CYC Theatre Presents

The Secret Garden

A Musical

Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza

This is the information page for CYC Theatre's upcoming production of the amazing musical, The Secret Garden.  If you don't find answers here, please feel free to contact us!

The Story

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden is a moving and emotional story of loss, grief, and the healing power of love and forgiveness, set in turn-of-the-century England.  Mary Lennox, a young girl living in India with her family, is orphaned by an outbreak of cholera.  She is sent to live in the cold and dark home of relatives in England only to find that the house is devoid of happiness, but full of ghosts, bereavement and bitter-sweet memories.  She discovers a cripple boy, thought to be terminally ill, hidden away in the house.  The two become friends, and together with empathetic house servants, the two conspire to resurrect the boy's dead mother's garden which has been locked and declared off-limits by the dead woman's grief-stricken husband, who cannot bear the pain of the memories the garden evokes.  The husband, Archibald Craven is a hunchback who is finding it difficult to live without his beautiful wife, Lily.  Eventually, the girl finds the key to the garden, and discovers that the garden is charmed.  Can she use the garden's magic to help bring a family back together?  Can the garden's magic heal the sick child?  Can the garden's magic mend broken hearts, then teach those hearts how to forgive? 

Enhanced by a beautiful and powerful score, the musical version of this classic story is an unforgettable experience for audiences young and old.

Character Breakdown For Auditioners

Mary Lennox (LEAD) 10-12.  VERY strong dramatic actress, strong singer.  Spoiled, sour orphan who softens over the course of the story.

Archibald Craven (LEAD) to play 35-45. Strong tenor.  Very strong dramatic actor.  Wealthy, withdrawn, hunchback uncle of Mary who continues to greive for his dead wife.

Colin Craven (PRINCIPAL) 8-11.  Strong actor, capable, unchanged voice.  Cripple and sickly child locked away in the cold mansion.

Lily Craven (PRINCIPAL) to play 25-35.  Lyric Soprano.  Archibald's beautiful wife who has died in childbirth.  Appears as a ghost throughout the play.

Dr. Neville Craven (PRINCIPAL) to play 35-45.  Strong baritone.  Capable actor.  Mean, secretive brother of Archibald Craven who is quietly jealous of his brother because Lily, who he also loved, chose Archibald over him.

Martha (PRINCIPAL) to play 20-30.  Mezzo. Yorkshire dialect. Spunky, optimistic maid who befriends Mary.

Dickon (PRINCIPAL) to play 16-20.  Tenor.  Yorkshire dialect.  Mystical young groundskeeper who has a special bond with nature.  Martha's younger brother.

Rose Lennox (SUPPORTING) to play 25-35.  Mezzo.  Mary's mother.  Seen as a flash-back and as a ghost throughout the play.

Albert Lennox (SUPPORTING) to play 35-45.  Tenor.  Mary's father.  Military officer who appears in flash-back and as a ghost.

Ben Weatherstaff (SUPPORTING) to play 50+.  Baritone. Yorkshire dialect. Crotchety old gardener who befriends Mary.

Mrs. Medlock (SUPPORTING) to play 40's.  Non-singing role.  Stern, stiff head house-keeper of the Craven house.

Mrs. Winthrop (FEATURED) to play 30-40.  Non-singing role.  School headmistress who has an encounter with Mary.

The Fakir (FEATURED) High Tenor.  Preferably dark-skinned.

ENSEMBLE:

Ghosts:  Greek chorus-style, ever-present on stage.  Good choral singers.

Children:  English and Indian child playmates of Mary's who died in the cholera outbreak.  Appear in flash-backs and as ghosts.

British Army Officers and Soldiers.

MUSICAL NUMBERS:

"Opening":  Lily, Company

"There's a Girl":  Company

"The House Upon a Hill":  Company

"I Heard Someone Crying":  Lily, Mary, Archibald

"If I Had a Fine White Horse":  Martha

"A Girl In the Valley":  Archibald, Lily

"It's a Maze":  Ben, Mary, Dickon, Martha

"Winter's On the Wing":  Dickon

"Show Me the Key":  Mary, Dickon

"A Bit of Earth":  Archibald

"Storm I":  Company

"Lily's Eyes":  Archibald, Neville

"Storm II":  Mary, Company

"The Round-Shouldered Man":  Colin

"Final Storm":  Mary, Company

"The Girl I Mean To Be":  Mary

"Quartet":  Archibald, Lily, Rose, Neville

"Race You To the Top of the Morning":  Archibald

"Wick":  Mary, Dickon

"Come To My Garden/Lift Me Up":  Lily, Colin

"Come Spirit, Come Charm":  Mary, Colin, Dickon, Martha, Company

"A Bit of Earth (reprise)":  Albert, Lily, Rose

"Disappear":  Neville, Lily, Rose, Archibald

"Hold On":  Martha

"The Letter Song":  Mary, Archibald

"Where in the World":  Archibald

"How Could I Ever Know":  Lily, Archibald

"Come To My Garden (Finale)":  Company