PULLMAN, Wash. — Director Julie Anne Wieck and students of the Washington State University School of Music and Theatre Arts will present a preview of the musical “The Secret Garden” at 12:10 p.m. March 1 in the Compton Union Building Cascade Room 123.
The presentation, “Come To Our Garden,” is part of the Art a la Carte luncheon art lecture series, sponsored by the CUB and the Museum of Art. The program is free and open to the public.
“Come To Our Garden” is a salute to Women’s History Month by recognizing the accomplishments of the women who produced the play. Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote the novel “The Secret Garden.” Marsha Norman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, wrote the screenplay and lyrics for the musical, receiving a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for her efforts. The music was composed by Lucy Simon, sister to Carly Simon, and constituted her Broadway debut, for which she was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards. Producer Heidi Landesman created the stage design, and Susan Shulman directed the entire Broadway production.
“The Secret Garden” is about the healing power of love and the miracle of rebirth. Simon’s score creates a world where lost loves are found, lost lives are saved, spring comes again and beauty reigns.
The year is 1911, and Mary Lennox awakens one morning in India to discover that her parents, and in fact everyone she knows in the English compound in Bombay, have died of cholera.
Having nowhere else to go, she is sent to live with her brooding Uncle Archibald in his 100-room mansion in Yorkshire, England. The events lead a lonely but brave child to the safest place on earth, the Secret Garden.
Signing for the hearing impaired is available upon request by calling the CUB at 335-1209 by Feb. 26. The Cascade Room is accessible through the CUB main lobby or the Student Lunch Court.
WSU School of Music and Theatre Arts will present its production April 12-14 and 19-21.
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