Avery
Kadish Shines In The Secret Garden
Avery
Kadish Shines In The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
is comprised of Marsha Norman’s libretto, music composed by Lucy Simon and it is
based upon the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel (first published in serial format
in 1910 and entirely in 1911). The Secret
Garden became a film in 1919 and once again in 1949 and it also experienced
several television incarnations, before making a debut as a musical on Broadway
in 1991. The Secret Garden was
nominated for seven Tony Awards, winning two. From February 21 to March 2 the
musical is being presented by the Meadowvale Music Theatre, as part of the
Encore Series, in Mississauga, Canada.
The focal point of
The Secret Garden is ten year old
Mary Lennox, played by twelve year old Avery Kadish, who, when the play opens is
living in India with her parents in what appears to be a rather large house with
lots of servants. Mary falls asleep
and awakes to discover everyone she knew has died from cholera. She is gathered
up and sent to live with her uncle and new guardian Archibald Craven (Max
DeNardis) in Yorkshire, England.
The play opens with Lily Craven, now deceased appearing
as a mystical, dreamy apparition and that sets the tone for a storyline that is
imbued with ghosts, voices from the great beyond, spirits or whatever other
words you want to describe these hints of afterlife. This is underscored by
Archibald Craven’s comment, “They aren’t gone, they’re just dead.”
While the actors were very good both in their deportment
of the characters and their vocal skills, we found the storyline to be somewhat
troubling and depressing for much of the first act. We have a whole host of
characters who are battling their own demons. Mary
Lennox is petulant and spends much of her time vacillating between screaming and
grieving the loss of her family. She does not want to go outside and she finds
that she is becoming ever more isolated in her new home. The equally obnoxious
Colin Craven (played by child actor Harrison Bruce), a boy confined to bed due
to a debatable infirmity is obsessed with dying , because he has been led to
believe by his uncle (Archibald’s brother) that he is barely hanging onto life
by a thread. Archibald Craven has abandoned his will to live, because he still
mourns the loss of his wife Lily, who died giving birth to Colin. The
hunchbacked Archibald is a rudderless ship and his brother is quickly assuming
control over his affairs.
For those who thought Linda Blair was possessed in the
1970s film The Exorcist, Mary Lennox
gives her quite the run for her money, minus the spinning head and other
physical transformations. We have
not had the advantage of seeing the Broadway production of
The Secret Garden, but we did go back
and watch the 1949 film version starring Margaret O’Brien it would appear that
Avery Kadish is very true to that depiction of the character of Mary.
Fortunately, Frances Hodgson Burnett also created the
characters of Martha Sowerby, Mary’s
maid, a woman who is short on refinement, quick on wit and who possesses plenty
of common sense. Amanda Dwyer is great in this supporting role and she had the
audience laughing. Martha becomes the adult mentor to Mary and Dwyer does a good
job of playing the part naturally, therefore allowing the later transformation
of Mary to be believable. Dickon Sowerby, brother to Martha, hangs out in the
garden and he possesses the charm and the magic of an Irish leprechaun more than
a twelve year old boy growing up in the Moors. Mark Meisner is excellent in the
role and his onstage chemistry with Avery Kadish is evident. Equally charming is
Doug Feggans in the role of Ben Weatherstaff. While some critics of other
productions have found Ben Weatherstaff to be gruff and cast him in a less than
ideal light we found that Feggans’ portrayal of the character was witty and
endearing. In particular when Mary asks Weatherstaff if he can keep a secret,
Feggans’ delivery of “It’s getting to be a fulltime job around here, keeping
track of the secrets,” brought a hearty chuckle from the audience. The
introduction of Mary and then Colin to Ben and Dickon is the point that this
story starts to turn in a more upbeat direction and for the sake of not wishing
to spoil this for future audiences we will leave it at that.
What we can say is
this, during the second half of The
Secret Garden Kadish charms the audience and brings them under her spell, as
her character becomes more loving and finds a new path to happiness, aided by
Martha, Ben and Dickon. Meisner shares the spotlight with her, but the script
favors the character of Mary Lennox. We loved the performance of Max DeNardis.
He does an excellent job throughout the play of drawing you first into his
grief, then making his compassion believable and finally we feel relieved for
him when he experiences feelings of elation.
There are not any weak links in the
Meadowvale Music Theatre’s
cast. The script allows for some characters to shine more brightly than others,
but all the actors do exceedingly well in their roles. Conductor Bob Hardinge,
as well as his musicians delivered a solid performance. To Bruce Brown and Doug
Feggans who designed the set, a great job fellows by you and your crew.
Choreographer Cathy Smith, the dance numbers were elegant. Never underestimate
the importance of a lighting designer for effectively creating moods that become
the backdrop for these scenes. Thank you for that Jim Smagata. It is never
possible to mention all of the wonderful members of a cast and crew who make it
possible for us, the members of the audience to be treated to treasured moments
like these, so we will simply both thank and ask director Danny Harvey to pass
on our gratitude to those who worked so hard and doubtlessly spent many hours in
rehearsal. We would be remiss if we did not thank Erica Harvey for reaching out
to Riveting Riffs Magazine and inviting us to review what may be the last
Canadian theatrical performance we attend, before relocating to Stockholm,
Sweden.
Photo: L - R : Harrison Bruce, Erica Harvey
This review by Joe Montague is protected by copyright © and may not be reproduced in print or on the internet or through any other means without the written permission of Riveting Riffs Magazine, All Rights Reserved