CAST

MARY LENNOX
Amber Wiley*

LILY CRAVEN
Allison Jones

In Colonial India, 1906

FAKIR
Brad Stephenson

AYAH
Lauren Russell

CAPTAIN ALBERT LENNOX (Mary's father)
Alex Myers

ROSE (Mary's mother)
Kate Roberts*

LIEUTENANT IAN SHAW
Tom Norton

LIEUTENANT PETER WRIGHT
Scott Thompson*

ALICE WRIGHT
Rebecca Newby

MAJOR HOLMES
Tom Clark*

CLAIRE HOLMES
Tanis Smith

MAJOR WILLIAMS
Patrick Walsh

At Misselthwaite Manor, North Yorkshire, England, 1906

ARCHIBALD CRAVEN (Mary's uncle)
Derek West

DR. NEVILLE CRAVEN (his brother)
Ryan Fries*

COLIN
Ember Rigsby

MRS. MEDLOCK (the housekeeper)
Kate Lambert*

MARTHA (a chambermaid)
Eve Tannery

DICKON (her brother)
Joey Hipps

BEN WEATHERSTAFF (the gardener) / Mr. Shelley
Lee Norris*

BETSY (a maid)
Samantha Rogers

MS. WINTHROP (the headmistress) / Mrs. Shelley
Caroline Clear*

ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN I
Zachary BradleyKate Gibson, Alana Morrall, Ashley Toole, Kate Williams, Erik Ryan
Jacqui Carrasco*

VIOLIN II
Brian Mischuck, Adrienne Myer, Anjali Garg, Adrianna Henson, Giselle Laiton, Meredith Ducz, Natalie Sevin

VIOLA
Jamie Raudensky, Caroline Beasley,
Lauren Goers, Danielle Fisher, Kristen Klingler, Caroline Laco

CELLO
David BeamCaroline Ginman, Christina Blyth, Carol Beck

BASSES
Aaron MillerBrent Rawls

FLUTES
Laura Dangerfield, Cassie Anderson

OBOES
Fia Rotter, Barbara Trautwein*

CLARINETS
Ashley Phillips, Kate Rowe

HORN
Jack Zoesch, Emily Brown, Lindsay Yurkutat

TRUMPET
Alyssa Veselick, Stephen Bates

TROMBONE
Kevin Moehringer, Grant Bollmer

PERCUSSION
Tom Rutledge

KEYBOARD
Matt Webb, Jill Carter, David Hagy*

KEYBOARD PROGRAMMER
John Stafford**

MANAGER Mary Elizabeth Bray, Geoffrey Barton

CONDUCTOR
David Hagy, Matt Webb

* Member of The Anthony Aston Players

PRODUCTION STAFF

Technical Director
Douglas W. Brown

Costume Studio Supervisor
Lisa Weller

Assistant Stage Managers
Kim Dedo, Erin King

Rehearsal Accompanist
Thomas Turnbull

Waltz Choreographer
Robert Simpson

Master Carpenter
J. D. Stallings

Scenic Carpenters
Aaron Bokros*m Gideon Goff, Greg Herzog, Matthew Meany, Garrett Redmond,
Madeline Smith*, John (JD) Stallings,
Sarah Storminger*, Jonathan Watkins*, Lauren Wilde

Prop Master
Susan Martin*

Scenic Crew
Johnny Andris, Brian Baney,
Kathleen Benson, Leighton Britton,
Steve Haberstroh, Nick Jones, Anna Lea, Matthew Meany, Jason Pratt,
Cardell Richardson, Mason Shelton,
Ben Walker, Brian Woychik

Scenic Art Crew
Kelly Doton, Taryn Fullerton, Ryan Holmes, Michael JenkinsHan O, Adam Piegari,
Emily Ruth, Kristie Schavey, Robert Schroeder, Lucy Shaw, Mary Catherine Williams, Ryan Keperling

Draper / Wardrobe Supervisor
Lisa Weller

Costume Studio Assistants
Sarah Guthrie, Natalie Hines
Andrea Leutz, Laura Maready
Loren Sasser, Matthew Tomko

Costume Contruction
Swell Armstrong, Megan Clendenin
Margaret Crouse, Melanie Clear,
Erica Duryea, Crissy Heath, Katherine LeeBetts McNamara, Collette Rochat

Makeup / Wardrobe Crew
Kim Dedo, Katherine Lambert*,
Nicole McNamera, Meredith Ransom,
Julia Schmidt*

Master Electrician
Madeline Smith*

Electrics Assistants
Tom Clark*, Mike Kelly, Rebecca Lowry*Electrics Crew
Michael Diamond, Jonathan KanderJustin Kaufmann, Mike Kren, Brian Kulju
Justin LeDuc, Adam Piegori, Andrew Pittard
Margrit Sheldon, David Wells
Grips Mike Kelly, Jonathan Watkins*
Light Board Operator Julie Kirstein
Microphone Operator Jason Evarts
Assistant Microphone Operator Jeffrey Ives
Poster Design
Frank Ludwig

Photography
Bill Ray III, Leslie Collins

Homepage Photography
Jonathan Christman

Publicity
Meghan Chandler, Jessica CunnCourtney Dolkart, Chris Fitzgerald, Kelsie Johnson, Sarah Lisson, Kimberly Mowrey,
Elizabeth Proctor, Christopher Seyer, Rebecca Sizelove, Chris Strappel,
Adrianne Vodenichar, Kristin Washington, Lindy Zimmerman

Audience Services Coordinator
Leslie Collins

Box Office & Front of House Staff
Ali Ayala*, Rebecca Boswell
Caroline Clear*, Alison Delaney*
Alannah DiBona, Ryan Fries* Emily Johnson
Jonathan Loudin, Alexandra LeCrone
Esther Pesciotta, Lutrell Williams

*Member of The Anthony Aston Players

SPECIAL THANKS

Liz Berstone
Mark Cohen
Madhuparna Mitra
North Carolina School of the Arts
Winston-Salem Little Theatre

Before rehearsals began, I reread my childhood copy of The Secret Garden. I was surprised to rediscover a story of death, abandonment, fear, and neglect housed within the pretenses of a flowery tale of a precocious girl and a garden. The novel was unexpectedly truthful -- probably one of the reasons so many of us were intrigued by the story as children. Burnett respected us as young people and had faith in our abilities to face the darkness of the world and emerge with the light.

In the play, Marsha Norman, the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who adapted the story, is also faithful to the book's philosophy of dealing directly with death and grief. "Its one of those great, powerful subjects that children want to see because its part of their world," Norman said. "They don't want to be lied to about it. Most adults won't talk to them about it." She added, "Well, we do."

And yet, this isn't just a play for children. Far from it. Norman has shifted Burnett's focus from the story's children to the adults, particularly to Archie (a minor character in the novel). There is also a significant shift from the book's emphasis on Colin's achievements to a celebration of Mary's influence. Composer Lucy Simon said, "What Marsha has done is find the adult story that's there between the lines. The power of the story is not just Mary finding the garden and bringing everything back to life but helping Archie out of his mourning state, helping him to accept and find his son again."

So sit back, enjoy, discover, or rediscover. As the spirits tell us, "It's a maze this garden, it's a maze of ways any man can spend his day. It's a maze this garden, it's a maze of paths but a soul can find a way."