Theo Ubique: The Secret Garden Review
Joryhebel Ginorio, Will Koski, & Kailey Azure Green
Theo Ubique Presents THE SECRET GARDEN Review - Letting Go To Let Things Bloom
TLDR: On the smaller side for a musical, The Secret Garden employs a cast of twelve that weaves together a tragic history with the need to move forward. A ghostly chorus combined with a living cast are not afraid to take their moment in the spotlight and would be a good show for those who love the original book.
Theo Ubique Paints Us A Grim Picture
The walls are painted a light, mint green color with delicate pink roses almost fading into the background. Lots of gauzy green fabric hangs off walls and corners hiding something underneath. A large steamer trunk sits in the middle of the stage on a slightly elevated platform. And gray stone archway stands at the back of the stage extending into a firm wall of stone. We’re set in a house that feels like it’s a shell of something it once was.
Luckily, though ghosts appear and there are many a stormy nights in this lonely house upon a hill, we are not bound for a Halloween horror night. The ghosts of Mary’s mother, father, aunt, and Ayah dress in all white and appear to float in and out as needed, their arms rising and falling gently as if they were floating. They join numbers as members of the chorus, but when they become themselves, they weave in the background story of how the Cravin’s came to be in this dismal existence.
The company of The Secret Garden
Owning Their Spotlights
With a smaller ensemble, each of the characters gets to embrace their moment in the spotlight.
Maliha Sayed as Ayah dances bathed in rich purple and orange light in traditional Indian dance form with mudras hand movements. Jeffrey Charles as Neville embraces his villain era as he sings about wanting everything his brother has. Nicholas Ian as Mary’s father, Albert, literally steps into the spotlight and hits us with an impressive low note that gets its own round of applause.
Dakota Hughes as Martha takes every opportunity to fill us with laughs. They attempt to help Mary dress, but give up halfway through and toss it over Mary’s head. When Martha is in search of Mary, they yell as they run from one end of the stage to the other in a Harry Potter Filch-like run. They give us that comic relief we need in a show with so many tragedies, but when they have their solo number they rouse the audience, inspiring us as they do for Mary to “Hold On.”
Joryhebel Ginorio embodies a ten year old as she stomps her foot, sticks out her tongue, and gives us that child’s no-filter bluntness. But when she sings her rendition of “The Girl I Mean To Be” longing for a place that’s her own, it comes across as much more mature beyond her years. She finds her precocious match in Kailey Azure Green as the bedridden Colin Craven. The two have us giggling at their childish standoff in Colin’s bedroom, Green commanding Mary to come back and visit while Mary tosses back a stubborn retort.
Will Koski as Archibald Craven gives us tortured, heartbroken, and depressed all in the best ways. Throughout most of the show he looks lost and uncertain, trying his best to be a guardian but it’s clear his mind is elsewhere. He’s giving a cross between Phantom and Beast with the amount of passion and longing he shows for something he cannot have. When he calls out during “Where In The World,” we feel like he might actually break in front of us. But when Brennan Martinez swoops in as Lily in her ethereal form, she operatically laments how she had to leave the world too soon. When they dance together, they share a moment of tenderness and we see the love they shared.
The After Party Thoughts
It’s been a few years (maybe decades) since I last read or even thought about The Secret Garden. So much so that I didn’t even know it was a musical! I remember the kids being more of the focus in other media iterations, so it was interesting seeing the shift to bring equal focus on the adults. Specifically Archibald wrestling with grief and depression while also trying to be a good parent now to not one, but two children. I was pleasantly charmed by the show mostly because of how the actors in this production sold us on each of their characters. To me it felt like the show itself hits some of the same notes the whole time, but that’s more of a story issue than a production issue.
The Secret Garden keeps much the same story as the book and adds deeper themes in this musical rendition. It would be a good fit for those who love this story and those who love characters with tragic backstories that get a new optimistic view of life.
RECOMMENDED
Bill Chamberlain & Joryhebel Ginorio
When
Now through December 22, 2024
Where
Theo Ubique
721 Howard St.
Evanston, IL 60202
Tickets
$35+
Tickets can be purchased through the Theo Ubique website
Photos
Time Stops Photography
CAST
Ben Weatherstaff - Bill Chamberlain (He/Him)
Dr. Neville Craven - Jeffrey Charles (He/Him)
Mary Lennox - Joryhebel Ginorio (She/Her)
Colin Craven - Kailey Azure Green (They/Them)
Rose Lennox - Rachel Guth (She/Her)
Martha Sowerby - Dakota Hughes (They/Them)
Capt. Albert Lennox/Us Archibald & Neville - Nicholas Ian (Any)
Lord Archibald Craven - Will Koski (He/Him)
Lily Craven - Brennan Martinez (She/Her)
Mrs. Medlock - Kathleen Puls Andrade (She/Her)
Ayah/Us Lily & Rose - Maliha Sayed (She/Her)
Dickon Sowerby - Lincoln J. Skoien (Any)
Pit Singer/Us Colin & Mary - Kate Mcquillan (She/Her)
Pit Singer/Us Ben, Dickon, Albert - Evan Morales (He/Him)
Pit Singer/Us Medlock, Martha, Amah - Mizha Lee Overn (She/Her)
CREATIVE
Director - Christopher Pazdernik
Music Director - Carolyn Brady
Choreographer & Associate Director - Nich O'Neil
Assistant Music Director - Nathan Urdangen
Scenic Designer - Rose Johnson
Lighting Designer - Levi J. Wilkins
Costume Designer - Lucy Elkin
Properties Designer - Ellen Markus
Sound Designer & Director of Production - Matthew R. Chase
Dialect Coach - Justin Duggan
Stage Manager - Kendra Luedke
Percussion - Ben Heppner
Violin - Kimberly Lawson
Production Electrician - Jackson Mikkelsen
Audio Engineer - Morgan Dudaryk