1800 W Old Shakopee Rd
Bloomington, MN 55431
952-563-8575
artistrymn.org
The Secret Garden Audience Guide
By Dr. Kevin Rozman*
Artistry is pleased to present this guide to help you get the most from your theater experience. “Part I:
Anticipating The Secret Garden,” is great pre-show reading; “Part II: After The Secret Garden,” provides some
food-for-thought questions to stimulate conversation after you see the show.
Part I: Anticipating The Secret Garden
The musical, The Secret Garden is based on the novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Frances Hodgson was born in Manchester, England. After the death of her father, her mother moved the
family to Tennessee. Frances’s first story was published when she was just 18, and shortly afterward,
her mother died. She continued to write to support her siblings.
In 1873, Frances married Swan Burnett and they had two sons. Her writing career continued and her
reputation was clearly established with Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1886. Tragically, her son Lionel died of
consumption at the age of 16. Overwhelmed by depression stemming from his death and the earlier
tragedies of her life, Frances sought answers in Christian Science, theosophy, and spiritualism.
She divorced Burnett in 1898 and moved to England to live with her surviving son. It was there in Kent
that she recreated, in a walled, wild orchard, a beautiful rose garden. Sitting and writing in her garden,
she wove together her thoughts and life experience, which 13 years later would become, The Secret
Garden.
Marlo M. Ihler has said,
Burnett used the garden as the central symbol, a place of personal devastation (as with
Lily Craven's death and Archibald's mourning) and subsequent restoration (as with
Mary's self discovery). It is evident that Burnett intended to tell a story where one of the
strongest sources of healing power comes from within the individual. As New Thought
philosophy professes: a person can change their life by changing their thinking, and that
thought and attitude affect one's experiences.
The Secret Garden was first serialized in The American Magazine in 1910 and published as a full book in
1911. I personally have fond memories of my fifth grade teacher who read the story to us aloud by
chapter. Daily we looked forward to what was to happen next, much like those who read the magazine
in 1910.
Lucy Simon, who wrote the score for the musical theater iteration of The Secret Garden, is the younger
sister of singer Carly Simon. Marsha Norman is the author of the musical’s book and lyrics. She also
wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning play ‘Night, Mother and the book for the musical The Color Purple.
Interestingly, Norman spent much of her pre-theater career working both with gifted children at the
Brown School and persons with mental illness at the Kentucky State Hospital. As with Frances Hodgson
Burnett, Norman’s life experience also gave her real-world insight into many of the characters in The
Secret Garden. The show, she says, “is about the healing power of love and the miracle of rebirth... the
score creates a world where lost loves are found, lost lives are saved, spring comes again, and beauty
reigns."
Perhaps the character Dickon says it best: “The strongest roses will fair thrive on bein' neglected, if the
soil is rich enough.”
Part II: After The Secret Garden







The characters of Mary and Colin are both described as rude and unpleasant. Why are they this
way? Who is responsible for their behavior? What saves them in the end?
The character of Martha has a distinct effect on Mary. Why does Mary respond so well? What
effect does this have on Mary's relationship to Colin?
Dickon is of a different social class from both Mary and Colin. Is it important as the story evolves?
The spirit of Lily is vital in the story. Where do you see it and where is it most important?
How does "magic" this sense of New Thought find its way into the story?
Do you consider this work a classic? How does it speak to children? To adults?
Does The Secret Garden work better as a novel or a musical? Why?
* Dr. Kevin Rozman is an avid Artistry supporter and volunteer. A former board member, Kevin co-leads
the annual New York Arts Experience trip and fondly remembers participating in the cast of our 2005
production of Follies. Kevin spent over 30 years as an educator of students from middle school to
graduate school. For 17 years, he taught in two of Milwaukee’s Arts Specialty Schools, also serving as
Artistic Director in one.