This week we’re going back to the 90s for some truly gorgeous musical theatre. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:

‘Lily’s Eyes’ from The Secret Garden at the 1991 TONY Awards ceremony. 

The Secret Garden is based on the 1911 book of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett and concerns the young Mary Lennox, born in India and when orphaned is sent to live with her estranged uncle in Yorkshire. Whilst there, Mary sets about bringing to life a long neglected secret garden in the house’s grounds. 

The musical, with a book by Marsha Norman and a score by Lucy Simon, had its first outing in 1989 at the Wells Theatre in Virginia, directed by R.J Cutler. The production transferred to Broadway, premiering on 25 April 1991. The production was directed by Susan H. Schulman, with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, scenic design by Heidi Landesman, costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Peter Kaczorowski. The production featured Daisy Egan as Mary, with Mandy Patinkin as Archibald Craven, Rebecca Luker as Lily Craven, Robert Westenberg as Dr Neville Craven, Alison Fraser as Martha and John Cameron Mitchell as Dickon. The musical was a success and won three 1991 TONY awards including Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the then 11-year-old Daisy Egan, making her the youngest female winner in TONY history, a record she still holds to this day. The Secret Garden closed at The St. James Theatre on 3 January 1993.  

A replica production opened in Australia in 1995 starring Philip Quast as Neville. A heavily revised production, again starring Quast, was created to premiere the musical in the UK. The production was directed by Adrian Noble and launched in Stratford at The Royal Shakespeare Company in 2000. This production was choreographed by Gillian Lynne and transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End, running between February and June 2001. This cast also included Peter Polycarpou, Linzi Hately and Carmen Cusack. 

Over the years, The Secret Garden has enjoyed many US regional productions and several benefit concerts involving countless Broadway stars such as Laura Benanti, Sierra Boggess, Ramin Karimloo, Max Von Essen, Ben Platt, Michael Arden, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Cheyenne Jackson. In 2016, Washington DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company and Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre collaborated on a revised production. Original star Daisy Egan returned to play Martha alongside Josh Young and Michael Xavier. The production ran in DC from November 2016 – January 2017 before transferring to Seattle where Tam Mutu took over from Xavier and it ran from April to May. The production had plans to tour further before making its way to Broadway, however its timeline has since been cancelled. 

The first Broadway revival was announced in 2018, with Warren Carlyle secured to choreograph and direct. The pre-Broadway lab included Sierra Boggess as Lily, with Matt Doyle and Drew Gehling also starring. Since then, nothing has happened with the production, however, it has been cited by Carlyle that the production is merely waiting for the right theatre to become available. 

Besties, if you haven’t listened to this show yet you must, it is simply beautiful. 

Cast recordings available on streaming services. 

FACTS:

Music: Lucy Simon 

Lyrics: Marsha Norman
Book: Marsha Norman
Theatre: The St. James Theatre
Run: 25 April 1991 – 3 January 1993 (709 performances) 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Original Score – Lucy Simon & Marsha Norman, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Alison Fraser, Best Costume Design – Theoni V. Aldredge.

(WON) Best Book of a Musical – Marsha Norman, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Daisy Egan, Best Scenic Design – Heidi Landesman.