All tagged Daisy Eagan

The Not-So-Secret Hatchet Job on The Secret Garden

The Not-So-Secret Hatchet Job on The Secret Garden

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance, Odds & Ends

I am writing this piece to, once and for all, put to rest any notion that the Lucy Simon/Marsha Norman musical The Secret Garden needs to be fixed. If a Broadway revival of this complex and emotionally textured musical, based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved novel, is to happen, then it needs to come to Broadway in tact! Rumors have begun to filter in to me that the eagerly anticipated production playing at The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. and co-produced with the 5th Avenue Theatre is taking some mighty big liberties with this beloved musical. Apparently, director David Armstrong had such limited faith in the piece that he felt it needed to be re-written and many of its glorious songs excised. For shame.

Theatres We Love: Remembering My Times Visiting the St. James

Theatres We Love: Remembering My Times Visiting the St. James

Mark Robinson
Theatres We Love

Most people who attend Broadway plays and musicals on a regular basis have established a certain affection for a particular venue. Maybe we had a wonderful experience at a particular theatre, or maybe we have had several. Perhaps a certain theatre is more comfortable, more conveniently located, or maybe it just glows with the wonderful ghosts of shows gone by? For me, my favorite theatre will always be the St. James, owned and operated by Jujamycn Theatre and the home of a long line of Broadway hits that have been ensconced within its walls on 44th street, between 7th and 8th Avenues.

Remembering The Secret Garden

Remembering The Secret Garden

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Lucy Simon is an eclectic composer who adeptly infuses her music with the sounds and folk styles of other cultures. With her new musical Doctor Zhivago opening on Broadway last night. I began feeling affectionate about and nostalgic for her first foray into writing for the Broadway stage: The Secret Garden. The Secret Garden is richly textured musically and features expert allusions to the music of India and rural England. In fact, the musical went so far as to employ instruments outside of the norm for a Broadway pit, including a hammered dulcimer. 

"Lily's Eyes" - The Secret Garden - Music of Heartbreak

"Lily's Eyes" - The Secret Garden - Music of Heartbreak

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

The Secret Garden - it was not my first Broadway musical, but it was the first time I saved up my own money and went to New York City by myself to see a Broadway show. I remember, since I was by myself, that I was able to secure a 6th row center ticket at the St. James theatre for about $65 (full price) to see this show without knowing anything about either the music or the story. I had never read the book. Truthfully, I had a big crush on John Cameron Mitchell and that's what got me into the theatre. In fact, I allmost saw Nick & Nora that weekend (in previews), but after seeing Mitchell's picture outside the theatre, I decided to see The Secret Garden. I figured Nick & Nora would be a hit and that it would be around for a while. It's the only time my teenage hormones worked in my favor (The Secret Garden) and not the only time my teenage judgement of what would run worked against me (Nick & Nora). It turns out that this was one of the most glorious days of theatregoing I would ever experience. Sorry Nick & Nora.