A Study Of The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden is a musical with adaptation and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, debuted in Broadway on1991. It is loved by all ages and received many great comments and awards. It’s based on the same title of novel written by the American novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett in1911.In this thesis, the characters and the dramatic line of action are analysed coupled with other elements such as music in an attempt to further explore the play. Its dramatic and musical structures are also analysed. It is intended to examine how these two elements namely music and drama can effectively be interlaced and presented.This thesis is divided into four chapters as follows:The first chapter provides a high level description for and similarities between the novel and musical versions of The Secret Garden.; the second chapter examines this play from an dramatic perspective; the third chapter analyses personalities and characters of the main roles; the last chapter presents an analysis of the music through the dramatic clues of this play. The Appendix outlines the author’s academic qualifications and her views and analysis in the adaption of this play; where some of the controversial points displayed in its first stage are also presented.