Review: 'The Secret Garden' at The Wooster School

Dedicated to my classmates and the teachers at Wooster Jr. High in Stratford CT

Danbury, CT - The Wooster School Theatre Department has prepared a lovely production of THE SECRET GARDEN that runs through next weekend in the Wean Performing Art Center on the private school’s campus in Danbury. I was invited to attend a matinee during the opening weekend for a review. I added another school to the list of more than 100 venues I have reviewed and armed with a map provided by a helpful parent, I headed to the impressive campus located at 91 Miry Brook Road.

The musical THE SECRET GARDEN features a book and lyrics by Marsha Norman with music by Lucy Simon, the sister of singer/songwriter/author Carly Simon. The entire concept was conceived by Rebecca Feldman and the work was originally produced by the Virginia Stage Company. The story is set in Colonial India and a manor in North Yorkshire, England in 1906. Mary Lennox is a young English girl born and raised in the British Raj; she is orphaned by a cholera outbreak when she is ten years old. The girl is sent away from India to Yorkshire, England, to live with relatives whom she has never met. Mary’s own personality blossoms as she and a young gardener bring new life to a neglected garden, as well as to her sickly cousin Colin and uncle Archibald.

Being unfamiliar with the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, more than a few patrons and myself probably missed some of the details of exactly who was who, alive or dead, but it really didn’t detract from the beauty of the scenes. The musical adds more focus to the adult characters and of course, all of the cast were students. Googling a brief synopsis at intermission helped straighten out the the characters immensely for this reviewer, and one father explained the connections to some senior members of his family during the intermission.

Meghan Bourgeault used her crystal clear soprano to play the role of Lily Craven. Sadie Drahzan was spunky and spot on in the role of Mary Lennox.

Luke Thornbrough played well the role of Indian helpmate Fakir and Carolina Rafael glittered in a gold sari in the role of Ayah. Max Chelso appeared as Mary’s father Captain Albert Lennox, with Morgan Reilly as her mother Rose.

Caitlin Ames played Alice. Alex Goldstein was Lieutenant Wright, while Charlie Aspillaga often stood with him as Lieutenant Shaw. Alli Byrne was Betty, while Ethan Hale and Alex Ancona were Major and Claire Holmes. Chris Bishop and Bella Friedman appeared as Major and Mrs. Shelley. Selah Hess played the staid Mrs. Medlock. Dr. Neville Craven was brought to life by Will Russell and he sang very well.

Dayo Garritano, who appeared in THE LION KING, LIBERTY SMITH with NewArts, gave his all to the role of the hunchbacked Archibald Craven, Mary’s guardian; this young actor has a magnificent singing voice and a great stage presence. His rendition of “A Bit of Earth” was especially notable, as was the duet “Lily’s Eyes” with Mr. Russell.

Tori Ingulli did a great job with her role of Martha, Mary’s friend and maidservant, and Lalo Arredondo Farro played her brother Dickon very well. Will Thaler took on the role of young Colin Craven and got to sit in an antique wheelchair. Ben Greco played the elderly gardener Ben Weatherstaff. Bella Friedman doubled as a nurse and Jane, and Ms. Byrne also appeared as school headmistress Mrs.Winthrop.

Andrea Barrett directed the students with the assistance of Avery Wakehra; the latter was also responsible for the portrait painting. The students were clearly well-rehearsed and worked together well. My one note would be for the students to remember that they can be heard when they are backstage or on the catwalks and they should be as quiet as possible during performances so as not to distract the audience.

Costumes by Ms. Barrett and Lindsey Jarrett were beautifully authentic and flattering to everyone. There were some noticeable sound issues that made hearing some lines and lyrics difficult. Tyler Wolfson served as dialect coach. The set was pretty impressive for the black box theatre on the Wooster campus. It featured two elevated platforms for actors and the fine orchestra, and truly enveloped the audience in the beautiful garden after it came back to life. The lighting by technical director Keith Henderson was also very impressive and made the most of the small space.

Claire Simard, who sang beautifully in the role of Grace in ANNIE at MAR, conducted the small but mighty orchestra and covered the keyboards. Marc Johnston was on violin, Randy Newbury played guitar, Michelle Davies played flute, with Izzy Garcia-Fischer on clarinet and Roger Post on percussion. This group made the magnificent score sound beautiful.

Liz Popiel and the theatre prop collection at WCSU is credited with the loan of the vintage wheelchair that I remembered from A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. Monisha Mohan was kind to share her knowledge of Indian dance and the proper way to wear a sari. The “Flower Lady,” Nancy Reilly added a wide array of posies that certainly added to the festive atmosphere of the lobby and the set. Beautiful flowers were for sale for patrons to present to their favorite performer after the curtain call, and many did just that.

The campus proved to be extremely easy to find and there was plenty of parking available for attendees. THE SECRET GARDEN runs through March 7. Remaining performances in the Black Box Theatre are: Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 pm, Friday, March 6 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, March 7 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm. All tickets are $15 each. Ticket purchases can be made at: http://woosterschool.org/secretgarden. Seating is extremely limited, so they ask that you please honor your reservation.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

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