Review: Beauty and love flourish in SVST’s ‘The Secret Garden’

If two rough objects rub against each other long enough, they are bound to become smooth.

As seen in Spokane Valley Summer Theatre production of “The Secret Garden,” directed by Yvonne A.K. Johnson, the same is true of people.

When we first meet Mary Lennox, she’s been sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire after a cholera outbreak in India killed her parents.

In her first weeks at Misselthwaite Manor, Mary (the perfectly cast Noelle Fries) is rude to just about everyone she encounters, stomping about and turning her nose up at everything her chambermaid Martha (a great Maitlin Toth) suggests.

Likewise, Mary’s uncle Archibald Craven (a fantastic Michael J. Muzatko) pays little attention to the girl or his son Colin as he’s still grieving the death of his wife, Lily (beautifully played by Andrea Olsen).

Colin (George Dawson, who is able to bring a surprising spriteness to Colin given how much time he’s in bed or a wheelchair) takes after his father in the charm department, yelling at anyone, including Mary, who comes into his room, where he’s been confined his entire life.

Keeping it in the family, Archibald’s brother Neville (a strong performance from Ashton Toth) is often short with Archibald and tries to convince him to send Mary to a boarding school.

But by the second act, the results from all that rubbing start to show.

Fries wonderfully executes Mary’s transformation. Still sassy when she needs to be, Mary has become much sweeter to those around her at Misselthwaite.

After learning about Lily’s abandoned garden, Mary and Dickon, Martha’s brother and a gardener at Misselthwaite, wonderfully played by Christopher Tamayo, set out to bring it back to life.

While doing so, she gives Colin a little tough love about his perceived physical health and persuades him to come outside and get some fresh air.

The walls Archibald has built around himself slowly but surely begin to crumble, and Neville realizes Mary’s doing more good than harm.

The chemistry between characters felt so natural, and scenes with the whole cast, including a group of dreamers that acted as a Greek chorus, aka those killed by cholera plus Lily, were highlights of the show, especially “I Heard Someone Crying” and “Come Spirit, Come Charm.”

Fog machines and screens were used when the dreamers were on stage, which really drove home the fact that they were in another realm.

Scenic designer Muzatko and scenic artist Sue Mihalic’s attention to detail in decorating each room was impressive and made the musical, especially scenes in the garden where five large topiaries, greenery that arched across the stage, gorgeous backdrops and a giant gate brought the garden to life, beautiful to watch.

There were a few times in the opening scenes of the musical that the beginnings of lines weren’t picked up by the microphones, but that problem was quickly fixed, ultimately allowing the musical’s message to be shared.

Whether person or plant, all things can flourish with a little tender loving care.