(VNF) - The Tony Award-winning musical The Secret Garden will be staged for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City in November.

The musical is based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Brunnett. The Broadway production, with lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, won Tony Awards for ‘Best Book of a Musical’ ‘Best Featured Actress’ and ‘Best Scenic Design’.

Illustrative image. (Source: Internet)

Set in 1906, “The Secret Garden” tells the story of Mary Lennox, a young English girl born and raised in British Colonial India. Orphaned by a cholera outbreak, Mary is sent away from India to Yorkshire (England) to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald and her cousin Colin, whom she has never met.

Her own personality blossoms as she and a young gardener bring new life to a magic garden which beckons the children with haunting melodies. The "Dreamers", spirits from Mary's and Archibald's past, guide her through her new life, as well as her sickly cousin and uncle, dramatizing The Secret Garden's compelling tale of love, forgiveness and the renewal journey to reach brighter days.

The musical premiered on Broadway in 1991 and ran for 709 performances.

In Vietnam, The Secret Garden is being presented by the SOUL Live Project, a music/performing arts hub in Vietnam, and Amberstone Media.

In an interview with Dep Magazine, composer Thanh Bui, director of SOUL Live Project, said: “The musical is about the dreams and desires of underprivileged and unlucky children”.

The musical will feature young Vietnamese and expatriate artists. It will be performed entirely in English.

Brian Riedlinger, artistic director of the International Choir and Orchestra of HCM City (ICOH), is the director and producer.

All proceeds from the performances will go to the NGO Saigon Children’s Charity to help underprivileged children.

The musical will be presented on November 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 11^th and 12^th at SOUL Convention Complex, 214-216 Pasteur Str., in District 1./.

( Compiled by VNF )