THE SECRET GARDEN at Soulstice Theatre

THE SECRET GARDEN at Soulstice Theatre

On Friday, June 10, Soulstice Theatre is opening the final show in its 2015-2016 season, THE SECRET GARDEN by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon.  The show is a musical adaptation of the classic children’s story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the original Tony Award-winning Broadway production, written by two exceptionally talented women (a rarity now, let alone then).The musical tells the story of Mary Lennox, orphaned in India and sent to England to live with her widower uncle whom she’s never met.  Her uncle is a recluse – tormented by insecurities over his physical impairments, plagued by fears that he has passed those limitations on to his fragile son, and constantly haunted by dreams of his late wife. Feeling abandoned and alone, Mary is befriended by the manor staff who encourage her to find solace in the gardens so in need of attention.  In the house, haunted by the memories of all the loss its walls have seen, Mary meets her cousin, Colin.  Together, they journey into the garden and ultimately bring healing, happiness, and love to the house and all in it.

A brilliant cast awaits audiences for this new interpretation of the Broadway spectacle. Headlining the show are First Stage veterans Claire Zempel (Lucy, CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS) as Mary and Seth Hoffman (Theodore, THE SNOW) as Colin. Local opera talent Ruth Engel Brown stars as Lily, Colin’s late mother, and Stephen Pfisterer (Jean Valjean in Greendale Community Theater’s LES MISERABLES) stars as her emotionally shattered widower, Archibald Craven.

With a special focus on individuals with disabilities, this production highlights the essential need we all have to connect, to belong, to love, and to be loved.  These timeless messages remind audiences that we are all truly the same inside, even if the “packaging” may be different.Soulstice Theatre is located just over the southern border of Bay View, in St. Francis, at 3770 S. Pennsylvania Avenue. Performances are June 10-11, 16-18, and 23-25 at 7:30, and a special Father’s Day matinee at 2:00 on June 19. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students and seniors, and just $10 for children 12 and under.  Purchases can be made at our website (www.soulsticetheatre.org).

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