The Secret Garden: Spring Version

A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

The Secret Garden: Spring Version

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  7w, 8m, 1girl(s), 1boy(s)

Music and Lyrics by Marsha Norman
Music by Lucy Simon

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This 70-minute version of the beloved musical The Secret Garden captures the beauty and spirit of the Broadway hit in half the running time.

Image: 2023 Center Theatre Group Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

The Secret Garden: Spring Version

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    7w, 8m, 1girl(s), 1boy(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Theatre for Young Audiences
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! Three 1991 Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical
    Nominee: Seven 1991 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score
    Winner! Three 1991 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Book and Orchestrations
    Nominee: Thirteen 1991 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, Music and Lyrics
The Secret Garden: Spring Version
Also Available
The Secret Garden

Details

Summary

This 70-minute version of the beloved musical The Secret Garden is as beautiful and spirited as the original in just half the time.

This enchanting classic of children's literature is reimagined in brilliant musical style by composer Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of 'Night Mother. Orphaned in India, 11-year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald and his disabled son Colin. The estate's many wonders include a magic garden which beckons the children with haunting melodies and the "Dreamers," spirits from Mary's past who guide her through her new life, dramatizing The Secret Garden's compelling tale of forgiveness and renewal.

History
The Secret Garden opened at the St. James Theatre on April 25, 1991 after 23 previews. The show played for a total of 709 performances and closed on January 3, 1993.
Keywords
Performing Groups

MARY LENNOX – An orphan girl of about 10
COLIN CRAVEN – A sickly boy of about 10. Mary and Colin are cousins; their mothers were sisters

Spirits
ALBERT LENNOX – Mary's father
ROSE LENNOX – Mary’s mother
LILY CRAVEN – Colin’s mother

At Misselthwaite
ARCHIBALD CRAVEN – Mary’s uncle, Colin’s father
DR. NEVILLE CRAVEN – Archibald’s brother
MRS. MEDLOCK – Archibald’s housekeeper
BEN WEATHERSTAFF – The head gardener
MARTHA – A housemaid
DICKON – Martha’s brother, a magical boy who talks to birds
MRS. WINTHROP – Headmistress of the Aberdeen School for Girls
Two MEN and Two WOMEN – Servants, passengers, Indian officers, etc.

The chorus of the Spring Version is composed of any number of student singers of any age placed onstage at the discretion of the Director, not formally as if they were actually a chorus, but casually, as if they were reading the novel on the floor of their rooms. They may also participate occasionally, at the end of Act 1 and in the "Night Garden" scene. The director is free to make use of individuals who are gifted singers or dancers in scenes as appropriate. Our personal favorite idea is that the Readers are sometimes fellow travelers, sometimes garden sprites, and sometimes just readers. They need not always be reading, nor need they all appear in every scene. But we need at least one of them onstage in every scene to secure the convention. Our only request is that their presence never detract from the main action. The places where they must sing are indicated in the script and score.

  • Time Period Contemporary, 1900-1910
  • Setting Colonial India and Misselthwaite Manor in England. 1906.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

“The young (and not so young) loved it!” – Broadway World

“This heartwarming story is beautifully told in Lucy Simon's alternately gorgeous and lilting score, most of whose best songs are heard in full, even in this 75-minute version of the show.” – The Stage, Read More 

“Due to careful editing down to a pacy 70 minutes all-through... the young (and not so young) loved it!” – Broadway World, Read More

Videos

  • The Secret Garden, Spring Version youtube thumbnail

    The Secret Garden, Spring Version

  • The Secret Garden, 1991 Tony Awards youtube thumbnail

    The Secret Garden, 1991 Tony Awards

Photos

  • The Secret Garden: Spring Version

    Image: 2023 Center Theatre Group Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • The Secret Garden: Spring Version

    Image: 2023 Center Theatre Group Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • The Secret Garden: Spring Version

    Image: 2015 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

  • The Secret Garden: Spring Version

    Image: 2011 Theatreworks Silicon Valley Production (Mark Kitaoka)

Music

Music Samples

1. “Prelude” – Lily, Mary
2. “There’s a Girl” – Rose, Albert, Readers
3. “Magic Chord” – Instrumental
4. “The House Upon the Hill” – Rose, Abler, Readers
5. “Magic Chant” – Albert, Rose, Lily, Mary
6. “Skipping Song (Martha)” – Martha
7. “Skipping Song (Mary)” – Mary
8. “It’s a Maze” – Ben, Readers
9. “The Girl in the Valley” – Archie, Lily
10. “Skipping Song (Mary) II” – Mary
11. “Show Me the Key” – Mary, Dickon
12. “The Girl I Mean to Be” – Mary
13. “I Heard Someone Crying” – Lily, Mary, Archie, Martha, Readers
14. “Act One Finale” – Lily
15. “Lily’s Eyes” – Dr. Craven, Archie
16. “Wick” – Dickon, Mary
17. “Come to My Garden” – Lily, Colin, Readers
18. “Come Spirit Come Charm” – Mary, Dickon, Martha, Readers, Indian Officers, Gardeners
19. “Come Spirit Come Charm Tag” – Instrumental
20. “Mary’s Tantrum” – Instrumental
21. “Hold On” – Martha, Readers
22. “Letter Song” – Mary, Martha, Archie
23. “How Could I Ever Know?” – Lily, Archie
24. “In the Garden” – Mary, Colin, Dickon
25. “Finale Ultimo” – Company
  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Vocal DemandsEasy
  • Orchestra Size Piano Only
  • Chorus Size Medium

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

    PLEASE BE ADVISED: There are multiple versions of this title. Before you proceed, please double-check to ensure that you are applying for the version you want. We will not be able to refund rental or shipping fees if you pay for the wrong version. If you’re not sure which version best suits your needs, you may purchase a perusal for each available version.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!
1  Piano-Vocal
17 Vocal Books

This title is orchestrated for Piano Only.
Get the Script

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Marsha Norman

Marsha Norman

Marsha Norman, award-winning playwright, won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize, Blackburn Prize, Hull-Warriner and Drama Desk Awards for her play 'Night, Mother. In 1992 she won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for her book for the Broadway musical The Secret Garden. She also wrote ...

View full profile
Lucy Simon

Lucy Simon

When Lucy Simon was in grade school, a class assignment was to memorize a poem and recite it in class. The only way she could do it was to put it to a melody. The poem she chose was “Wynken Blynken and Nod” by Eugene Field. It is the first song she ever wrote. Several years ...

View full profile
Author

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Now Playing

Related