BWW TV: Behind-the-Scenes of APAC's THE SECRET GARDEN with Jennifer Evans & More

THE ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER reunites the creative team behind their The Human Comedy and Children of Eden with THE SECRET GARDEN, musical staging by Christine O'Grady, musical directed by Jeffrey Campos and directed by APAC Artistic Director Tom Wojtunik.

THE SECRET GARDEN is playing a limited engagement at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church. Performances began Thursday, May 3 and continue through to Saturday, May 19.

The production stars Jennifer Evans (Ragtime and A Tale of Two Cities, Broadway) as Lily, Benjamin J. McHugh (Mamma Mia! and Hairspray, Nat'l Tours) as Dr. Neville Craven, Jaimie Kelton (Greenwillow, The York) as Martha, Hannah Lewis (Seussical, Westchester Broadway Theatre) as Mary Lennox, Michael Jennings Mahoney (Camelot, B'way Concert) as Dickon, Sam Poon (Les Misérables, Nat'l Tour) as Colin, Pat Rick Porter (Blood on the Dining Room Floor, WPA) as Archibald Craven, Jacqueline Sydney (The Children's Hour, APAC) as Mrs. Medlock, Richard Vernon (The Human Comedy, APAC) as Ben, as well as Jane Bunting*, Mario Castro, Marisa Devetta*, Britain Gebhardt, Jonathan Gregg, Clint J. Hromsco, Mary-ElizaBeth Milton, Eric Morris, Lia Peros, Jason Pintar, Danny Randerson, Spencer Robinson, and Elizabeth Wharton.

Living in a lonely manor house in 1906 England, Archibald Craven yearns for his beautiful, late wife. He blames his crippled son, Colin, for his wife's death and has left him neglected and isolated. Their quiet routine is turned upside down when young Mary Lennox, a rich, spoiled child, is sent to live with them following the death of her parents by cholera in India.

While living at the manor house, Mary discovers a secret walled garden hidden in the grounds and releases the magic and adventures locked inside, changing their lives forever. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman, in collaboration with composer Lucy Simon, achieved Broadway success with the moving book and lyrics adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved 1911 novel. Using the classic form of the traditional American musical, they have fashioned a faithful rendition of the novel, equally appealing to children and adults, to devotees of the novel and to Secret Garden newcomers as well.

Check out the production in rehearsal and go behind the scenes below!