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Based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, The Secret Garden opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on April 25, 1991. The production received seven Tony Award nominations and won three, including Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Daisy Eagan’s performance as Mary Lennox.

With a book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, the musical tells the story of a spoiled orphan girl sent to live with her uncle on the Yorkshire moors. There, she discovers renewed life by restoring her late aunt’s neglected garden.

Although Burnett’s novel was written nearly a century before the musical, it is easy to imagine she would have found kindred spirits in Norman and Simon, who transformed her story into a widely acclaimed stage production. All three women shared a connection to children in their work and lives, and each drew inspiration from personal experiences, whether shaped by loss, musical heritage, or a commitment to nurturing young minds.

Marsha Norman, one of the most prominent female voices in contemporary American theatre, received both a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for The Secret Garden for Best Book of a Musical. Reflecting on her work, she once remarked, “I always write about the same thing: people having the nerve to go on.”

Her collaborator, Lucy Simon, came from a deeply musical family, most notably as the sister of singer-songwriter Carly Simon. Lucy Simon passed away in October 2022 from metastatic breast cancer. Her daughter, Julie, later shared that the idea of the “renewal of spring” served as a “spiritual north star” for her mother. She noted that when the character Lily sings of love, life, and healing in the garden, it reflects not only Simon’s vision but also what audiences can carry with them. “I feel that’s what my mom wanted for all of us,” she said. “She wanted this garden to continue to grow.”