The Secret Garden
January 19 – February 11, 1996
Production Staff
| Producers | Mary Henning, Joann Clark-Stein |
| Director | Jeffrey M. Babey |
| Musical Director | Richard Chrisman |
| Choreographer | Linda Kay |
| Lighting Design | Alan Levine |
| Set Design | Gordon Danieli |
| Sound Design | Jon Ballek |
| Costume Design | Camille Cusimano |
| Stage Manger | Joyce L. Brady |
| Set Concept | Jeffrey M. Babey |
| Props | Kristin Barber |
| Hair/Wig Design | Nance |
| Accompanist | Beth Moore |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Scott C. Hill |
| Set Construction | Gordon Danieli, Bill Jamieson |
| Lily’s Portrait | Bill Jamieson |
| Seamstress | Joan Tietjen |
| Sound Technician | Vincent Giordano |
| Crew Chief/Rigging | Rob Cleary |
| Riggers | Bill Jamieson, Eric Bovie, Leo Gahona |
| Lighting Technicians | Dot Steffen, Eric Bovie, Rosie Myres |
| Crew | Ellen Cleary, Lori Kaplan, Ed Vawter, Roz Wroblewski |
| Box Office | Bernice Woldman, Jackie McCausland |
| Sign Language Interpreters | Lynn Baskin, Adele Sands-Berking, Donna Fitzmairice |
| Concessionaires/Ushers | The Friends of the Villagers |
| Painters | Michelle Green, Iris Green, Joanne Clark-Stein, Mary Henning, Terry Jamieson, Bill Jamieson, Leo Gahona, Roger Babey |
| Lobby Photography | John-Eric Steiger |
| Program | Haver Associates, Inc. |
The Cast
| Lily | Kristine Mellina |
| Mary Lennox | Renee Stocker |
| Archibald Craven | Gerard Lebeda |
| Fakir | Doug Otero |
| Ayah | Kimberly Light |
| Rose Lennox (Mary’s Mother) | Amanda Irwin |
| Captain Albert Lennox (Mary’s Father) | Todd Fenstermaker |
| Lieutenant Peter Wright | Christian Smith |
| Mrs. Katherine (his wife) | Barbara Szabo |
| Lieutenant Ian Shaw | Michael Monaco |
| Major Holmes | Michael Monte |
| Clair Holmes (his wife) | Patrice Swarbrick |
| Alice (Rose’s friend) | Aimee Bingler |
| Major Shelly | James Lopez |
| Mrs. Shelley (his wife) | Barbara Fiolek |
| Dr. Neville Craven (Archibald’s brother) | Paul Fiolek |
| Mrs. Medlock (the housekeeper) | Pat Powers |
| Martha (a chambermaid) | Karen Pierson |
| Dicken (her brother) | Carlie Irwin |
| Ben Weatherstaff (the gardener) | Alan Semok |
| Colin (Archibald & Lily’s son) | Teddy Alvaro |
| Mrs. Winthrop (the headmistress) | Aimee Bingler |
| William | Scott C. Hill |
| Timothy | Rob Cleary |
| Jane | Barbara Szabo |
| Nurse | Lori Kaplan |
The Orchestra
| Piano | Elizabeth Moore |
| Synthesizer | Richard Chrisman |
| Bass | Robert Gargiullo |
| Reeds | Lawrence Liggins |
| Percussion | Sheryl A. Caswell |
During the run of The Secret Garden, one of the largest Nor’easters to hit the East Coast landed squarely on the Villagers. While working in the theater on Saturday morning, Ellen Cleary her what she describes as “a loud noise, like an explosion.” A quick inspection of the building determined that a large section of the roof had blown off the building. Ellen then made a number of frantic phone calls to Sandy Grey, Jeff Dworkin, and her husband Rob. Water was literally pouring into costume loft and the orchestra pit on the second floor. It was also falling into the men’s dressing room and the green room on the first floor. Jeff Dworkin was the first board member on the scene. He and Ellen first moved the orchestra’s instruments and music out of the water’s way. Sandy Gray showed up next and started working downstairs to get the costumes to safety.
Jeff then headed up onto the roof to access the damage. Ellen went off to help Sandy save the costumes. Since they were not sure where the water was coming from, we decided to remove the ceiling tiles from the green room, the men’s dressing room and the hallway. It was hoped that this would stop the water from “running” over the tiles.
Rob Cleary, Art Neill, and Alan Semok soon joined Jeff on the roof. They brought with them every available tarp in the building to temporarily patch the whole in the roof. Due to the high winds, the tarps could not be secured. Having been up there for over an hour, the team of four huddled together under a tarp next to the air conditioner units. The team elected to stay on the roof and work during the breaks in the wind to secure the tarps. Over the next two hours, the tarps were secured, and the rain kept coming. The team finally came down from the roof at 6:30 PM, just ninety minutes to curtain. Because the rain was still falling, the wind still blowing and the instruments, costumes and props were in disarray, we considered canceling the show that night. However, the cast and crew were now arriving. They worked together to get everything back in order. The curtain rose on The Secret Garden at 8:30 that night.