Cincinnati Playhouse to Open 2015-16 Season with THE SECRET GARDEN

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park opens its 2015-16 season with the heartwarming, soaring musical THE SECRET GARDEN, based on the enduring family classic penned more than a century ago by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Winner of three Tony Awards on Broadway, with book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, THE SECRET GARDEN runs Sept. 5-Oct. 3 in the Playhouse's Robert S. Marx Theatre.

When 10-year-old Mary Lennox loses her parents to a devastating cholera outbreak in India, she is sent 6,000 miles away to live with her inattentive uncle at his foreboding English manor. Like Mary, Archibald Craven knows suffering, having never recovered from the death of his wife, Mary's Aunt Lily, a decade earlier.

Selfish and spoiled, left mostly on her own, Mary has a difficult time adjusting to the peculiarities of her new home, where it seems as though the spirits of those who've come before her are always just out of sight. That is until she is befriended by the plucky housemaid Martha and her brother Dickon, who introduces Mary to the wonders of nature all around her. When Mary discovers the locked-away secrets of an abandoned garden, she coaxes far more than its flowers back to life.

"THE SECRET GARDEN is one of my favorite musicals," said Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison. "It's emotionally rich, musically lush and the book is fantastic. So many stories with child protagonists are cutesy and saccharine. Not so in THE SECRET GARDEN. Mary's journey is complex. She navigates a very adult world of loneliness and isolation, only to restore love and light to herself and those around her.
"THE SECRET GARDEN is a beloved literary classic," Robison continued. "The musical brings it to life in a uniquely human way."

"Frances Hodgson Burnett's timeless story, Lucy Simon's richly beautiful music and Marsha Norman's Tony Award-winning book all combine to make THE SECRET GARDEN a piece of great musical theatre," said Marcia Milgrom Dodge, the Tony Award-nominated director and choreographer who will helm the production (she previously directed Cabaret at the Playhouse). "I love how the characters convey their innermost feelings and fears though the haunting melodies of Lucy Simon's music combined with the delicate dialogue and highly charged lyrics of Marsha Norman."

THE SECRET GARDEN is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Barbara and Bill Weyand are the show's orchestra sponsors, and Rosemary and Mark Schlachter are the artist sponsors for Mary Lennox. The production honors the support of The Lemmerman Family.

The cast of THE SECRET GARDEN features Cameron Bartell (Dickon), Dan Beckmann (Captain Albert Lennox/Ensemble), Brandi Burkhardt (Lily), Caitlin Cohn (Mary Lennox), Carlyn Connolly (Claire Holmes/Ensemble), Kevin Earley (Archibald Craven), Anthony Frederickson (Colin Craven), Charlotte Maltby (Martha), Timothy McDevitt (Lieutenant Peter Wright/Ensemble), Adam Monley (Dr. Neville Craven), Gayton Scott (Mrs. Medlock), Vishal Vaidya (Fakir/Ensemble), Jessica Van Kipp (Rose Lennox), Anita Vasan (Ayah/Ensemble), Dathan B. Williams (Ben Weatherstaff), Michael Yeshion (Major Holmes/Ensemble) and Talia Noelle Zoll (Alice/Ensemble).

In addition to Dodge, the creative team features Sariva Goetz (music director/orchestral arranger), Michael Sebastian (associate music director/conductor), Narelle Sissons (set designer), Leon Wiebers (costume designer), Matthew Richards (lighting designer), David Bullard (sound designer) and Puppet Kitchen Productions Inc. (puppet designer/construction). Jenifer Morrow is the production stage manager, and Brooke Redler is second stage manager.
Ticket prices for THE SECRET GARDEN start at $35. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. The show is appropriate for general audiences, including children ages 8 and up.

Returning this season is the popular Sunday College Night, with tickets to all 7 p.m. Sunday performances (not including A Christmas Carol) priced at just $10 with a valid student ID. Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show for all other performances.

Discounted ticket prices for children, teens and students are available in advance for all productions - $30 and $45, depending on seat location.

New for the 2015-16 season is the Playhouse's Tasting Series, which begins with afternoon teas by the BonBonerie before all Saturday and Sunday matinee performances of THE SECRET GARDEN. Each afternoon tea will include an English scone and freshly brewed teas from Elmwood Inn, as well as a selection of tea sandwiches and BonBonerie sweets. Afternoon tea begins at 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 12:30 p.m. on Sundays; all tastings are $22 per person. For reservations, call the Box Office at 513-421-3888.

Previews for THE SECRET GARDEN are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9. The official opening night is Thursday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Free Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with the cast and others associated with THE SECRET GARDEN will be held after the following performances: 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27; and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.

THE SECRET GARDEN will be audio described for those with visual impairments at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, and signed for persons with hearing impairments at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27.

The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available.
Tickets to THE SECRET GARDEN are on sale now. For more information, call the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility.
The 2015-16 Robert S. Marx Theatre season is presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, and Macy's is the Robert S. Marx Theatre season design sponsor. The season sponsor of new work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of the community contributors to the ArtsWave campaign.
The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.