Variety: 'Secret Garden' Musical Revival Set With Tony Winner John Doyle

[MezzA101]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 9:03am

https://variety.com/2025/theater/news/secret-garden-musical-revival-john-doyle-1236511492/

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 9:28am

Same ole same ole from Doyle 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 9:37am

I thought Doyle was done doing this actor/musician nonsense.

[ggersten]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 9:52am

A  producer is Sean Nyberg who posts on FB about their investments and had the lengthy post about their investment in Evita.  I'm fairly certain "producer" is just about the size of their investment since it probably is difficult to actually "produce" a show in the UK from Seattle. 

Doyle didn't do the actor/musician thing with The Color Purple - even as that show was stripped down and sans sets. The success of that production, I think, helped lead to the filmed version of the musical - albeit not stripped down! I've seen two community theatre productions of The Secret Garden sans sets (and without many bells and whistles) and the material is strong enough - in my opinion - on its own, if you have the right cast. We obviously have to wait to see what Doyle actually does with the material - but I don't know that it "needs" a stripped down Doyle version to "reveal" something about the material. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 3:41pm

This Nyberg guy’s candidness about his investments gets more confusing the farther down his page one scrolls. “A lot of people have been asking what shows I’m involved in…” Maybe one person asked him that.
And take a drink every time he types “LOL” on a supposedly professional post. 

He’s calling The Secret Garden a “revival” when really it’s just a “production” like the St Bart’s Players might do. Until it gets to Broadway, at least.

[binau]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 3:56pm

Well, I’ll continue to do this board a service and go and check it out and report back. Looking forward to being told how wrong I am about it by the usual suspects (or suspect :p) who will never see it with their pre conceived ideas . 

Updated On: 9/9/25 at 03:56 PM

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 4:19pm

binau said: "Well, I’ll continue to do this board a service and go and check it out and report back. Looking forward to being told how wrong I am about it by the usual suspects (or suspect :p) who will never see itwith their pre conceived ideas ."

The usual suspect will be given a "tape"of the production, I'm sure. ;)

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 4:51pm

Bwaygurl2 said: "binau said: "Well, I’ll continue to do this board a service and go and check it out and report back. Looking forward to being told how wrong I am about it by the usual suspects (or suspect :p) who will never see itwith their pre conceived ideas ."

The usual suspect will be given a "tape"of the production, I'm sure. "

There’s only one of me - and I can’t live in both your and Matt’s heads rent-free at the same time. 

No one’s going to be filming a two-and-a-half week run of a 35 year old show directed by the man next in line behind Jack O’Brien for retirement. But if they do, and if I get a link to it, I’ll be sure to do the swell thing and share it here like I did with Evita.

In the words of Marina Prior… Jeez the days must be long when you live like that.

Updated On: 9/9/25 at 04:51 PM

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 4:51pm

We think this sounds great.  Although Doyle has done actor musician shows before, it's nice to see him return to the idea since 2006.  

Assassins off-Broadway had a few actors playing instruments but it was majority the band. Almost 20 years later, this is a great show to use the concept since he hasn't in his last 3 Broadway offerings since Company. 

Updated On: 9/9/25 at 04:51 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 5:11pm

Doyle used actor-musicians at Classic Stage Company in Allegro and The Cradle Will Rock. 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 5:22pm

Allegro yes, which was lovely.  The Cradle Will Rock was primarily the band.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 5:23pm

CoffeeBreak said: "We think this sounds great. Although Doyle has done actor musician showsbefore, it's nice to see him return to the idea since 2006."

Out of curiosity, do you use "we" in your posts to refer to yourself, or do you speak for another person (or other people)?

(This is not intended as snark at all; my educational background lies in semantics and pragmatics, and I'm always intrigued by how people use words. Also, I almost always see shows with a friend with whom I agree a majority of the time, so I'm used to saying "we" in these contexts too!)

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 5:25pm

I enjoy using my partner and friends as part of my expression when they align - which is not always the case.  We have a London trip planned for the prime spring theater season.

Updated On: 9/9/25 at 05:25 PM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 6:10pm

CoffeeBreak said: "I enjoy using my partner and friends as part of my expression when they align - which is not always the case. We have a London trip planned for the prime spring theater season."

Thanks! That makes sense, and, as I said, I often do the same thing in conversation.

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 7:51pm

Still one of my favorite set designs of all time.  I miss pretty sets.



 

Updated On: 9/9/25 at 07:51 PM

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 9/9/25 at 10:19pm

The set was absolutely gorgeous. Heidi Ettinger’s work is much missed on Broadway these days

[KrupYou]

Posted: 9/10/25 at 6:07pm

love this show. A few years ago i saw a terrible production of it in LA, happy that will not be the last memory i have of this wonderful musical.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/10/25 at 6:25pm

I didn’t see it in LA, but I thought that LA production directed by Warren Carlyle was the same as I saw in DC in late 2016, which was also totally terrible. Kind of a “how did it get this far, this bad” situation. It also ran at the 5th Avenue in Seattle. 

I think this show is just one where the lighting struck right the first time around. 

Although the very small script-in-hand production I saw down at the Lucille Lortel (also in 2016) was quite charming and sincere.
It was also where I saw Rebecca Luker trip up the three steps that were part of the set. I wondered what that was about since it looked like she didn’t lift her leg up, at all, like it was numb or something. Then a couple of years later her ALS was revealed and it all made sense. 

[TBFL]

Posted: 9/12/25 at 10:50am

I've been waiting years for a major production of The Secret Garden and when one comes along,  its an actor/muso. Ugh. 

I hope he at least goes back to the original Broadway script, not the RSC/UK version and definitely not the show that played a few years back in LA. 

This show would be perfect for Regents Park Open Air Theatre.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 9/12/25 at 10:58am

Sierra Boggess prob making those phone calls

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/12/25 at 5:20pm

Yep, we saw the recent production in LA as well, starring Sierra Bogess. Horribly designed, dreadful direction, and the most memorable moment of choreography involved a woman dressed as CHOLERA to give you some idea. 

John Doyle's off-broadway production of A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE was just lovely, and sure enough, made perfect use of its actor-musician cast. Sounds like his SECRET GARDEN would be a director/project marriage made in heaven to me.