The Secret Garden Revival?

[ChiChi]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:31am

What do you all think? Do you think this show will ever get a revival? Should it, or should it not be revived? Should any revival be true to the original broadway, or would you be more interested in a mounting based on the London production?

Just curious as to everyone's opinions.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:32am

I hope that it will eventually get revived. I think that the revival should be original not like either of the mentioned productions.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:42am

Double.

Updated On: 4/9/07 at 01:42 AM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:42am

Original all the way. I dislike the revisions.


So, if there were, who would yous goys like to see work on the creative team and/or be in the cast?

Eugene Lee for sets.
We could have a huge rose at the proscenium that would shoot pollon on us at key moments!

A thought I had for sets would be that everything had a decay, like it was all dead or in hibernation, and whenever Mary touches it the next time you see it it is alive again, and looks new.


IDK maybe something fun like that. John Doyle might stage it interestingly. I don't see it working with his Actor-Musician concept though.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:45am

We could have a huge rose at the proscenium that would shoot pollon on us at key moments!

Are you drunk?

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:52am

What kind of revisions were done between Broadway and London?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:54am

The creative team were apparently unhappy overall with the changes they tried for the London production; as they won't allow the revised London script to be licensed.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:58am

Heh, I don't think anyone told The Willows that...

[Carl Magnum]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:01am

If they revive it, can they hand out pillows with tickets. Cause if I'm gonna sleep through a show, I'd rather have a pillow at these prices.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:03am

I'm with CarlMagnum on this one, pillows all the way. What a snooze fest.

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:09am

The benefit concert that they did last year was amazing, and the cast was perfection, it's too bad that they didn't record it. I think the production would be amazing if it was stipped to it's bare essentials, and let the music speak for itself.

Posted: 4/9/07 at 4:19am

Wow I *love* the original production and have seen a few decent amateur productions of that script (snoozefest??) but the RSC revisions (to make it closer to the novel I suppose) leave me really... well bored actually.

I'd love to hear Lucy Simon do a new show--wasn't she working on Wuthering Heights? (!) or was that Dr Zhivago?

E
Updated On: 4/9/07 at 04:19 AM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 8:17am

neddyfrank2 - That was a joke. A spoof of the Wicked set.

[D2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 8:38am

I'm glad to hear that the revisions made for the London production will never be heard from again. That was dreadful.

Lucy Simon has been working on a musical version of DR. ZHIVAGO, called simply ZHIVAGO. A full-scale production was done last year at La Jolla after a workshp production there the year before. It was a mess.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 8:43am

The only thing I want to see/hear from the London production are:
1) Lily's Eyes (Best IMO)
2) Linzi Hateley (She ROCKED on "Hold On")

Otherwise, I would really enjoy a new quasi-bare bone production. Although (and don't let it go to your head), part of B3's set idea, about the decay could be integrated, and probably look beautiful if done right.

Posted: 4/9/07 at 8:56am

It could be done bare bones but I have to admit to being very taken with the Broadway "Dollhouse" design which was kinda stunning.

Yeah I'd love to hear the Zhivago score but have to say I can't really picture how a stage musical based on Zhivago could be anything but a mess... unless it was 6 hours or something.

It's interesting how Secret Garden was such a female dominated show for Broadway--director, book,s lyrics, music, etc... I can think of a number of talented, famous female lyricists in the past for Broadway but VERY few composers (in fact none spring immediately to mind at all save for Lucy's one score)

E

[sondhead]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 10:17am

Jeanine Tesori would be the other that jumped to my mind.

I think Secret Garden would make for a great revival one of these days. It's such an under-rated show with both a beautiful score and a powerful book. That story (and especially the way the musical tells it) is just beautiful and when presented right it never fails to move me.

I DO hope if/when they revive it, they'll go back to the original version of "It's a Maze". I miss that actually being a song as opposed to the montage-like sequence written for the tour that is now licensed. As for the different endings to "I Heard Someone Crying", I'm okay with both. I like the original but understand why one might side with the latter.

And let's not even talk about the London revisions. To answer an earlier question, many songs were re-arranged (as to where in the show they fall), the opening was deleted (WHY?) and most importantly, all ghosts were deleted save Lily Rose and Albert. The chorus became a chorus of servants. Big shame, seeing as the ghosts are much of what makes the show interesting and indeed powerful. The cathartic release of the ghosts being able to leave during the final reprise of "Come to My Garden" is, in my opinion, powerful enough alone to warrant NEVER cutting the ghosts.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 10:34am

Most of the revisions for London were with the aim of making it more simplified and "friendly" for family audiences. The RSC, when they staged THE SECRET GARDEN, were coming off a big hit with a children's musical version of THE LION, THE WITCH and THE WARDROBE. I understood the motive behind experimenting with revisions - but they just didn't work.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 11:15am

I would love to see a professional production of the show. The music is AMAZING. One of the best scores there is.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 5:17pm

I was in a production of SECRET GARDEN last summer.

I played Major Holmes, we used the script they license [which is the national tour version]. The difference between the national tour verision and the Original Bway version on the CD is the characters of the ghosts in Mary's past are flushed out a bit and act as a Greek chorus of sorts singing reprises and transitions to help the story along. They added more to the bits they used on the OCR and changed the ending of I Heard Someone Crying to have the Dreamers sing "Lilly! Ahh. I am lost.." instead of the Dreamers singing collective on a few lyrics.

If they were to revive it, I would hope they would use that version. It was a great version and fantastic to be apart of. I loved the show and music is extremely haunting and goregous.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 5:27pm

I love this show. A helped out with costumes for a High School production near me a couple years ago, and it was amazing. Didn't expect to like it, but really lovely show.
I would love to see a revival of this someday soon.

Posted: 4/11/07 at 6:36pm

Ugh How could I forget Tesori--especially since I was listening to Violet a lot this week.

Wasn't the RSC one also an attempt to be more faithful to the book? (ie less of the Lily obssession between the brothers, etc) which IMHO would rob it of much of its power as much as I enjoy the book.

Clumsy--aren't msot of the reprises, transitions, etc sung by ghost son the OBCR too? I never realized the tour had some changes--how was Maze cut?

[D2]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 6:53pm

Mary Rodgers is another female composer.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 6:55pm

No I honestly don't think the RSC production was trying to be closer to the book - just shorter in length and more kiddie friendly.

[D2]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 6:58pm

Whatever they were aiming for in London they missed by a mile. Watching it was like one of those dreams where you're doing something familiar, and yet everything is wrong. And the 7 foot tall, carrot topped Dicken was just ludicrous.