author: Anthony Case
Come to Scottfield Theatre Company’s garden. Their Secret Garden, that is. Live at The Cultural Center at The Opera House in Havre de Grace, Director and Choreographer Becky Titelman and her company have put on yet another impressive showcase in their production of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon’s intimidating and seldom-produced masterpiece: The Secret Garden. And with Musical Director LaShelle Bray and Stage Manager/Dialect Coach Sean Silence at her side (amongst others), Titelman may have put on her most impressive shows to date!
It stands to reason I should start with the first thing you encounter walking into the theater. The set design is absolutely striking from the second you see it. Two gigantic side panels flank the stage and ivy drapes the proscenium. As the promotional photos don’t show the panels, I won’t spoil the contents, but let me tell you, when I was told they were hand painted by Karisa Sikora, I was floored. The detail work is incredible and I was convinced throughout the performance it had to be a printed image stapled to the set piece. Sikora should be proud of this piece, as should designer Titelman and builder Ben Marsh. The set is minimal, only these side pieces, two beds, and a few arches that come in from the side. But every scene transition (bar one, which seemed more like opening night bugs than any sort of actual problem) was absolutely seamless. While the transitions were done largely by ensemble members, this is absolutely testament to great stage management from Silence.
Going into a Scottfield show, you almost have to expect great costumes. Costume Designer Gay Lynn Price and Wig Designer/Costume Assistant Liz Marion do a wonderful job at creating a look that is both beautiful and (to this reviewer, who is not entirely familiar with British fashion from the turn of the 20th century) period accurate. While many of the characters are dressed in white, it is a testament to this team’s eye for detail that none of the characters seem to blend together. Also impressive is Hannah Thomas’ sound design. There are a few very cleverly designed sound cues, but most impressively, for a community theater production, at least, is her ability to handle all of the mics without a single mishap. Every line could be heard perfectly by the audience in the Opera House, and that is an unfortunate rarity in today’s age. For someone so young to get it so right is absolutely something to celebrate.
Adorning the back wall of the stage is a paper mâché collage of book pages starkly lit to resemble a stone wall, as you might find as the borders of the gardens of the ultra wealthy in the turn of the 20h century. It is cold and unfeeling, leading to an almost uneasy feeling. However, the wall is shown to be a showcase for Lighting Designer extraordinaire Patrick Yarrington. As the characters’ relationships grow stronger, and the gardens of the estate bloom in the spring, colors splash onto the wall. At first, just colors that correspond to the scenes in front of it. Then, he brings in the perfect combination of hue and focused lighting to create the illusion of the wall blooming with flowers. It’s a stunning effect that really works with the limited set, instead of against it. It’s almost magic
Speaking of magic, The Secret Garden boasts one magical score, and LaShelle Bray is more than capable of rising to the challenge of it. While she doesn’t have to contend with a full orchestra (one of the perks of working with tracks), she still has to get 20 different voices (the vast majority of which are brand new to the company) to blend perfectly. And she has to make sure the incredibly complex harmonies in this show are perfect. Of course, her talented army of singers (more on them later) help, but Bray shows a real talent for locking in harmonies here.
This leads us to the mastermind behind the whole production: Becky Titelman. As Director, Producer (unofficially), and Choreographer, this show is her offspring. There isn’t much actual dancing in this show, unlike many of Scottfield’s recent outings, but Titelman doesn’t allow herself to show any discomfort. She absolutely understands this material, which makes sense, as she is a children’s book author. She knows what it is like to just want “A Bit of Earth,” as her bit of Earth is, in fact, the very Opera House she has made her home theater. You can even see this in the vines that wrap their way around the proscenium. And while there aren’t many moments of choreography in the piece (the only real examples I can think of, and they both are minimal, are the opening sequence and the Act I Finale), Titelman uses her expertise in choreography to make the blocking rhythmic and dynamic. This not only engages the audience, but it helps to add depth to the mostly empty stage.
On to the cast, then. There isn’t a traditional “ensemble” in this show. Instead, Ten of the twenty person cast are classified as “dreamers,” all of which are characters with fairly defined personalities. While I don’t think there is room in this review to talk in depth about each one, I want to say that all of them did a fantastic job at finding the depths of these characters that most often exist outside of the action, hidden off to the side or in the background. The personalities of these characters and the impact they had in Mary’s past are almost immediately obvious. Jess Simonson, Jacob Gill, Kathleen Harricharan, Wayne Ivusich, Hayden O’Brian, Adriana Devine, Adam Nelson, Ethan Fraley, Pamela Provins, and David DeFrank all do the characters on the page justice while also holding down some gorgeous harmonies. I can’t not give a short shout out to Jess Simonson as Rose, who brings a strength to a character that can easily slip into a simple materialist. And another shout out to Jacob Gill’s Captain Albert, whose love and fierce protectiveness of his daughter make every scene he is in thrilling.
In the present of the show, we meet a group of many captivating characters who both work and live on the Misselthwaite Manor. Wayne Ivusich plays double duty, playing the Deamer Major Shelley and the groundsman Ben in the present. He brings a strong charm to both parts, even when, at first, they seem to be very much opposite of the other. Where Major Shelley is commanding, Ben is weary. And yet they are both bound by a sense of duty and a connection to Mary. This ability to keep the characters notably separate while also connecting them is why Ivusich is always exciting to see, especially in a character part. Similarly, Bella Preosonger finds a way to take a small part and put so much energy and character into it that it becomes a standout. I don’t believe there was a single line spoken by her Betsy. And yet her physical comedy was on point and she always knew exactly when to place an exaggerated facial expression. It works wonderfully for her character. Rounding out the supporting players are Sarah Goodrich as maid Mrs. Medlock. Goodrich’s performance isn’t huge, but she is clearly having fun with the strict and somewhat exasperated nature of her character.
