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Victorian-era author Frances Hodgson Burnett really understood the power of imagination, as is evident in her best-known works, the children's books The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Both stories feature young heroines who free themselves from unhappy circumstances just by using their imaginations. Each book has been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen. On Aug. 28, TheatreWorks will present the world première of a new musical, A Little Princess, based on Burnett's book, with music by Andrew Lippa and book (script and lyrics) by Brian Crawley.
Sara Crewe is sent by her doting, wealthy father to a London boarding school, where the cruel headmistress, Miss Minchin, makes her a much-abused servant when Sara's father dies in financial ruin. The destitute, orphaned Sara relies on her penchant for imagining fanciful stories to endure her new life of drudgery and starvation.
Lippa and Crawley's retelling supplants some of the novel's Dickensian despair with a bit of overseas adventuring and a sense of empowerment for its heroines and villainess alike. Hopes are high that the show will be headed for Broadway soon--in fact, casting calls for the role of Sara in such a production were held this spring.
TheatreWorks' production will be directed by Susan H. Shulman (who also directed The Secret Garden on Broadway). Mackenzie Mauzy stars as Sara, with Kimberly King as Miss Minchin, Molly Bell as her sister Amelia (see the related story on the final page of this section) and Remy Zaken as Sara's friend Becky.
TheatreWorks presents "A Little Princess" Aug. 28Sept. 19 (previews Aug. 2527) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Tickets are $20$50. For more information, call 650.903.6000.
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