Chatty goes to the Theater
Chatty, Steeler Girl, and The Wiz went to see a community theater production of “The Secret Garden” last weekend. Our friend Play Dude (Chatty was going to refer to him as Play Boy, but she knows her readers too well!) was the Technical Director, and he did a fabulous job with a limited budget.
"The Secret Garden" is one of Chatty’s fondest childhood memories. A book written by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1909, it centers around a little girl named Mary Lennox who - suddenly orphaned by the cholera epidemic in India where she has lived with her parents since birth - is sent at the age of 10 to live with her Uncle Archibald Craven in Yorkshire, England.
Her uncle is a bitter widower, having lost his beloved wife Lily 10 years before, after the birth of their only son, Colin.
There have been both non-musical and musical versions of this book. Chatty quite liked the non-musical movie version she saw. However, this production was the musical, which on Broadway starred Mandy Patinkin as Archibald Craven, and Daisy Eagan as Mary Lennox. Daisy Eagan won a Tony Award for best performance – the youngest person ever to do so. She was 11 at the time, in 1991.
Having no idea what to expect, but being very familiar with the book and the movie, Chatty was a bit stunned by all the “dreamers” drifting around in weird formations and attempting to delineate the plot. These “dreamers” are apparently all ghosts, and they act as a sort of Greek chorus to let the viewer in on happenings past and present. It was disconcerting, to say the least, because there are no ghostly presences in the book - unless you count Archibald Craven’s deceased wife Lily, who was often referred to and occasionally “sensed” by other characters, but never to an odd degree. Chatty found the rather ominous, dirge-like ghosts/dreamers intoning information odd, indeed - especially as this is supposed to be a musical children would find enjoyable (although at 2+ hours, Chatty doubts it could be, even without the “dreamers”).
However, a musical is much different from a book, a straight play, or a movie - so Chatty was prepared to make allowances.
“The Secret Garden”, as produced by the community theater playhouse, had some wonderful moments. Steeler Girl, The Wiz, and Chatty enjoyed it, except for a few things – which of course Chatty will now delineate for you…
Chatty wishes to note that many of the actors mentioned below presented themselves as professionals (at least in the program), and so are fair game when it comes to reviews!
The first problem was that the actress playing the ghost of Lily - who had an effective but sky-high soprano range heavy on vibrato - was apparently so enamored of the notes (and her singing of them) that her enunciation of the lyrics fell by the wayside and were utterly incomprehensible. Chatty means UTTERLY. Which was unfortunate, because it quickly became apparent that most of the plot is revealed through the songs. There is very little spoken dialogue - to the extent that Chatty thinks it came close to operetta.
The music was nice, but forgettable - although Chatty thinks she would enjoy hearing the soundtrack one of these days, just to figure out what she missed. She is reminded of what a friend once said about another musical – that he walked out “humming the scenery” - particularly apt in this instance, because aside from a couple of the performances, the scenery and lighting were the best part of the show!
The little girl who played Mary was very good – pretty and charming, with a lovely clear voice, good enunciation, and the makings of real actress - but she is apparently blind in one eye, and so would have to turn in odd ways in order to look at her fellow actors. She couldn't just glance, for instance, but would have to turn completely around to see them. It made for some odd stage moves, and Chatty blames the director. He KNEW of her situation, and should have physically arranged the other actors onstage to compensate for it.
Play Dude said of the director that he loved to direct, and loved to watch himself directing - but couldn't actually direct. Play Dude probably did most of the good staging, though he's admitting to nothing...
(Play Dude has by far the most credits of any cast or crew member at this theater, and if he hasn’t actually directed or produced any play they choose to mount, the chances are good that he has at least seen it on Broadway. They are lucky to have him on staff, and they know it.)
The other kid in the show, who plays Colin (Archibald and Lily’s son), had to perform an excruciating duet with his (dead) mother Lily, the unintelligible soprano. Unfortunately, the live orchestra did NOT take it down a notch or two musically (presumably transposing musical numbers was not in the budget), so this 12 year old was expected to yodel like a young castrato at several key points in the song. Believe Chatty - the audience felt his pain. In fact, we couldn't understand why this kid had been cast in the first place - because although he was OK as an actor (especially when his role called for him to feign sleep in his little bed while people sang over him) - he had two very difficult musical numbers, the high notes of which he could not even approach. To be fair, the more modest notes he could approach - but only from the standpoint of "a bit flat" or "a lot sharp". All became clear when reading the program, however. He was the director's son.
Both of the “uncles” could sing, but their dialogue was littered with what Play Dude refers to as "dead beats" - those heavy, portentous and meaningless pauses that are so annoying to the listener. Chatty wonders now if that is where the phrase "deadbeat" originated. Probably not, but it was an apt phrase when it came to several of the performances.
