'Secret Garden' disappoints

The last presentation by IU Opera Theater of Lucy Simon's "The Secret Garden" sounded almost like a musical. Conducted by guest conductor Dale Rieling, the ensemble played a variety of music from classical to folk pieces and Broadway tunes. While the score might not appeal to more traditional opera fans, the music is fitting of a wholesome, family-friendly story that has been adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel for children. \nThe story is set in 1906. Mary Lennox becomes orphaned when she loses her parents to a cholera epidemic in India. She is sent to her uncle, who lives in a gloomy mansion in England. He is plagued by the death of his wife during childbirth 10 years before and his son, Colin, is crippled by illness and remains hidden away in the mansion. It is haunted by his mother's ghost, and with Mary's arrival come the ghosts of her parents and the rest of their party who died from cholera. Mary, who is also unhappy, learns of her Aunt Lily's secret garden, which her uncle has kept off-limits since his wife's death. With Mary's care, the garden flourishes once again, and so does life at the mansion.\nWhat was impressive about IU's production was 10-year-old Jordan Goodmon playing Mary Lennox. She was almost continuously on stage and managed to sustain a youthful, mischievous appeal throughout the 135-minute performance. She sang with a strong voice and danced, skipped and caused a commotion as most 10 year olds do. \nTenor Jordan Bluth's performance as Mary's Uncle Archibald was also memorable. In the third quarter of Act One, he stood in the spotlight, center of an empty stage and delivered an emotional, rather moving song, "A Bit of Earth," with a strong, silky voice.\nUnfortunately little else about this production lived up to the performances of Goodmon and Bluth. The sound was unsatisfactory and the directing and choreography left a lot to be desired. \nThe need to mic the performers is understandable given the young actors involved, but the sound -- or lack of it -- was frustrating to say the least. There were instances where the performers turned their head or moved positions and the sound would fade. And Goodmon's voice almost always disappeared when she sang with another cast member. Either the microphone picked up her singing partner's voice more effectively, or the adults needed to be more conscious of the young actress' less-powerful voice. \nDirector Greg Ganakas chose a rather inelegant method of playing out short flashback sequences involving the ghosts. In one of the first flashbacks, Archibald and Mary were having a conversation center-stage, and along came Lily and Mary's mother. They stopped next to Archibald who was still, and Mary's mother asked Lily why she wanted to marry him since he had an ugly lump on his back. They erupted with giggles and walked away. The moment seemed strangely inappropriate because there was nothing to indicate this was a flashback. The action resumed, and the audience was left, for a few moments, wondering what had happened. \nGanakas provided much visual variety. In addition to a rotating stage, the sets were simple with just enough detail. The set of the mansion consisted of a staircase that bridged one side of the stage to the other. Below it was a walk-through arch. The audience was transported outside the mansion when four 7-foot walls covered in ivy bordered staircase. They also contained walk-through arches. \nDuring one sequence, Mary was outside and sang about a maze. The four walls continued to move as she skipped through the arches, making for an engaging scene.\nBut it was the continuous movement of the set in every scene that came to be a distraction. The stage often rotated unnecessarily, moving the staircase structure while the actors stood on it or walked up and down. Things would be lowered into some scenes and soon taken away, and all the movement became tiring to watch. \nThe biggest shortcoming of the production was the most climactic scene of the opera. Mary brought Colin to see the garden, and it had a powerful effect on his health. He was also helped by the magic of an Indian holy man and the other ghosts. The scene culminated in all 10 ghosts, including Mary and friends, doing what was supposed to be an Indian dance, while chanting and sticking their tongues out and warbling. The whole scene was ridiculous and didn't work at all.\nThe supporting cast of Mary's caretaker, Martha, Martha's brother and the gardener were humorous at times, but they attempted to speak in British dialects that they couldn't maintain during the performance, which sometimes made them hard to understand. \nThough this performance was entertaining at times, those few good moments did not make up for the opera's shortcomings. \nIU Opera Theater's next production will be "Don Pasquale," written by Gaetano Donizetti. Performances are at 8 p.m. on August 1, 2, 8 and 9. Tickets are available on www.ticketmaster.com or at the Musical Arts Center box office.