The Secret Garden [Import, Cast Recording]

Lucy Simon (Composer), Meredith Braun (Performer), Philip Quast (Performer), Carmen Cusack (Performer), Freddie Davies (Performer), Linzi Hateley (Performer), Dilys Laye (Performer), Natalie Morgan (Performer), Luke Newberry (Performer), Christian Patterson (Performer), Craig Purnell (Performer), Alistair Robins (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Cast Recording
• Label: First Night Records
• ASIN: B00005BCD6
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,106 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Act 1. Prologue. Journey from India to Yorkshire - Original London Cast

2. Act 1. A Fine White Horse

3. Act 1. Garden Suite I

4. Act 1. A Girl in the Valley

5. Act 1. The Girl I Mean to Be

6. Act 1. Winter's on the Wing

7. Act 1. A Bit of Earth

8. Act 1. The Storm

9. Act 1. Round Shouldered Man

10. Act 2. Lily's Eyes

11. Act 2. Race You to the Top of the Morning

12. Act 2. Wick

13. Act 2. Come to My Garden

14. Act 2. Garden Suite

15. Act 2. A Bit of Earth (Reprise)

16. Act 2. Hold On

17. Act 2. The Letter Song

18. Act 2. Where in the World

19. Act 2. How Could I Ever Know

20. Act 2. Spring Music

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Changes From Broadway Lose the Show's Identity, July 15, 2003

By 

"artimuszeln" (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Garden (Audio CD)

There are good arguments for whether the London recording of this show is worse or better than it's Broadway counterpart. But it all comes down to what works best for you. Because these are two very, very different shows.

The basic plot, music and characters are the same, but the style and tone of the two recordings are polar opposites. Broadway presents us with a much more mature and spiritual look, and a less faithful adaptation. It is more haunting, serious and has a stronger impact when you reach the end. It's a more stirring version, because it dares to take liberties with the book. This helps to create the musical as its own story, more than a copy.

The London version has been changed to be closer to the book. While it still retains parts of the Lily/Archibald story, but it has lost it's prominance. This is a musical version of the book, and doesn't really rise above that at all. It doesn't bring any truly new elements but only partial ones. It's still fantastic music and very well performed, but the powerful identity is lost.

Performance wise, you could make your case either way. Someone who detests Mandy Patinkin would have trouble with Broadway, and Phillip Quast is of course excellent. But Quast is better as Javert, a role where he is forceful. He lacks the innocence and vulnerability that is a part of Archie's character. He is simply too strong for the role. Mary is owned by Daisy Eagen, and while London's Mary is decidedly more British, she simply cannot carry the show the way Eagen did.

And there's no argument that Lily here is simply por. Rebecca Luker gave a stunning performance, where London's Lily sounds about 15 and doesn't work well at all. But her role is decidedly less important, so it's a trade-off as well. Martha in both versions is good, and I don't think you can really complain about either. Broadway's is a little more pleasantly Yorkshire to London's strong Yorkshire. I can go with either, and it's just a matter of personal taste.

Dicken in London sounds a bit forced. He doesn't carry his accent with the same natural level that the Broadway Dicken does. But both are fun and work. Colin is a horrible role, with arguably the worst song in both versions of the show (Round Shouldered Man) and there's no preference to either.

The changes musically just left me wondering why they cut the quartet, Show Me The Key and yet left Round Shouldered Man. The insistance on returning more to the book really made some of the changes questionable. And as for the actal recordings, both sound good except that London sounds a bit muffled and the orchestra too sharp. This is old Yorkshire, the orchestra needs a but of a softness. Neither is a flaw worth noting.

