LAMPLIGHTERS MUSIC THEATRE PRESENTS ENCHANTING THE SECRET GARDEN

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1 LAMPLIGHTERS MUSIC THEATRE PRESENTS ENCHANTING THE SECRET GARDEN January 18 - February 3, 2008 San Francisco and Walnut Creek Book and lyrics by Marsha Norman Music by Lucy Simon Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (13 December 2007) The Bay Area s acclaimed Lamplighters Music Theatre continues its 55 th season with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman s enchanting Tony Award-winning musical, THE SECRET GARDEN. Based on Frances Hodgson Burnett s classic children s story, this sparkling musical features the phenomenal voices of the Lamplighters Company and a live orchestra under the direction of Brett Strader, performing some of the most captivating music ever written for the stage. This production will be the first time since Broadway that audiences will hear the original score orchestration. Jane Erwin-Hammett directs this charming tale of rebirth and regeneration, called dramatic and beautiful by The New York Times, January (press night: January 18) at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, and January 31-February 3 at the Lesher Center for the Arts. For tickets ($11-46) and information, the public may call the Yerba Buena box office at (415) , the Lesher box office at (925) , or visit lamplighters.org. Set in 1906, THE SECRET GARDEN is the story of 11-year old Mary Lennox, a spoiled, spirited child living with her parents in India, who awakens one morning to discover that her parents, and in fact, everyone she knows, has died of cholera. With nowhere else to go, she is sent to Yorkshire to live with her reclusive uncle, inconsolable since the death of his wife, and his sheltered, invalid son. There, outside the gloomy confines of her new home, Mary discovers a magical garden that is kept behind lock and key. With the help of a young gardener, she brings the hidden patch back to life, and at the same time, renews a passion for life in both her cousin and uncle, changing all of their lives forever.

2 Lamplighters Music Theatre has assembled a gifted ensemble of 25 for THE SECRET GARDEN, including Laura Sanders and Katy Corbus, alternating the role of Mary, and Jack Gorlin and Tovi Wayne, alternating the role of Colin. Also featured are Kevin Dunning as Archie; Jennifer Ashworth as Lily; David Neufeld as Dickon; Shelley Lynn Johnson as Mrs. Medlock; Bill Neal as Ben; Will Giammona as Neville; and Molly Anne Coogan as Martha. THE SECRET GARDEN premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on April 25, 1991, starring Mandy Patinkin, Rebecca Luker, Robert Westenberg, Allison Fraser, and 11-year old Daisy Eagan as Mary. The production, directed by Susan H. Schulman, ran for 709 performances and garnered Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Scenic Design. THE SECRET GARDEN has been adapted many times for the screen. The first filmed version was made in 1919 with 17-year old Lila Lee as Mary. In 1949, MGM filmed a second adaptation starring Margaret O Brien. The most acclaimed film adaptation was American Zoetrope s 1993 production directed by Agnieszka Holland, starring Kate Maberly as Mary, Heydon Prowse as Colin, Andrew Knott as Dickon, and Dame Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock. Born in Manchester, England, playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1865 and began writing for magazines soon after her move to the United States. Her first short stories, Hearts and Diamonds and Miss Caruther s Engagement, were published in Godey s Lady s Book in 1868, and her first widely known work, Surly Tim s Trouble, appeared in Scribner s Magazine in Burnett s reputation as a novelist began with her story of Lancashire life, That Lass o Lowries. A number of other works followed, with Through One Administration and A Lady of Quality among the most notable. While she penned several popular romance novels, Burnett s children s books Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), The Secret Garden (1888), and Sara Crew (later rewritten to become A Little Princess, 1909), are the works she is best known for today. Burnett is also the author of A Lady of Quality, T. Tembarom, The Dawn of a To- Morrow, and The Lost Prince.