The young man who played Dikon was personable and had a nice voice, but delivered all his lines and lyrics with an unsmiling demeanor (interspersed with the occasional desperate and obviously forced grin) and stared at the ground most of the time. This was unfortunate, as Dikon is supposed to be a smiling, sprightly, almost magical young person.
Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper, apparently had hearing problems, so missed many of her cues. *sigh*
On a hugely bright note, the actress playing Martha was delightful and talented, both as an actress and as a singer. The only problem with HER is that she wasn’t in every scene (all of which would have been immensely improved by her presence - but which, alas, is not in the script).
Adding to the cast problems was the fact that the director had originally WANTED to do "Beauty and the Beast", until Play Dude pointed out that you can’t just run out and find costumes for singing and dancing teacups, candelabras, bureaus, etc. Those costumes would have to be rented from an actual touring company of the show (of which there are currently only three nationwide), and the lowest price he could find for the costumes alone was $10,000. Hardly an option, considering that this production’s entire budget was $900!
Besides, even if Play Dude had mustered costumes out of body suits, fake fur, sailcloth and Halloween masks (which Chatty firmly believes he is capable of doing), with this director - who would presumably have had to double as choreographer (a necessity when trying to mount a production of “Beauty and the Beast”) - it would have been a disaster.
Apparently, this shot of reality made for a sulky director...but Play Dude is accustomed to being the bearer of bad news.
The orchestra was a talented group of musicians – a real blessing when one considers how pervasive and critical the music is in this show.
The theater itself is quite large and beautiful, and our backstage tour was impressive.
Play Dude's sets were wonderfully evocative (especially considering his minuscule budget), as was his lighting, which is particularly important for setting the mood in this show (thunderstorms, sun peeking through an invalid’s windows, dark, dank libraries and picture galleries, etc.). Technically, the show was pretty darn good, except for the times the director was allowed to intervene...
We all agreed that even with the drawbacks mentioned, it was an excellent afternoon’s entertainment. Chatty loves the fact that theater – at all levels – is alive and well in her area.
Of course, the “post-mortem” with Play Dude at a restaurant afterwards was definitely the best part - and the nachos were good, too!
But, when it comes to ANY production of this particular musical, Chatty’s advice is that you do yourself a favor and just read the book or watch the movie!
"The Secret Garden" is one of Chatty’s fondest childhood memories. A book written by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1909, it centers around a little girl named Mary Lennox who - suddenly orphaned by the cholera epidemic in India where she has lived with her parents since birth - is sent at the age of 10 to live with her Uncle Archibald Craven in Yorkshire, England.
Her uncle is a bitter widower, having lost his beloved wife Lily 10 years before, after the birth of their only son, Colin.
There have been both non-musical and musical versions of this book. Chatty quite liked the non-musical movie version she saw. However, this production was the musical, which on Broadway starred Mandy Patinkin as Archibald Craven, and Daisy Eagan as Mary Lennox. Daisy Eagan won a Tony Award for best performance – the youngest person ever to do so. She was 11 at the time, in 1991.
Having no idea what to expect, but being very familiar with the book and the movie, Chatty was a bit stunned by all the “dreamers” drifting around in weird formations and attempting to delineate the plot. These “dreamers” are apparently all ghosts, and they act as a sort of Greek chorus to let the viewer in on happenings past and present. It was disconcerting, to say the least, because there are no ghostly presences in the book - unless you count Archibald Craven’s deceased wife Lily, who was often referred to and occasionally “sensed” by other characters, but never to an odd degree. Chatty found the rather ominous, dirge-like ghosts/dreamers intoning information odd, indeed - especially as this is supposed to be a musical children would find enjoyable (although at 2+ hours, Chatty doubts it could be, even without the “dreamers”).
However, a musical is much different from a book, a straight play, or a movie - so Chatty was prepared to make allowances.
“The Secret Garden”, as produced by the community theater playhouse, had some wonderful moments. Steeler Girl, The Wiz, and Chatty enjoyed it, except for a few things – which of course Chatty will now delineate for you…
Chatty wishes to note that many of the actors mentioned below presented themselves as professionals (at least in the program), and so are fair game when it comes to reviews!
The first problem was that the actress playing the ghost of Lily - who had an effective but sky-high soprano range heavy on vibrato - was apparently so enamored of the notes (and her singing of them) that her enunciation of the lyrics fell by the wayside and were utterly incomprehensible. Chatty means UTTERLY. Which was unfortunate, because it quickly became apparent that most of the plot is revealed through the songs. There is very little spoken dialogue - to the extent that Chatty thinks it came close to operetta.
