an important musical for this cultural moment, particularly as it focuses on how to go back to normal after grief and become stronger than before.
Spring Will Come And Stay
In Act II, Colin sings a duet with his ghostly mother, Lily, during which he sings the line “I shall see you in my garden/And spring will come and stay” (( Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman. “Come to My Garden/Lift Me Up.” The Secret Garden, Thomas Z. Shepard. 1991. )). As it often does, spring represents rebirth and renewal in The Secret Garden. Once spring comes, the characters are safe and happy. They are still grieving, but they are looking ahead to their future. It is important to note, however, that Mary and Colin believe they have to work to make spring arrive. In the show’s final song, Colin asks where spring came from, and Martha responds, “From all your hard work, where do you think?” This reflects an important message of the show. Mary and Colin did need to work to make spring come to Lily’s garden, as it would have remained lifeless regardless of the season had it not been tended to, and they also needed to take action to bring spring to their own lives. Mary needed to think of others and help Colin, and Colin needed to gain the courage to enter the world outside his bedroom.
This is an important point to note as we emerge from the pandemic. It took, and will still take, a lot of work to make the world safe for ordinary life again. It will take work for each one of us to inch closer to our pre-pandemic lifestyles, even if many of us may never completely go back. The Secret Garden teaches us that spring doesn’t always just come but that we need to make the world and ourselves ready for spring.
Critical Acclaim And Cultural Significance
The Secret Garden received Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Scenic Design, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In addition, it was nominated for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Costume Design. Because The Secret Garden received several mixed reviews after opening, the creative team made the “astonishing” decision to cut the show’s length after it had already premiered (( “Broadway Backstory: The Secret Garden Transcript” TodayTix, 2016-2017. )). The changes proved successful, and the musical ran for two years on Broadway, followed by a national tour that lasted even longer. The show also toured in the U.K. and Australia and has become one of the most produced American musicals, cementing its status as an important cultural touchstone.
Daisy Eagan was eleven years old when she started playing Mary in The Secret Garden and received tremendous acclaim for her performance. She became the youngest actress ever to win a Tony Award (though she was put in the “Featured” category, likely because as a lead actress, she would otherwise have been competing with Lea Salonga). This historic milestone further solidifies The Secret Garden‘s cultural significance.
Revivals
The musical has been revived several times, most recently by the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., in 2016-2017. (This production had Daisy Eagan returning to the show, this time as Martha). There have also been several concert performances, most notably in 2016 with the incomparable Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess as Archibald and Lily, respectively.
Despite these revivals, the musical remains relatively obscure in terms of public awareness. After the 2016 revival, rumors of a 2018 Broadway revival began to float, but 2018 came and went with no further progress. The Secret Garden, though beloved by many who saw its original run or grew up listening to the phenomenal cast album, seems to have lost its place among the great and well-known musicals of its era (compare the name recognition and myriad revivals of Miss Saigon, which premiered on Broadway the same year). Because of the beautiful music and layered, hopeful story, this is a shame that should be rectified.
Revive The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden needs to be revived on Broadway in order to become a more well-known musical. The show is beautifully written and composed as well as culturally significant, and, unfortunately, it has not yet returned to Broadway. Bringing it back to Broadway would cause buzz about the show once more and induce a wider audience to give the soundtrack a listen. As we emerge from this dark and isolated time, we need more than ever a musical about new life blossoming from grief and loss. The Secret Garden must be given its own new life so that its beautiful music and inspiring story can become familiar to even more audiences.