Uncovering subtleties of 'The Secret Garden'

When freshman Abbey Snow was cast in the lead role in Waubonsie Valley High School's spring musical, "The Secret Garden," she prepared by running lines with her younger sister, Lauren.

"She's a seventh-grader," Snow said, and also an aspiring actress. "I actually have my sister to thank for memorizing my lines. She pounded them into my head over spring break."

Snow said the extra rehearsal helped her get a fix on the part of Mary, a young girl who's been orphaned when both parents succumb to cholera. The role is tricky because the character is complex.

"The show is really difficult, as far as characterization goes," she said.

Mary, who was ignored by her parents, undergoes enormous change during the course of the play.

When she first travels from India to England to live with her uncle, she's rather unpleasant.

"She extremely bratty and self-centered," Snow said.

But when she discovers a secret, neglected garden and begins to nurture it back to health, she also helps several members of her uncle's household recover from their emotional wounds. And, in the process, she helps bring herself back to life, Snow said.

"I go from bratty to, like, happy and stuff," she said. "It's just an amazing story about someone who's lost and very alone."

Senior Madison Cottingham plays Martha, a chambermaid.

"She plays an integral part in getting (Mary) to wake up and make all the changes she makes," Cottingham said.

Cottingham said she used a dialect tape to perfect the Yorkshire accent she assumed, appropriate for a member of the British servant class.

"I just had to listen to that every day before I went to bed for a half an hour," she said, adding that she also has been practicing with Joe Robinson, the actor portraying a gardener at the estate who sports a similar accent.

"All the characters are just so colorful," she said. "It was a really good pick for our school this year."

"We looked at quite a few scripts," said director Dave Calvert, a Waubonsie Valley English teacher. "The great thing about this show is that it has a darker theme to it. The house is haunted, everyone has their burdens."

The show also has an uplifting side, reflected in the garden's springtime metamorphosis and the parallel changes occurring in the characters, he said.

And then there is the music, which serves not only to evoke mood, but to move the plot along, Calvert said, and which is ably handled by a cast of more than 60 students. Tunes include "Lily's Eyes," "A Bit of Earth" and "Wick."

"All of the performances are dynamic and all of the songs are so memorable," Calvert said.

If you go

What: "The Secret Garden"

Who: Waubonsie Valley High School students

When: 7:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday

Where: Waubonsie Valley High School main auditorium, 2590 Ogden Ave., Aurora

Tickets: $8, $6 for seniors and students

More information: (630) 375-3273 or ipsd.org

Secret Garden Cast

Mary Lennox: Abbey Snow

Archibald Craven: Garrett Lutz

Neville Craven: Josh Greiner

Colin Craven: Tyler Merritt

Dickon: Chris Puchi

Martha: Madison Cottingham

Lily Craven: Antoinette Konow

Ben Weatherstaff: Joe Robinson

Rose Lennox: Rebecca Killacky

Mrs. Medlock: Amy Berger

Mrs. Winthrop: Sylvia Adzido

Capt. Albert Lennox: Henry McGinniss

Alice: Meaghan Carroll

Claire Holmes: Amy Pfluger

Lt. Wright: Will Patterson

Lt. Shaw: Anthony Simmons

Maj. Shelley: Mike Van de Voort

Maj. Holmes: Patrick Hockberger

Mrs. Shelley: Abbey Buckels

Fakir: Malini Kartha

Ayah: Sinead de Vries

Jane: Sara Bermudez

Dreamers: Shelby Bias, Michelle Borchert, Megan Convey, Chandler Cottingham, Ashlie Dile, Chloe Ewer, Colleen Filipek, Chelsey Fisher, Lukas Hall, Jordan Henderson, Alaina Hendricks, Samantha Hoffman, Darien Hutchinson, Kyle Jeewek, Katie Jepson, Alyssa Junkus, Kelsey Kacz, Alex Knightwright, Gaby Lagger, Sarah Langdon, Julia Mickelson, Isha Mishra, Celia Mueller, Brett Newhard, Nathan Olson, Melissa O'Neill, Dan Pang, Amanda Pearson, Nikko Perez, Alicia Pugh, Chelsea Rhoades, Caleb Schroeder, Ally Schweisthal, Tina Siganporia, Aliki Smith, Jessica Stajdohar, Brianna Vaughan, Taryn Vaughan, Gabrielle Winslow

Production

Stage manager: Ken Kolzow

Assistant stage managers: John Gorecki, Laura Pouliot

Sound board operators: Mak Pellegrino, Kevin Sitkowski

Light board: Patrick Styer

Assistant lightboard: Samantha Fuchs

Spotlight: Terra Streeter, Aris Sevillla

Fly captain: Peter Ensinger

Choreography: Gaby Lagger

Production assistants: Dan Esboldt, Katie Stewart

Dance captains: Brianna Vaughan, Gaby Lagger

Box office: Edna Flowers

Running crew: Andy Tyndal, Drew Heller, Laura Mikolajczyk

Construction crew: Ken Kolzow, John Gorecki, Laura Pouliot, Mak Pellegrino, Kevin Sitkowski, Patrick Styer, Samantha Fuchs, Terra Streeter, Aris Sevilla, Peter Ensinger, Andy Tindall, Drew Heller, Danielle Partipilo, Keith Muenz, Alicia Rogers

Production staff

Director: Dave Calvert

Technical director: Thomas Ringrose

Orchestra director: Mark Liu

Assistant director: Liz Fay

Costumes: Lois Salmonson

Costume assistance: Gilda Cottingham, Lupe Velazquez, Pat Meinert

Rehearsal accompanist: Anne Brown

"A Girl in the Valley" choreography: Nancy Bocek

Poster design: Nick Gehl

Production coordinator: Amy Haga

Auditorium manager: Marge Bello

Orchestra

Flute and piccolo: Brainna Zrinsky

Flute: Brittany Green

Clarinet: Katie Adams

Bass clarinet: Katy Steele

French horn 1: Emily Bax

French Horn 2: Parker Nelson

Trumpet: Jordan Yi

Trombone: Kevin Schmitt, John O'Neill

Violin 1: Kiran Kumararaj, Anneke Miers

Violin 2: Abigail Sefton, Courtney Weber

Viola: Thomas Jencks, Greg DeFillippo

Cello: Scott Fick, Katie Reed, Katie Clark

Bass: Catherine Harris

Harp: Peter Huang

Keyboard: Leah North

Percussion: Alan Bringman, Sam Kowalski