The music was nice, but forgettable - although Chatty thinks she would enjoy hearing the soundtrack one of these days, just to figure out what she missed. She is reminded of what a friend once said about another musical – that he walked out “humming the scenery” - particularly apt in this instance, because aside from a couple of the performances, the scenery and lighting were the best part of the show!
The little girl who played Mary was very good – pretty and charming, with a lovely clear voice, good enunciation, and the makings of real actress - but she is apparently blind in one eye, and so would have to turn in odd ways in order to look at her fellow actors. She couldn't just glance, for instance, but would have to turn completely around to see them. It made for some odd stage moves, and Chatty blames the director. He KNEW of her situation, and should have physically arranged the other actors onstage to compensate for it.
Play Dude said of the director that he loved to direct, and loved to watch himself directing - but couldn't actually direct. Play Dude probably did most of the good staging, though he's admitting to nothing...
(Play Dude has by far the most credits of any cast or crew member at this theater, and if he hasn’t actually directed or produced any play they choose to mount, the chances are good that he has at least seen it on Broadway. They are lucky to have him on staff, and they know it.)
The other kid in the show, who plays Colin (Archibald and Lily’s son), had to perform an excruciating duet with his (dead) mother Lily, the unintelligible soprano. Unfortunately, the live orchestra did NOT take it down a notch or two musically (presumably transposing musical numbers was not in the budget), so this 12 year old was expected to yodel like a young castrato at several key points in the song. Believe Chatty - the audience felt his pain. In fact, we couldn't understand why this kid had been cast in the first place - because although he was OK as an actor (especially when his role called for him to feign sleep in his little bed while people sang over him) - he had two very difficult musical numbers, the high notes of which he could not even approach. To be fair, the more modest notes he could approach - but only from the standpoint of "a bit flat" or "a lot sharp". All became clear when reading the program, however. He was the director's son.
Both of the “uncles” could sing, but their dialogue was littered with what Play Dude refers to as "dead beats" - those heavy, portentous and meaningless pauses that are so annoying to the listener. Chatty wonders now if that is where the phrase "deadbeat" originated. Probably not, but it was an apt phrase when it came to several of the performances.
The young man who played Dikon was personable and had a nice voice, but delivered all his lines and lyrics with an unsmiling demeanor (interspersed with the occasional desperate and obviously forced grin) and stared at the ground most of the time. This was unfortunate, as Dikon is supposed to be a smiling, sprightly, almost magical young person.
Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper, apparently had hearing problems, so missed many of her cues. *sigh*
On a hugely bright note, the actress playing Martha was delightful and talented, both as an actress and as a singer. The only problem with HER is that she wasn’t in every scene (all of which would have been immensely improved by her presence - but which, alas, is not in the script).
Adding to the cast problems was the fact that the director had originally WANTED to do "Beauty and the Beast", until Play Dude pointed out that you can’t just run out and find costumes for singing and dancing teacups, candelabras, bureaus, etc. Those costumes would have to be rented from an actual touring company of the show (of which there are currently only three nationwide), and the lowest price he could find for the costumes alone was $10,000. Hardly an option, considering that this production’s entire budget was $900!
Besides, even if Play Dude had mustered costumes out of body suits, fake fur, sailcloth and Halloween masks (which Chatty firmly believes he is capable of doing), with this director - who would presumably have had to double as choreographer (a necessity when trying to mount a production of “Beauty and the Beast”) - it would have been a disaster.
Apparently, this shot of reality made for a sulky director...but Play Dude is accustomed to being the bearer of bad news.
The orchestra was a talented group of musicians – a real blessing when one considers how pervasive and critical the music is in this show.
The theater itself is quite large and beautiful, and our backstage tour was impressive.
Play Dude's sets were wonderfully evocative (especially considering his minuscule budget), as was his lighting, which is particularly important for setting the mood in this show (thunderstorms, sun peeking through an invalid’s windows, dark, dank libraries and picture galleries, etc.). Technically, the show was pretty darn good, except for the times the director was allowed to intervene...
We all agreed that even with the drawbacks mentioned, it was an excellent afternoon’s entertainment. Chatty loves the fact that theater – at all levels – is alive and well in her area.
Of course, the “post-mortem” with Play Dude at a restaurant afterwards was definitely the best part - and the nachos were good, too!
But, when it comes to ANY production of this particular musical, Chatty’s advice is that you do yourself a favor and just read the book or watch the movie!
I too loved that book.
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oh boy....
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From your review, I surmise that I would joyfully go to any production approved by Chatty!!
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