3 Director Jane Erwin Hammett returns to Lamplighters to helm THE SECRET GARDEN. A veteran Bay Area educator, director, and stage performer, Hammett has toured with such renowned productions as Phantom of the Opera, and currently teaches musical theatre at both A.C.T. and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition to Lamplighters, where she has directed productions of Gilbert and Sullivan s Ruddygore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Gondoliers, Iolanthe, and Patience, for which she won a Bay Area Theatre Critic s Circle Award, Hammett has also directed productions for Pocket Opera, SF Opera Guild, and the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Conductor Brett Strader makes his Lamplighters debut with THE SECRET GARDEN. For four years, Strader was Associate Director of Music at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, where he conducted the Hour of Power Orchestra for international television broadcasts. Prior to his position at the Crystal Cathdral, Strader was Assistant Conductor, composer, and accompanist for the William Lock Singers and Orchestra. Additionally, Strader has worked with many popular recording artists, including Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, Celine Dion, James Galway, Susan Egan, and Brian Stokes Mitchell; he orchestrated, conducted, and produced the original cast recording of the Ovation Award-nominated musical 24 Hours. Playwright, screenwriter, and novelist Marsha Norman wrote the book and lyrics for the Broadway musicals The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award, and The Red Shoes, as well as the libretto for The Color Purple. Other works for the stage include the play 'night, Mother, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and Drama Desk Award; Getting Out; The Fortune Teller; Circus Valentine; Third and Oak; The Laundromat; The Poolhall; The Holdup; Traveler in the Dark; Sarah and Abraham; Loving Daniel Boone; and Trudy Blue. Norman currently serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School in New York City, and is Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America. Lucy Simon (music), oldest sister of pop singer/songwriter Carly Simon, made her Broadway debut as the composer of The Secret Garden, for which she was nominated for a 1991

4 Tony Award for Best Original Score and a 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. Simon also penned songs for the off-broadway production of A...My Name is Alice. She won a Grammy Award in 1981 with David Levine in the Best Recording for Children category for In Harmony/A Sesame Street Record, and again in 1983 in the same category for In Harmony 2. Lamplighters Music Theatre is recognized as one of the top Gilbert and Sullivan companies in the world, and is one of the oldest continuously performing theatres in the Bay Area. Since the company s founding in 1952, Lamplighters Music Theatre has been dedicated to upholding the tradition of light opera and musical theatre, particularly through the production of the operettas of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The company has produced the entire Gilbert and Sullivan canon as well as other light opera and musical theatre classics such as The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Of Thee I Sing, My Fair Lady, Candide, and A Little Night Music.

5 FOR CALENDAR EDITORS: WHAT: The Bay Area s acclaimed Lamplighters Music Theatre continues its 55 th season with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman s enchanting Tony Awardwinning musical, THE SECRET GARDEN. Orphaned in India in 1906, 11-year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle and his invalid son. There, outside the confines of her new home, she discovers a magical garden that is kept behind lock and key. Based on Frances Hodgson Burnett s classic children s story, this sparkling musical features the phenomenal voices of the Lamplighters Company and a live orchestra under the direction of Brett Strader, performing some of the most captivating music ever written for the stage. This production will be the first time since Broadway that audiences will hear the original score orchestration. Jane Erwin-Hammett directs this charming tale of rebirth and regeneration. SAN FRANCISCO WHERE: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St (at Third) WHEN: TICKETS: Opens: Friday, January 18, 8pm (also press opening) Regular performances: Saturday, January 19, 2pm & 8pm Closes: Sunday, January 20, 2pm For tickets ($11-44), please call (415) or visit lamplighters.org WALNUT CREEK WHERE: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive (at Locust) WHEN: TICKETS: Opens: Thursday, January 31, 8pm Regular performances: Friday, February 1, 8pm, Saturday, February 2, 2pm & 8pm Closes: Sunday, February 3, 2pm For tickets ($13-46) please call (925) or visit lamplighters.org PHOTOS: High resolution art digital art can be found at