THEATER REVIEW:’Secret Garden’ blooms visually and vocally

Nearly a century ago, in 1909, Frances Hodgson Burnett planted the seeds for “The Secret Garden,” and it’s been blooming in one form or another — on stage and screen — ever since.

Over the past several years, local theater groups have discovered the stage musical version by playwright Marsha Norman and composer Lucy Simon, leading to a number of interpretations, the latest coming from Golden West College.

Director/choreographer Martie Ramm and musical director/conductor Rick Heckman have fashioned a fascinating experience, using Walter Huntoon’s suggestively economical set designs and Susan Thomas Babb’s intricate period costumes. The production earns high marks in all three areas — visually, dramatically and vocally — and its large ensemble cast excels in choral support.

To dub “The Secret Garden” old-fashioned would be understating the point. Its early 20th century feel is a considerable part of its charm.

What propels this vintage story is the quest of its central character, young Mary Lennox, for a reinvigorating force that will erase the drudgery of her life at a cold English manor and bring new hope to the sickly, sheltered boy who yearns to walk again.

Heavily plotted and told in novelistic style, “The Secret Garden” unfolds in India, where Mary is the lone survivor of a cholera epidemic that claims her parents. Sent to live with a cool and distant uncle in Yorkshire, England, she begins her search for the garden planted by her late aunt, whose spirit haunts the production.

At Golden West, the role of Mary is divided between two young actresses. At Friday night’s opening performance, 13-year-old Sarah Sommers delivered a terrific performance as the bratty orphan who undergoes an attitude-changing experience. Becky Golden will play the part Friday and Saturday, with Sommers closing out in Sunday’s staging.

Patrick Rowley registers with aching effect as the widowed and slightly-deformed uncle still grieving for his dead wife. Steve DeForest renders the role of his scheming brother almost sympathetic, eliciting empathy rather than resentment, and the pair electrify the production with their emotional duet, “Lily’s Eyes.”

The household servants are, by contrast, a jolly lot. Roxana Sorooshian is most impressive as the heavily accented maid, Martha, earning extended appreciation for her uplifting solo, “Hold On.” Brian Veith enacts her gardener brother with puckish charm and Nick Charles is particularly strong as the elder gardener, Ben.

The young, bedridden Colin is a role also shared by two children. Landon Zwick turned in an engaging performance Friday, while Nick Slimmer will take over at Friday’s and Saturday’s performances before Swick returns for Sunday’s closing.

Most of the cast, as it turns out, is dead, though their spirits permeate the production as an overshadowing ensemble. Especially effective in this regard is Colin’s mother, Lily, beautifully rendered by Angela Ryan, who offers comfort to her widower husband in touching flashbacks and fantasy moments. Timorah Brown also enchants as Mary’s cholera-stricken mother.

A deep bow is reserved for Heckman and his pit orchestra. In too many musical productions, the music overshadows the singers, clouding the lyrics. At Golden West, the music is an accompaniment, as it should be, and the effect is a thing of beauty.

“The Secret Garden” may be no secret these days, but Golden West College’s version is calculated to charm audiences of all ages, regardless of their familiarity with this nearly century-old story.

Golden West College will hold auditions Monday and Tuesday at 7 p.m. for its season-closing production, Ken Ludwig’s backstage farce “Moon Over Buffalo.”

Director Tom Amen will conduct the tryouts in the Mainstage Theater, and all roles are open. Performance dates are July 6-15 and additional information can be obtained by contacting the director at tamen@gwc.cccd.edu.