Drama Desk and Drama League nominee Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, Love Never Dies, Harmony) and Tony winner Warren Carlyle (After Midnight) stopped by the Playbill Studio to share what to expect of Center Theatre Group's upcoming, Broadway-aimed production of Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s The Secret Garden.
Performances of the reimagined revival are scheduled to run February 19–March 26, 2023, at the Ahmanson Theatre, with opening night set for February 26.
Carlyle is directing and choreographing the revival, which will feature revisions to the show from co-creators Norman and the late Simon. Rob Berman will music direct.
“The Secret Garden is about healing and about growth, both things that deal with, literally, a garden. There is healing in a garden. There's healing on this earth. And, there is major growth that happens. And, it's what we as humans are learning about that and these people that are in struggle that need both of those things,” shares Boggess, who will play the role of Lily.
Playbill recently announced that Center Theatre Group has found its Mary Lennox for its production of The Secret Garden: 11-year-old Sadie Brickman Reynolds.
The production has been in the works for Carlyle since at least 2018, when he was announced to helm a Broadway revival in the 2018-19 season that never materialized. A 2018 workshop of Carlyle’s staging streamed in April 2021 to benefit The Dramatists Guild Foundation and The Actors Fund, featuring Boggess as Lily. The stream was dedicated to the late Rebecca Luker, who played the role in the original Broadway company.
Based on the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel, The Secret Garden features a book and lyrics by Tony and Pulitzer winner Norman and music by Grammy winner and Tony nominee Simon. The work was first produced on Broadway in 1991, receiving six Tony Award nominations and winning Best Book of a Musical for Norman, Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Heidi Ettinger, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Daisy Eagan.
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