Liz Marion and Shawn Preiesinger play siblings Martha and Dickon, two cheery members of the manor’s staff (Martha being Mary’s chambermaid and Dickon being one of the groundskeepers) from Yorkshire. While Dialect Coach Sean Silence does a great job working with the cast in developing their accents, these two have a very difficult job to pull off. Not only do they have to pull off two almost superhumanly optimistic characters without coming across as cloying and sing some seriously ambitious songs, they also have to convincingly pull off Yorkshire accents. Most of the characters in this show (as in most other shows) use the “Received Pronunciation” dialect. It’s very high class with crisp, easy to understand consonants. However, many other accents exist. One of the hardest British regional accents to perfect while staying understandable (at least in my opinion) is the Yorkshire accent. Go too far and you won’t be able to understand a word. Don’t hit it hard enough and it loses a lot of the key factors that make the accent special. Marion and Peisinger have developed this accent perfectly. It might take a second for your ear to adjust, but the two on-stage siblings have clearly worked together to create a realistic yet comprehensible accent. Similarly, the adherence to details and careful study of the material show in the way these two hold themselves up. There’s a quiet confidence about it. That being said, they are not playing the same character. Marion plays Martha with a sarcastic humor that brings joy in all of her scenes. Meanwhile, Preisinger finds his inspiration for the character in inspirational and spiritual figures of old.
As the show goes on, it becomes clear that, while Misselthwaite Manor’s past was wonderful, it has lost the love that once blanketed the manor, and its future is uncertain. This is, at least in part, represented by Sarah Robinson’s Lily and Brady Fiol’s Collin. Lily is the beautiful past. It’s a really tough vocal track, one of the most technically challenging Soprano parts in recent history. Robinson, though, tackles each song with confidence and precision that, as a performer trained on Gilbert and Sullivan, she has gained throughout her career. Each high note is like a lightning bolt, filling the room with explosive electricity. And in her scenes with Archibald, it is crystal clear that the love they had for each other was genuine. Meanwhile, Colin is the sickly heir to the estate. His future is unclear as he tries to recover from his illness. In his first scene, about 2 thirds of the way through Act I, he exclaims his anger and frustration of being locked in a room all day. And then, as the show goes on, we see that wall crumble to show a child terrified of not existing anymore. It’s a very impressive acting performance, especially for such a young performer. Together, their voices blend perfectly in singing “Come to My Garden,” one of my personal favorite songs in the show.
My other personal favorite song in the show, and this shouldn’t come as a shock for fans of the show, is “Lily’s Eyes,” sung by James Gilbert’s Archibald Craven and Kevin Smith’s Dr. Neville Craven. Both Gilbert and Smith do an excellent job with this material and put on impressive performances throughout the performance. Smith’s Neville is played with a scowl for most of the performance. Unlike with many interpretations of the character, I don’t ever really feel bad for Neville here. This is because Smith makes a very smart decision to make the softer moments from the show, the ones most actors take as the true nature of the character and turns them into manipulative moments. In effect, this transforms the character into the prototypical “nice guy” who uses his attraction to Lily to justify his own superiority complex. With a gorgeous, open voice, he very smartly emphasizes certain parts of the songs and lines to make it clear he thinks his love is purer than anyone else’s. His “Disappear,” which is usually seen as the moment we see his good (if somewhat misinformed) intentions with Collin, is turned into a self-pitying lie. Using a song to lie to the audience is a tricky feat to pull off, as most audiences are expecting moments of truth in each song, but Smith very smartly makes the song a lie not just to the audience, but to himself. He does think he deserves the manor, even if he would never say so. In contrast, James Gilbert plays Archibald with a sweet, mourning love for Lily. We see how pure that connection was, and that even if the other brother had an interest in her, she only ever had eyes for Archibald. Gilbert has a wonderful voice. His bright tone blends beautifully with his duet partners and can move an audience to tears in a solo. The audience wants to see him live in the moment and see the family he has in front of him, but we understand why he’s so stuck in the past. It’s a wonderful performance that might steal the show if not for one thing.
While sometimes overshadowed by the adult talent surrounding her, the unambiguous star of this production is Sophie Hirwe’s Mary Lennox. Brimming with personality, Hirwe was basically born to play this role. Finding inspiration from characters from her past such as Matilda and Nemo, she imbues the character with an unbridled independent spirit. She moves like she owns the stage, and each line is delivered with the gravitas of an actor at the top of their game. Her “I heard someone crying” and “The Girl I’m Meant to Be” show undeniable vocal prowess. And yet, she skillfully shows the more vulnerable side of the character in more tender moments, and one particular moment towards the end left me speechless. This should be a star-making turn for young Hirwe (I say as if she hasn’t already done professional work and played practically every kid part in musical theater), and I am thrilled to see where her career takes her.
The Secret Garden has always been a story about finding home and finding a better way forward into the future. This is seen beautifully in the final image of this production, which I won’t spoil. In today’s climate, this is the perfect time and place for this story, and I am thrilled to have seen it. Go see The Secret Garden at Scottfield Theatre Company. You’ll be glad you did.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
The Secret Garden plays through April 6th 2025 with Scottfield Theatre Company currently in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.