Overall I prefer Broadway, especially because it's a more independant and powerful show. But you can't really go too wrong with either.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Incorrect Track Listing - review, November 19, 2002

By 

Patrick Clow (VT, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Garden (Audio CD)

The track listing above is for the Original Broadway Recording, not this version. One of the major differences between the 2 versions, besides the different cast and song rewrites, is the track order. Simon & Norman made changes there to tell the story a different way. Here is the actual track listing:

1. Prologue: Journey From India To Yorkshire
2. A Fine White Horse
3. Garden Suite 1
4. A Girl In The Valley
5. The Girl I Mean To Be
6. Winter's On The Wing
7. A Bit Of Earth

8. The Storm
9. Round Shouldered Man
10. Lily's Eyes
11. Race You To The Top Of The Morning
12. Wick
13. Come To My Garden
14. Garden Suite 2
15. A Bit Of Earth (Reprise)
16. Hold On
17. The Letter Song
18. Where In The World
19. How Could I Ever Know
20. Spring Music
21. Come To My Garden (Reprise)

My review of the disc: I am not a fan of the changes made to the original. I like Philip Quast's portrayal of Archie -- he feels more accessible than Patinkin (whom I admire, but in this version Quast moves me more) -- 'Where in the World' is stunning with Quast. Lily is an inappropriate voice here -- perhaps I am too enamored with Rebecca Luker's floating voice -- a belting Lily just feels wrong to me. The song tweaks and re-ordering may make the story more accessible to British audiences, but the reduction of the Dreamers presence moves the story to a different location -- very external rather than hints of internal. I feel this disconnects the characters from their past and makes the emotional pendulum have a shorter swing -- I liked the pace of the move from extremely dark to beautiful life in the original much more. I'm sure some audience members appreciated the giant flock of gardener's all dancing around, but neither the music nor their inclusion added any content to the actual story -- they feel like entertainment value only and if I want that then I'll go see Crazy For You. And Daisy Eagan simply cannot be replaced as the quintessential Mary -- the Mary in this version is entirely adequate and appropriate but is also forgettable...

The story is still timeless and well-told here. Simon and Norman's score is simply astounding in both versions (US and Australia are identical / London is different).

I would love to hear Simon and Norman's reasons for the changes!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Broadway, February 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret Garden (Audio CD)

I must respectfully disagree with one of the above reviewers and say that this is the best recording of this marvelous show to date.

When Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman brought their musical "The Secret Garden" (which was written and originally premiered in America) to London, they *knew* they had to rework the story. Why? The American version of "The Secret Garden" strayed too far from the book upon which it was based, and in England, the book is considered a national treasure, the way we view, say, Tom Sawyer and the like.

They felt that audiences on the other side of the pond would not appreciate the meddling with the story, so they decided to change their work. This also allowed them to clean up a lot of the overwrought emotionality of the American version (which was something Marsha Norman (book and lyrics) was very keen to do).

They eliminated the ghosts (the play refers to them as "the dreamers" -- ostensibly people who died of cholera in India), which brought the vision of the musical much closer to what Norman and Simon had originally intended (according to an interview with the authors in the London program of the show, the idea of the "dreamers" was a suggestion made by producers in America who were unhappy with the idea of portraying "servants" on stage). However, Mary's parents, Albert and Rose (the lone holdovers from the original set of "dreamers") make an appearance here to sing a song along with Lily.

Some superfluous musical numbers were cut, many songs were expanded, and the song order jockeyed around a bit (i.e., "The Girl I Mean to Be" is now the song Mary sings to the Robin, instead of "Show Me the Key"). In addition to this, several "dance" sequences were put in (the only questionable part of the new production).

Cast-wise, this production has a bit of trouble. The young girl playing Mary is spot-on, and the Colin is very good as well. Philip Quast is much better than Mandy Patinkin as Archie, but the London Lily's voice is too pop. Martha is played superbly by Linzi Hately (her version of "Hold On" is reason enough to buy this soundtrack as it out-trumps any you've probably ever heard), but this Dickon is played with far too much buffoonery to be taken seriously. The ensemble is excellent and the orchestra sounds incredible. The new orchestrations sound much more "English," including hints of a Yorkshire band.

All in all, I'd have to recommend this version instead of the Broadway version. Whereas that one was dark and awash in its own morose sensibilities, this one sweeps along and tells the story much better. Buy it today!