The Secret Garden is a beautiful and heartwarming novel written by Francis Hogson Burnett that has won an immense following over the years. Old Town Actors Studio will be presenting the Jerry Montoya dramatic adaptation of the book December 8, 9, 11, 15, and 16, 2023. It is a marvelous experience for young children and adults alike! The novel was first published in book form in 1911. Set in England, it is one of Burnett’s most popular stories.

It revolves around Mary Lennox (Amelia Anderson), a neglected and unloved 10-year-old girl, born in British India to wealthy British parents who ignored her. She was cared for primarily by servants, and became a spoiled, demanding and self-centered young lady. After a cholera epidemic kills Mary’s parents, the few surviving servants flee the house without her. She is discovered by British soldiers and sent to England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven, whom her father’s sister Lilias married. He lives in a large English country house, Misselthwaite Manor. At first, Mary is as sour and rude as she was before she was sent there. However, over time, she becomes less temperamental and demanding and befriends her maid, Martha Sowerby (Kate Prestwick), who tells Mary about Lilias Craven and her private walled garden. Mary becomes interested in finding the secret hidden garden herself, and her ill manners begin to soften as a result. Soon, she comes to enjoy the company of Martha, the gardener Ben Weatherstaff (John Grayson), a friendly robin (Vanessa Grow), and eventually Martha’s brother Dickon (Trystan Blanco). Her health and attitude improve with the bracing Yorkshire air, and she grows stronger as she explores the estate gardens.

In time, Mary also decides to follow the cries she hears in the house and is startled to find a boy named Colin (Everett Anderson), who lives in a hidden bedroom. She soon discovers that they are cousins and that he suffers from an unspecified spinal condition which precludes him from walking and causes him to be confined to bed. He, like Mary, has grown spoiled, demanding and self-centered, with servants obeying his every whim. She distracts him from his troubles and despondency with stories of the moor, Dickon and his animals, and the secret garden. Mary eventually confides to Colin that she has access to the secret garden, and he asks to see it. Colin is put into his wheelchair and brought outside into the secret garden. It is the first time he has been outdoors for several years. Eventually, Archibald Craven (Jed Bradley) receives a letter advising him to go to the garden at Misselthwaite, where he finds the door unlocked and is shocked to see the garden in full bloom and his son restored to health. The children tell him the entire story, explaining the restoration of both the garden and Colin.

This emotionally uplifting play is OTAS’s final presentation for the 2023 season. Annie Bradley, Rebekah Cotes, and Bart Nawotniak complete the cast. It is directed by Sherri Dienstfrey-Swanson, stage managed by Bailey Brockett, and designed by Bob Swanson. There are five evening performances at 7:30 p.m. along with two Saturday matinees at 1:00 p.m. For tickets go to: oldtownactorsstudio.net.