The fun of this holiday week continues… as I spend my days trying to clean my place,
taking down the Home Show remnants, dismantling the tree and packing away all of my
holiday decorations! But it’s also been a fun week to play with friends who also have
some extra time on their hands. Tonight I went out with my friend Nancy for a great
dinner at “Prairie Moon” in Evanston, followed by a night of live theater.

I first heard about “The Secret Garden” many years ago when it was live on Broadway
and snatching several statuettes on the Tony Awards. I still remember Mandy Patinkin
performing this one song “Lily’s Eyes” on the show and I’ve been entranced ever since.
Check out their live & abridged Tony performance from over fifteen years ago…
“The Secret Garden” Original Cast at the Tony Awards.

I’ve never seen anything about it being performed live (or undead?) in the Chicago area.
So when I finally saw it was coming to Evanston for a few short days, I had to get tickets
right away. I had never heard of the theater group, or the theater itself… so I was a little
apprehensive. Especially because the show involves a lot of ghosts & spirits who are
“haunting” the residents of the house, as well as singing many duets – and I was concerned
that the production could be really cool or really cheesy. You know, ghosts on stage are
never easy! And the lead character is played by a fifth grader?! Could go either way…
Luckily, it turned out to be a wonderful performance – and I’m looking forward to their future
productions as well.