By Becky Evans
Utah Children’s Theatre does it again- bringing love and magic to Salt Lake through their newest production of The Secret Garden. I had high expectations coming in to the theatre and director Meighan Smith did not disappoint. I am most familiar with the musical version but I also read the book many years ago. This stage production has been taken right off the pages of the classic tale of a spoiled orphan girl Mary who is forced to live in a dreary home with her uncle that doesn’t care to know her. She finds out about a sickly cousin and befriends him. She learns about a secret garden and sets out to find it. They experience the magic of healing, friendship, and love as Mary and her garden begin to blossom.
The young talent in this group of actors is amazing. Mary Lennox (Alina Smith) shows depth of character beyond her years as she demonstrates excellent facial expressions, a terrific tantrum, and the ability to change with her character throughout the performance. Zack Allred who plays Collin Craven also throws a terrific fit and you can really believe that he is sickly, bedbound, and as bossy as a Raja. Dicken (Themi Kambouris) is a standout talent wise. He entered the stage with a live kitten and every child in the audience “ooohed” and “awed” and wanted to be right up there with him for a turn to pet it. Grace Holmgren (Martha) is a seasoned actress who is able to portray emotion, an accurate accent, and physical comedy despite being only a junior high student.
The adults in the cast are all professional and well rehearsed. Emily Holmgreen is actually quite terrifying as the disgruntled head of the servants and overworked matron in charge of Colin and Mary. Archibald Craven (Christopher Taylor) demonstrates a dramatic change in his character/attitude from the beginning of the show to the end as he is apparently touched by the magic of the secret garden. Bryson Dumas brings humor to his role as the gardener Ben Weatherstaff and Missy Stebbing brought tears to my eyes every time she stepped on stage as the ghost of Lily Craven, Collin’s mother. My tears were definitely helped to the surface by the background music, set and lighting designed by Joanne M. Parker (Artistic Director) and James Parker (set and lighting design). Nellie Kelly is stage manager. The set moves automatically and adds to the magic as no scene changes are visible onstage. One of my favorite things is that the stage magically changes from a dead and dying garden to a slightly alive garden, and finally to a thriving garden. The use of both physical set pieces and visual imagery through projection is especially impressive. My kids loved the opening scene that looked like the whole room was on fire. Costumes designed by Julie Anderson are appropriate to the period and also reflect the changes as characters add more color to their personalities and their wardrobe.
One of my favorite parts of the UCT shows is that they make the show an afternoon experience with their unique snack bar, run by Chef Amy Richardson, that one can pre-order delicious snacks and drinks that are then ready and waiting in the lobby during intermission (like magic…).
Smith should be extremely proud of her production of The Secret Garden. In her Director’s notes she states, “The magic of live theatre, is that we as the audience, get to live for a time in someone else’s story. We get to feel what they feel; The loneliness in Mary, the sorrow in Archibald, the kindness in Dickon, the eternal love of a mother, the wonder of watching a garden (and people!) coming to life, and the joy of finding where you belong.” If you want to feel all the feels, go see The Secret Garden at Utah Children’s Theatre (UCT). You don’t even need to bring a child. It could be called “Utah Everyone’s Theatre” because everyone will enjoy these productions. My family and I had such a great time at The Secret Garden that on our way out we bought season tickets so that we won’t miss any UCT magic this year. 
Utah Children’s Theater presents The Secret Garden, Script and Lyrics by Marsha Norman. Music by Lucy Simon.
Utah Children’s Theatre, 3605 S. State Street, South Salt Lake, UT 84115
Contact: boxoffice@uctheatre.org, 801-532-6000
Oct 13- Nov. 17, 2018, Fri. 7:00 PM, Sat. 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM
Utah Children’s Theatre Facebook Page
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