Performances will be February 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and February 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. All shows are held in the Louis Armstrong Theatre of the Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus.
Tickets are $12 general public, and $6 for all students. Tickets may be purchased in person at the LAT Box Office, weekdays from noon to 5 p.m. For more information call (616) 331-2300. Tickets are also available with a service fee through Star Tickets Plus at (800) 585-3737 or online at www.starticketsplus.com.This production runs 2 1/2 hours, so it is not recommended for children under the age of 5.
"The Secret Garden," was written in 1911 by Frances Hodgson Burnett, who was born in Manchester, England. Marsha Norman adapted the novel into musical theatre in 1992, which ran on Broadway. Film versions were made in 1949 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer and in 1993 by Warner Brothers. A Hallmark Hall of Fame television production was done in 1987.
The plot is interesting on various levels to both children and adults. It is a story about change and has a strong spiritual aspect. Each of the main characters has been dealt a major blow. Set in the year 1906, young Mary Lennox awakens in India to discover that her parents, and everyone she knows in the English compound of Bombay, have died of cholera. She is sent to live with her Uncle Archibald in his mansion in England. He is a hunchback, whose wife died in childbirth. He is overprotective and fearful about the health of his son, Colin.
A dead and neglected garden becomes a metaphor for the play's characters. It belonged to Mary's Aunt Lily who died and it has been neglected and hidden ever since. There are several spirit characters from Mary's past in India, called the Dreamers. They enter her life in England and become part of the healing force of change.
The production's music, written by Lucy Simon (sister of Carly Simon), is very beautiful and lush. It will be performed by the GVSU Orchestra, conducted by Brian Asher Alhadeff, a full-time visiting professor of music at Grand Valley where he serves as director of orchestras.
Dale Schriemer is artistic director of GVSU Opera Theatre and an associate professor of music. He has been part of the GVSU music faculty for 19 years and remains an active performer and member of AGME (opera) and Actors Equity.
Stage director Karen Babcock was in the national tour of this production from New York. She came to Grand Valley last year as stage director for Opera Theatre's production of "Guys and Dolls." Babcock is one of several New York theatre professionals brought here to bridge the students' experience from academic theater to the professional theater.
Scenic designer Scott Aronow and music director Jeff Biering are also from New York. Biering handles rehearsals and coaches the singers in diction. He even got someone to replace him in an Off-Broadway show so he could come here.
Research and resources provide genuine period stage props and costumes. Grand Valley history professor Yosay Wangdi, who has lived in India, recently spent a morning with several cast members and costume designer Jill Hamilton. She taught them where to place a bindi forehead jewel, how far to extend eyeliner and how to wrap a sari * just a few examples of the attention to detail used to authenticate the Indian characters' costumes.
"The mistress doesn't work, so her sari wrapping can have a loose shoulder wrap," said Wangdi, "whereas the character Ayah needs to tuck hers in at the waist as she performs household duties."
The Opera Theatre production is a large-scale collaboration between Grand Valley's theatre and music departments and dance program.
"Since we added the dance program at Grand Valley, we've been able to develop 'triple threat' students," said Schriemer. "They are able to sing well, act well, and dance well."
Main roles and cast members include:
- Mary Lennox - This role is shared with alternate performances by 11-year-old Hannah Melton, a fifth grade student at Emmons Lake Elementary in Caledonia, and 12-year-old Mary Lehmann, a seventh grade student at Mill Creek Middle School.
- Colin Craven - is played by 10-year-old Preston Mulligan, who has performed in 10 previous shows, including last year's Opera Theatre production of "Street Scene."
- Archibald Craven - is played by Jason Lee Coffey, a junior vocal performance major at Grand Valley who previously performed in "Street Scene" and "Guys and Dolls" at Grand Valley.
- Lily - This role is shared with alternate performances by Chrissy Amon, a freshman vocal performance major, and Sara Schrier, a senior music major with performance honors who is getting married this spring and moving to New York.
For more information contact Dale Schriemer at (616) 331-2573.
