The Secret Garden - Licensing Question

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 2:32pm

I wasn't sure where to post this. A local production of The Secret Garden is currently playing in my area, which I am really excited about. I first saw it when it toured. I think I was 13.

I've listened to the London recording, which I do not particularly fancy. So, my question is which version is currently being licensed. Can I expect to see something closer to the Broadway show content wise, or will it more resemble the London one?

Any information anyone has is welcome and appreciated.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 2:38pm

The current licensed version is the US tour version which is closer to the Broadway version. There's none of the London changes in this version. The only differences that I remember are that some of the songs are a bit longer because the OBC didn't record the full score, and "It's a Maze" is the revised version of the song. Ben doesn't sing as much in it and Martha is included.


Updated On: 9/4/12 at 02:38 PM

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 2:46pm

Thank you very much.

[Jon]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 4:09pm

There are actually two versions available from Samuel French. The one with the changes described above is the "regular" version. There is also something called the "Spring Version", which cuts some of the chorus stuff. In it, the ensemble are not ghosts. They are servants.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 4:12pm

^Correct. The Spring Version is the 70 minute youth/school edition. It's similar to MTI's shorter Jr. and School Editions of various musicals.

Updated On: 9/4/12 at 04:12 PM

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 4:39pm

Being familiar only with the Broadway soundtrack and the US script, what were the changes made for the London premiere? If I understand the wikipedia article correctly, more focus was put on the child characters? Were songs cut? added? script revisions?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 5:12pm

^There were major cuts and revisions in the London production. The opening was completely different. Some days I actually prefer the London opening, because I like the little bit that they added for Martha. Some of the major changes included the following:

The spirit ensemble was cut entirely.

"House Upon the Hill" and all of the spirit songs were cut.

The Storm sequences had to be revised once they cut the ghosts.

"The Girl I Mean to Be" was moved to the first act.

"Lily's Eyes" opened the second act.

The "Quartet" was cut.

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 5:17pm

From what I have heard, the creators of the show did not like the London production. If that is the case, why would they have allowed such changes to be made? Was it a situation where they sold the rights and had no say so?

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 5:50pm

God, how can you cut the Quartet? Best music in the whole show.

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 6:02pm

How could you want to butcher an already good musical. If you have to change that much, why are you even doing it?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 6:26pm

^That's my opinion on most changes. The current Off-Broadway Bare is a perfect example. They're cutting so much good material they might as well not even call it Bare anymore. If they need to make so many changes to fashion an existing show into something else they should just commission an original piece instead of sabotaging an existing one.

[Nettik]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 6:27pm

The "Quartet" is easily one of my favorite pieces in the show. It's an incredibly complex piece that is also, IIRC, the most adult moment in the show, so I can understand if they cut it to make the show more accessible to children in the audience.

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 6:36pm

I hate acronyms, can you explain that one to me?

[Nettik]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 6:44pm

IIRC = If I Remember Correctly :)

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 6:49pm

Thank you. I may be old.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/4/12 at 7:36pm

From what I have heard about the London production the changes were meant to bring the show more in line with the book, with less focus on the various ghost characters and bringing the story back to focus on those who were still alive. I believe Lily was basically the only ghost to really survive the changes made for London.

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/5/12 at 12:06am

So what is your opinion of the changes, AEA

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/5/12 at 12:12am

I don't really have too much opinion, since I've only heard the London recording once and that was quite some time ago. I do remember missing all of that choral work from the OBC.

Though I do wish that somebody would remaster the OBC. There are some weird mixing things on there that I'm not fond of, such as Lily being so much more present in "I Heard Someone Crying" to the point where her vocals tend to drown out the others, especially towards the end of the number.

[It's a fine life!]

Posted: 9/5/12 at 3:14pm

I'd like to see it remastered as well. It's such a beautiful score.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/5/12 at 9:17pm

The mix of the OBCR has never bothered me--I always thought that was just one of Thomas K Shepherd's typical cast album production quirks, but he does such a good job, as usual, overall it doesn't bug me. Most post 1990 or so CDs don't need remastering IMHO (and in this case I guess it would need a full *remix* not remaster to fix those things).

I saw the tour when I was around 12 too. I've seen video of the RSC production and heard the cast album, and I dislike it in comparison. I've always heard what AEA said--that they wanted to go back to the book, I believe partly justified by it being thought of as a British classic (nevermind that the author spent more than half her life in the US). I suspect the writers were willing to try out a new approach, but as stated they prefer the earlier one. The Broadway show does have a different focus and feel from the novel--what with the ghosts, the huge focus on the Lily love triangle (which I think is merely hinted at in the novel), slightly less focus on the kids, etc. For me, all of that works on stage and I prefer the more surreal feel of that version, which worked so well with the original designs.

[It's a fine life!]

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

Thanks!