COVINGTON, KY- Like the glorious garden in its storyline hidden away by walls and time, it is an oft-overlooked piece overflowing with dark beauty and capable of warming and healing even the most wounded of hearts. This summer, the door to that erstwhile mystery will again be opened.
The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center (The Carnegie) presents the classic musical tale THE SECRET GARDEN, playing weekends May 29 – June 14, 2009 in the Otto M. Budig Theatre. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, and Sunday afternoons at 3:00pm. Tickets range in price from $16 - $22 and are available at The Carnegie Box Office or online at www.thecarnegie.com.
THE SECRET GARDEN is sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, with additional support provided by Schiff, Kreidler-Shell, Inc.
From Classic Novel to Supernatural Musical
Adapted from the famous children's novel by British emigre Frances Hodgson Burnett, the Broadway musical is no innocent frolic down primrose garden paths. When an epidemic claims the lives of her parents, eleven year-old Mary Lennox is shipped from India to England to become the ward of her reclusive uncle, Archibald, and his stoic brother, Neville. Haunted by the loss of his beloved wife, Archibald forsakes his ill son, Colin, and guardianship of Mary, until she instills new life into a magical garden shrouded by grief and disuse.
Rife with gothic imagery, unresolved grief, and more than a touch of the supernatural, THE SECRET GARDEN is more Harry Potter than Hans Christian Andersen, and may be the archetype of the modern fairy tale. The rich Lucy Simon score includes several celebrated songs from the contemporary musical theatre canon, including Come To My Garden, A Bit of Earth, and the show-stopping duet Lily's Eyes. Dubbed by TIME Magazine "the best American musical of the Broadway season" in its 1991 premiere, the original cast featured Mandy Patinkin as Archibald Craven and a Tony Award-winning portrayal of Mary Lennox by Daisy Eagan.
Planting The Garden: Directors and Designers
New Edgecliff Theatre Artistic Director Greg Procaccino returns to The Carnegie to helm the production, his second at the theatre this season (THE MOUSETRAP, August 2008) and third in two years. He teams for the first time with musical director Steve Hinnenkamp, himself no industry neophyte. A veteran of several Broadway productions and internationally released recordings, Hinnenkamp has played and accompanied for stars including Angela Lansbury, Brooke Shields, and Ann Miller, and has also conducted over 500 operatic performances across Europe.
"Of all the 'orphan-novels' flourishing in the early 1900s, THE SECRET GARDEN remains the most compelling," reflects Hinnenkamp. "Here the heroine is neither attractive nor charismatic. She is insolent, full of resent and must journey between past and present to find acceptance. The Carnegie has assembled a superb cast to take the audience on this supernatural journey of redemption."
A team of experienced theatrical designers join forces to create the turn-of-the-century visual palette for THE SECRET GARDEN. Scenic Designer Christopher Boone has worked extensively for the stage and screen, with design credits including The Berkshire Theatre Festival, Boston Playwright's Theatre, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and TBS Major League Baseball, as well as local credits at New Stage Collective and Xavier University. He joins Cincinnati Entertainment Award winner Sara Watson, Resident Lighting Designer at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, as well as multi-faceted Costume Designer Jim Stump, better known on the Carnegie stage for performances including King Herod (JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) and Mr. Paravicini (THE MOUSETRAP).
Casting
Vocal prowess was a key component in casting for Procaccino and Hinnenkamp, who have assembled a very musical cast combining fresh faces with local favorites. Accomplished Cincinnati actor and director Ty Yadzinski takes on the leading role of Archibald, bringing to the production a wealth of professional national, international, and local credits, including recent portrayals of Captain VonTrapp in The Sound of Music and Danny Zuko in Grease at Covedale Center for Performing Arts. He plays older brother to stage and television actor Edwin Large (Neville), and widower to cherished wife Bree Sprankle (Lily), who brings classical voice training and substantial operatic experience to the soprano role.
Returning to the stage of the Otto M. Budig Theatre is Charity Farrell, portraying Mary Lennox for the second time in her young acting career. Farrell was a winner of the recent "Singing with the Stars" competition in Cincinnati, and has myriad credits with Jersey Productions and The Muse Machine. Her counterpart is twelve year-old Richard Lowenberg, whose characterization of Colin will tap acting experience including Boy Scrooge in Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's A Christmas Carol and Chip in Cincinnati Music Theatre's Beauty and the Beast.
Fresh off of their performances in The Carnegie and Commonwealth Theatre Company's December JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Tim Hein and S. Elizabeth Carroll join fellow NKU musical theatre trainee Julie Wacksman as Dickon, Martha, and Rose, respectively. Catherine Ross, Jon Kovach, Bradley Scott Hamilton, and veteran character actor Ernie Rowland complete the cast of twelve.
ASL Interpretation and Closed Captioning
For the second consecutive production, The Carnegie is proud to offer fully accessible Sunday matinee performances for the deaf and hard of hearing, featuring closed captioning and American Sign Language interpreters. Interpretation is made possible by a unique collaboration between The Carnegie; The Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center of Greater Cincinnati; and the Sign Language Interpreting and Deaf Studies program at the University of Cincinnati. Captioning has been offered for major theatrical performances at The Carnegie since 2006, and is made possible by experienced volunteers.
Interpretation and captioning will be offered free of charge to patrons who request these services with their tickets. These services are offered in a specific section of the theatre, and will not be intrusive to patrons who do not utilize them.
Secret Garden Expo
In homage to the themes of gardening and nature so prevalent in THE SECRET GARDEN, The Carnegie will host its first ever Garden Expo in the Carnegie Galleries during the production's opening weekend, May 29–31. The galleries will overflow with potent botanical displays, cheery spring flowers, and expert information as a vast array of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky's best talent in botanical endeavors join the Carnegie to welcome spring. Gardening enthusiasts will experience spectacular displays and gather essential tips for keeping their home gardens healthy and blooming. Patrons will have the opportunity to browse and purchase garden merchandise as well as gather first-hand advice from these gardening professionals.
Admission to the Garden Expo is free with tickets purchased to the show, and will feature Greater Cincinnati's fine nurseries, florists, and garden clubs and shops. A full roster of participating partners is available by request.
Ticketing
THE SECRET GARDEN plays May 29 through June 14, 2009 on Fridays and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, and on Sunday afternoons at 3:00pm.
Tickets to THE SECRET GARDEN are available at The Carnegie Box Office, open Tuesday through Friday 12:00 – 5:00pm, online at www.thecarnegie.com, or by phone at 859.957.1940.
Sunday matinee performances feature the use of closed captioning and American Sign Language interpretation. Patrons interested in taking advantage of this offering may call The Carnegie Box Office for special seating arrangements.
$22 Adults
$18 Carnegie Members, Enjoy the Arts Members
$16 Students
$16 Groups of Ten or More (call the Box Office for more information)
$16 Family Package (any combination of four adults and children)
About The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center
The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center is a multidisciplinary arts venue for all ages providing events, educational programs, and art exhibitions to the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. The Carnegie facility reflects its threefold nature: within its 17,000 square foot facility are The Carnegie Galleries, crowned by a landmark Beaux Arts dome; the magnificent, newly renovated Otto M. Budig Theatre; and the newer Eva G. Farris Education center. The Carnegie is the largest arts venue in Northern Kentucky.
The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center receives ongoing operating support from the Fine Arts Fund and the Kentucky Arts Council
