Deer Lakes High School students set to present their spring musical 'The Secret Garden'

A plague, British accents and garden delights are set to combine onstage in the upcoming spring musical production of “The Secret Garden” at Deer Lakes High School.

Deer Lakes musical director and choir teacher Matt Derby selected the musical based on the classic 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett because it was the best vehicle to showcase the students’ talents.

“It’s a beautiful musical, and one that hardly any high schools attempt to produce,” Derby said. “When we announced it, many of the students hadn’t even heard of it. Over time, they’ve grown to love it, as I knew they would.”

A cast of 20 and crew of 10 middle and high school students have been rehearsing since fall for the show that will run from April 13 to 15.

Featured lead performers include Victor Cervone as Archibald Craven, Morgan Adams as Dr. Neville Craven, Marianna Vergerio as Mary Lennox, Christiana Wills as Martha, and Elizabeth Ritz and Willow Racan splitting the role of Lily Craven.

Ritz, a senior, is loving the music and acting elements of this lesser-performed high school musical.

“It’s a drama, and my favorite part of it is being able to be on the stage. And once the mics are put on, the lights are on, it really feels real. And back when we had covid, two of our musicals were cut in and interrupted,” Ritz said. “My character is actually dead, so I’m in flashbacks and I’m a ghost.”

Courtesy of Deer Lakes High School

Deer Lakes High School sophomore Marianna Vergerio rehearses Tuesday as Mary Lennox in the upcoming musical production of "The Secret Garden," running April 13-15 at Deer Lakes High School.

Vergerio as Lennox narrates and explains how many of the characters died from a cholera epidemic.

Set in England, the plot centers on a large country house, complete with a secret, walled garden that the orphaned Lennox frequents.

“It’s a plague back in 1905. I like how we are learning about that time,” Vergerio said. “My character is very stubborn, comes from India, and I’m a bit of a diva.”

Mastering a Yorkshire accent was fun for Vergerio.

“It’s easy for me. I’ve always had roles that have some sort of specialty to them,” Vergerio said. “I find it easier to act when I’m doing an accent.”

The show is appropriate for all ages, and most of the music score is piano.

“It’s a very interesting show,” Ritz said. “The music is great.”

Look for whimsical elements and garden scenes involving the spirits of past plague victims.

“The score is just fantastic, and one scene has a robin bird talking in the garden and one of our cast members plays the flute,” Vergerio said.

Cervone said he is feeling the stress of the upcoming performances.

In his ninth year of acting, Cervone plays a melancholy widower who spends much of his time in solitude.

“I remain in love with my wife that’s been dead for 10 years,” Cervone said. “He’s rich and hides in his room and doesn’t talk to anyone.”