HOSTED BY TONY WINNER, DAISY EAGAN

After 25 years Friends in Theater Company and State of Play productions will bring The Secret Garden back to the stage. A special ONE NIGHT ONLY performance will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of NY. We will be joining Original Cast members with Broadway’s hottest talent in a full production that will leave audiences wanting more.

This enchanting classic of children's literature is reimagined in brilliant musical style by composer Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of "Night Mother." Orphaned in India, 11 year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald and his invalid son Colin. The estate's many wonders include a magic garden which beckons the children with haunting melodies and the "Dreamers", spirits from Mary's past who guide her through her new life, dramatizing The Secret Garden's compelling tale of forgiveness and renewal.

Tony Award-nominated An American in Paris star Max von Essen will play Dr. Neville Craven in the upcoming Off-Broadway benefit performances of the Tony-winning musical The Secret Garden.

Daisy Eagan, who won a Tony Award as the original Mary Lenox in Broadway's Secret Garden, will host the Jan. 11 and 17, 2016 benefit concerts at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

Newly-added to the cast are Tamika Lawrence (The Wiz Live!) as Rose, Tom Deckman (A Funny Thing Happened...) as Dickon and Frances Mercanti-Anthony (Jerusalem) as Mrs. Medlock.

They join previously announced original Secret Garden star Rebecca Luker as Lily, Bill Nolte as Ben, Gabriella Pizzolo (the newest young star of Broadway's Fun Home) as Mary Lenox, Eli Tokash (Finding Neverland) as Colin, Ali Ewoldt (The King and I) as Ayah and Cortney Wolfson (Kinky Boots) as Martha.