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‘The Secret Garden’
  
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John Cooper School performs new twist on an old classic
By KASSIA MICEK
The John Cooper School is bringing to life a classic children’s tale.
“The Secret Garden” will be performed at 7 p.m. Nov. 12-14 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 14-15 at the school’s Performing Arts Center, located at 1 John Cooper Drive in The Woodlands. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.
“The audience should expect a good show,” said senior Whitney Brandt, who plays the lead, Mary Lennox. “They will have to pay attention too. There will be (actors) in the audience behind them and around them.”
Based on the 1909 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden” is a timeless classic tale of an orphaned girl brought to a Yorkshire mansion on the edge of a vast, lonely moor, according to the book’s back cover.
“This is a dramatic musical and a piece of classic literature set to music,” Director Joseph DeMonico said of the school’s adaptation. “It’s a great show. It’s not what people will think of when they think of ‘The Secret Garden.’”
What makes this production different is there will be no curtains or blackouts between scenes. The manor house Lennox comes to live at will remain in the backdrop throughout the performance as scenes transition
“We didn’t want to have any blackouts,” DeMonico said. “We want scenes to flow. We like for one to flow to the next.”
Lennox is an orphan sent to live with her dour Uncle Archibald, played by senior Ranjeet Paul.
“I’ve always enjoyed musical theater,” Paul said. “Being able to sing and dance and act and putting that all together is great.
“We have a cast and crew that is really involved in the show and really involved with the characters.”
Lennox befriends Archibald’s son Colin, played by sophomore Annabelle Cousins, as well as servants of the manor Martha, played by Emily Jacobson, Dickon, played by Alex Novak, and Ben, played by Holden Tikkanen. Lily, the spirit of Archibald’s widow, played by Angie Lopez-Videla, is present throughout the show to share the importance of compassion, caring and looking beyond the superficial.
Also cast in lead roles are Nisha Balsara as Rose, Cody Guinn as Craven, Mark Farley as Albert, Margie McGregor as Medlock, Caitlin O’Neill as Winthrop, Ben Shapiro as Lt. Wright, Michael Taylor as Lt. Shaw, Alessandro Portela as Major Holmes, Caitlin Finnie as Claire Holmes, Caitlin Lashier as Alice, Cory Guinn as Major Shelley, Meredith Bechtel as Mrs. Shelley, Paige Gill as Ayah and Meghan Reddy, Srikar Vidala and Yarlini Vipulanandan, who all play Faikir.
Members of the ensemble cast are Linda D’Arezzo, Emily Schwartz, Christina Bray, Morgan Konz, David Taylor, Caroline Davis, Amanda Leary, Elyanna Thierry, Denise Torres, Sonny Franks, Abby McCauley, Kelly Zupan, Katrin Gallup, Joe O’Neil, Madison Cagle, Kathryn Meyer, Madeleine Anderson and Megan Doyle.
Performing arts faculty members Donna Arnold and Bob Scannell are the show’s music director and orchestra conductor. Choreography and costume design for the show was coordinated by fellow faculty member Elizabeth DeMonico.
Set construction began last summer, with the additional expertise of Ben Gilmore, Tiffany Chen and scenic artist Rod Flower, according to the school press release. The “PAC Rat” tech crew that will be implementing the technical side of things includes students Sinclair Hodge, Farah Patel, Sergio Servat and Derek Wohlfarth. Meridee Richert is the show’s accompanist, and Troy Dingle is the audio engineer.
“A lot of people said we were crazy to put it on because it’s a difficult performance, but we wanted to tackle it,” Brandt said.
To purchase tickets, visit www.seatyourself.biz/johncooper.
“The Secret Garden” will be performed at 7 p.m. Nov. 12-14 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 14-15 at the school’s Performing Arts Center, located at 1 John Cooper Drive in The Woodlands. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.
“The audience should expect a good show,” said senior Whitney Brandt, who plays the lead, Mary Lennox. “They will have to pay attention too. There will be (actors) in the audience behind them and around them.”
Based on the 1909 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden” is a timeless classic tale of an orphaned girl brought to a Yorkshire mansion on the edge of a vast, lonely moor, according to the book’s back cover.
“This is a dramatic musical and a piece of classic literature set to music,” Director Joseph DeMonico said of the school’s adaptation. “It’s a great show. It’s not what people will think of when they think of ‘The Secret Garden.’”
What makes this production different is there will be no curtains or blackouts between scenes. The manor house Lennox comes to live at will remain in the backdrop throughout the performance as scenes transition
“We didn’t want to have any blackouts,” DeMonico said. “We want scenes to flow. We like for one to flow to the next.”
Lennox is an orphan sent to live with her dour Uncle Archibald, played by senior Ranjeet Paul.
“I’ve always enjoyed musical theater,” Paul said. “Being able to sing and dance and act and putting that all together is great.
“We have a cast and crew that is really involved in the show and really involved with the characters.”
Lennox befriends Archibald’s son Colin, played by sophomore Annabelle Cousins, as well as servants of the manor Martha, played by Emily Jacobson, Dickon, played by Alex Novak, and Ben, played by Holden Tikkanen. Lily, the spirit of Archibald’s widow, played by Angie Lopez-Videla, is present throughout the show to share the importance of compassion, caring and looking beyond the superficial.
Also cast in lead roles are Nisha Balsara as Rose, Cody Guinn as Craven, Mark Farley as Albert, Margie McGregor as Medlock, Caitlin O’Neill as Winthrop, Ben Shapiro as Lt. Wright, Michael Taylor as Lt. Shaw, Alessandro Portela as Major Holmes, Caitlin Finnie as Claire Holmes, Caitlin Lashier as Alice, Cory Guinn as Major Shelley, Meredith Bechtel as Mrs. Shelley, Paige Gill as Ayah and Meghan Reddy, Srikar Vidala and Yarlini Vipulanandan, who all play Faikir.
Members of the ensemble cast are Linda D’Arezzo, Emily Schwartz, Christina Bray, Morgan Konz, David Taylor, Caroline Davis, Amanda Leary, Elyanna Thierry, Denise Torres, Sonny Franks, Abby McCauley, Kelly Zupan, Katrin Gallup, Joe O’Neil, Madison Cagle, Kathryn Meyer, Madeleine Anderson and Megan Doyle.
Performing arts faculty members Donna Arnold and Bob Scannell are the show’s music director and orchestra conductor. Choreography and costume design for the show was coordinated by fellow faculty member Elizabeth DeMonico.
Set construction began last summer, with the additional expertise of Ben Gilmore, Tiffany Chen and scenic artist Rod Flower, according to the school press release. The “PAC Rat” tech crew that will be implementing the technical side of things includes students Sinclair Hodge, Farah Patel, Sergio Servat and Derek Wohlfarth. Meridee Richert is the show’s accompanist, and Troy Dingle is the audio engineer.
“A lot of people said we were crazy to put it on because it’s a difficult performance, but we wanted to tackle it,” Brandt said.
To purchase tickets, visit www.seatyourself.biz/johncooper.
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