Theatre in the Park Summer Season Continues with THE SECRET GARDEN

An outdoor park setting is the perfect place for the enchanting and moving musical "SECRET GARDEN," which takes the Theatre in the Park stage Friday, July 3 and continuing through Sunday, July 5, and the following week Wednesday, July 8 through Saturday, July 11. During the second week of "SECRET GARDEN" TTIP is partnering with The Trent Green Foundation-HIKE Reading Program, collecting new and gently used books for children through Phoenix Family.

Green, a beloved former Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback and sports broadcaster, is scheduled to be at TTIP on Wednesday, July 8 to kick off the donation partnership. Green will sign autographs and serve as the VIP emcee at this performance.

Show time for the TTIP premiere of "SECRET GARDEN" is 8:30 p.m. on the outdoor stage located in beautiful Shawnee Mission Park. TTIP Veteran Barb Nichols directs this production of "SECRET GARDEN", with vocal direction and conducting duties by Martha Risser; Guy Gardner choreographs the show. Director: Barb Nichols

"SECRET GARDEN," based upon the children's novel of the same name, takes place in 1911 when a young girl Mary, living with her parents in India is suddenly orphaned due to a cholera outbreak. Mary is sent to live with her Uncle Archibald and his crippled son Colin in an English manor. While her uncle still grieves over the loss of his wife Lily, Mary befriends Dickon, the brother of the household maid, and the twosome form a strong bond. Yet ghosts from the past haunt all those who live in the house.

In this strange new world, Mary discovers a secret walled garden hidden on the grounds and releases the magic and adventures locked inside. Mary learns to cope with her bereaved Uncle Archibald, who pines for his dead wife Lily, even after he flees to Paris. However, the ghosts of Lily and Mary's mother - who were sisters - guide these broken relatives into a healed family filled with love.

With a lush musical score, "SECRET GARDEN" leads the audience through this involved tale finding the beauty in the garden we all discover.

The Trent Green Foundation-HIKE Reading Program was created with Phoenix Family through a five-year partnership of the Trent Green Family Foundation, its largest initiative to date. Books collected through TTIP's production of "SECRET GARDEN" will help fill a library at one of Phoenix Family's facilities. Those how donate children's books will receive a coupon for a free bag of popcorn! The HIKE Reading Program provides expert instruction, academic support and educational resources to enhance reading skills of low-income children.

Two additional musicals fill out the 2015 TTIP season. All productions at TTIP open on a Friday night and run Saturday and Sunday the first weekend and Wednesday through Saturday the second weekend, for a total of seven performances.

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