The Secret Garden

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A moving adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel, the story of a ten-year-old orphan's search for love and self-discovery in her uncle's locked garden. With her Tony-award winning book and lyrics, Norman recreates the classic form of the traditional American musical.

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 1,1992

About the author

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Marsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play 'night, Mother. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and The Red Shoes, as well as the libretto for the musical The Color Purple and the book for the musical The Bridges of Madison County. She was co-chair of the playwriting department at The Juilliard School until stepping down in 2020.


Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 19 votes)
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19 reviews All reviews
April 17,2025
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I noticed that this particular book says I've already read it, which is true...but Zia and I listened to the songs from the selections song book. I have always had a soft place in my heart for this musical. It came out when I was a middle schooler and Daisy Eagan won the Tony for Best Actress at 11 years old, and that was very inspiring to a middle schooler. I was also moved by the fact that it was written by two women. The set design of the original production was also masterful. Anyway, it was nice to go down memory lane with Zia and to hear Mandy Patinkin's voice over and over again.
April 17,2025
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This is a sweet heartwarming story about kids and adults helping each other grow through grief.

Would recommend?
Yeah
April 17,2025
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Id let a lot of questionable things slide for the sake of my childhood nostalgia of the story
April 17,2025
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contains problematic depiction of Indian people and culture, as well as some ableism. Otherwise, it is a sweet and emotional show.
April 17,2025
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The theatre for which I work is doing the Spring Version of this musical. The Spring Version is 90 minutes. The edits (It's been a long time since I saw the original.) seem to be removal of the prologue and shortened songs. I'm sure there are songs that were removed and I don't realize it.

This makes me want to read the Frances Hodgson Burnett book again. I don't think I've read it since i was a kid. It's interesting what I remember (from the book? from a film version?). Statements like this from Mary to Colin: "You're too nasty to die." How did I forget Dr. Craven?
April 17,2025
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Love the music in this, especially when sung by Anthony Warlow & Philip Quast!
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