BW Talent Brings 'Secret Garden' and 'Fantasticks' to Life

Baldwin Wallace University students, alumni and faculty are the driving force behind two productions staged first at summer theater festivals out west, with both "The Secret Garden" and "The Fantasticks" moving next to Cleveland.

A scene from The Secret Garden. Left to right: Giovanna A. Layne, Colton Ryan '15, Warren Bodily, Sara Masterson '16, and Jillian Kates '11. Photo Courtesy: DKM Photography.

Among the BW faculty involvement, Victoria Bussert directed both productions, while Gregory Daniels, Jeff Herrmann and Charlotte Yetman appeared on the design team as choreographer, scenic/lighting designer, and costume designer.

Clare Howes Eisentrout '13, Meredith Lark,
and Pedar Benson Bate in The Fantasticks.
Photo courtesy: Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

Dana Oland rings praise for "The Secret Garden" in a theatrical review for Idaho Statesman, highlighting three BW students in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival production in particular: Jillian Kates '11, who plays Lily, holds a "lovely and powerful soprano;" Sara Masterson '16 "nearly stops the show" as the maid Martha; Colton Ryan '17, who plays Martha's brother Dickon, takes the audience on an "energetic ride" when he sings "Wick."

In another Idaho Statesman review of "The Fantasticks," which was produced first at the Lake Tahoe Theatre Festival, Oland credits Clare Howes Eisentrout '13 in the role of "Luisa" as having a "clear bell-like soprano." James Penca '13 also appears in the musical as "Mortimer," while alumnus Matthew Webb '08 is musical director and recent graduate Nick Wilders '15 is the assistant music director. Other BW students involved are Gabriel Brown '16 and Mary Mondlock '16.

Both musicals are now coming to Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, where the "The Secret Garden" will run September 29-October 31 and "The Fantasticks" will run May 13-29, 2016.