Don't keep this garden a secret
THEATRE REVIEW
by KARL SCHEITHEIR Bee Entertained Editor

The Theatre of Youth closes the gates of "The Secret Garden" this weekend at the Allendale Theatre.

Theatre of Youth's production of Pamela Sterling's adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett's book "The Secret Garden" should not be kept a secret anymore.

The play follows 10-year-old Mary Lennox (Anne Roaldi), who is sent to live with her reclusive Uncle Archibald Craven

David Butler) at Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, England, after her entire family dies of cholera in India. Misselthwaite Manor is an enormous, drafty mansion looming on the edge of the moors.

Mrs. Medlock (Kathleen Betsko Yale), the housekeeper, attends to everything at the manor because Archibald Craven can't muster the stamina to care for a child because he's still consumed with grief over the death of his wife, Lily, a decade ago. Soon after their arrival, Mrs. Medlock orders Mary to "play about and look after yourself " and "don't go wandering the halls."

Aided by her young maid Martha Sowerby (Lisa DelVecchio), the crusty old gardener Ben Weatherstaff

John 'Giovanni' Joy) and a robin (Tim Newell), Mary starts to unlock the secrets of Misselthwaite Manor.

"How can you be friends with a bird," the ill-tempered orphan Mary asks Weatherstaff in the first act.

Easier than with people," he tells her. At once comic and meaningful, the moment foreshadows the change that Mary will undergo after meeting the robin

portrayed by a puppet maneuvered by Newell).

Mary's temperament comes not only from recent tragedies, but also from an upbringing in which she was spoiled and scorned at the same time. She needs a

starter" friendship before she begins to wade through the secrets, inhibitions and personal tragedies that make relationships with people more complicated.

That first friend would take the form of the robin. Her story, along with some great acting by Roaldi, is what makes this Theater of Youth's production so engaging.

Soon Mary meets her servant, Martha's brother, Dickon Sowerby (RJ Voltz), a country boy nourished both by his mother's love and by the natural surrounding of the countryside; and her tyrannical cousin Colin Craven

Alex Race), whose mother died giving birth to him.

We soon find out that Archibald Craven was so traumatized by the sudden death of his beloved wife, Lily, that he effectively abandoned the infant Colin and hid the keys to the garden that she adored so no one could enter it again.

In the beginning of the play, the garden suffers from a lack of nurturing, a fate also suffered by Mary and Colin. But in the second act, they provide each other with the pure air of affection and a watering of love as they attend to the garden's needs under the guidance of Dickon. Dickon in turn nurtures Mary and Colin. Both the garden and the children begin to grow stronger and more beautiful. No longer is Mary so disagreeable in her behavior. Gardening in the fresh air helps her to grow healthy in mind and body, and she eventually helps the residents of Misselthwaite Manor to do the same.

Colin literally grows strong enough to free himself from the confines of his bed and then wheelchair in which he has imprisoned himself. This is the

secret" of "The Secret Garden" - that our children will flower when we address their emotional needs as well as their physical health and safety.

The narrative is not overshadowed by spectacle in TOY's production. Even in full bloom, the magic of the secret garden is that you can actually imagine planting it. Kudos to set and costume designer Kenneth Shaw and lighting designer Jonathan Harper for keeping the set sparse yet perfect for the play. Walls turn around to show room interiors and gardens. Screens and tapestries are also used to suggest rooms, halls and long corr idors.

The standout performances in this production come from Roaldi and Newell. Roaldi even stole my heart when she sings to her cousin. Her voice is beautiful, too bad we only hear her sing once in the production.

Newell not only can be the mysterious and somewhat stodgy doctor, but he can work a puppet and whistle with the best of them as the robin.

Theatre of Youth's production of "The Secret Garden" is a breath of fresh air just like that of the moors of the English countryside in spring.

"The Secret Garden" closes this weekend. Remaining performances include 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 9 and 10 at the Allendale Theatre, 203 Allen St., Buffalo. Tickets are $17-$19 and are available by calling 884-4400. For more information, visit www.theatreofyouth.org.