Serenbe Style and Soul

with Marie Nygren

Wednesday

15

July 2015

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Branching Out: ‘The Secret Garden’ Comes to Life Between Two Sister Sycamores

Written by , Posted in Miscellaneous

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Every year since its inception, Serenbe Playhouse does an all-ages play. Playhouse executive director Brian Clowdus started with The Jungle Book in 2010 and has since done The Ugly Ducking, Alice in Wonderland, The Velveteen Rabbit and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This year he chose The Secret Garden, not knowing it was my most favorite childhood play. I still have the book I loved as a little girl.

When I found out he was doing it, I was over the moon. It’s one thing to read it—which I have, over and over—and quite another to see it live. And of course Brian has taken it to another level and beyond.

When he did Wizard of Oz last year, Brian had a permanent yellow brick road installed in the animal village at the Inn where he staged the performance. For Secret Garden, he went scouting with Steve, who of course knew the perfect place flanked by two sister sycamores. With a bench set in-between them, they’re the cornerstones for the gorgeous garden Brian had installed. It’s like theater in the round, but you’re also in a garde.

Edit IMG_3476I’ve seen it twice—on opening day and again on Father’s Day—and both times I felt like I was in a waking dream. Adapted by Rachel Teagle—who truly understood the magic of the story—this production marks the directorial debut of Playhouse artistic assistant Ryan Oliveti. When Ryan read the script, he contacted Rachel and said he wanted an animal in the play, so the robin—the one who leads Mary to the hidden key to the garden—has a speaking part.

I cried both times: The book I loved as a little girl means even more to me as an adult. The message of being transformed by nature speaks right to my heart and reminds me of the parents who tell me their children have gone off ADHD medicine since moving to Serenbe and being more active outdoors. I’m getting choked up again just thinking about it.

And now, thanks to Brian, we’ll always have a secret garden here at Serenbe. A little piece of England where this Anglophile can sit, dream and sip on my version of a Pimm’s Cup—one of my favorite summer cocktails. A little English and a little Southern, it includes Red Rock ginger ale, a slightly spicy Southern soda founded in Atlanta in 1885.

View More: http://peachtreephotography.pass.us/cookbook

Marie’s Pimm’s Cup

  • Serves 1
  • ¼ cup Pimm’s
  • 1 bottle Red Rock ginger ale
  • 2 strawberries, sliced
  • French mint leaves

Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in Pimm’s. Fill the rest of the glass with Red Rock ginger ale. Add strawberries and garnish with mint.

 

The Secret Garden runs through August 16. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays in the English Garden at Serenbe. For more information, visit serenbeplayhouse.com.

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