Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert's Easter oratorio, "The Garden," has come quite a way since it premiered last Easter at Kingsbury Hall.
"It has really been interesting," said McLean during a telephone interview from his temporary home in Malibu, Calif. While he was thrilled with the initial response from the project's concert performances and the original cast compact disc, what he was not prepared for was the string of comments by people coming out of the auditorium last year."They kept coming up and saying `It was neat, but I really want to SEE it'," he said, noting that he had not considered "The Garden" as a visual, "theatrical" production before.
Then, about 10 months ago, Thomas Rutherford, founder of the San Bernardino Musical Theatre company, called McLean after tracking down his telephone number through ASCAP.
"He said he wanted to produce `The Garden' as a fully staged theater piece. He said he had fallen in love with the music and could see it theatrically staged.
"I explained that it was not constructed like a musical. In terms of the way it was being presented, it was an oratorio. But I decided to give him a chance," McLean said.
So, just a few evenings ago, McLean - who conceded that he had pretty much stayed out of Rutherford's way - saw his creation fully staged in San Bernardino's historic California Theatre.
"He's built this incredible `living garden' set that will fill that huge Kingsbury Hall stage and he has this incredible lighting designer," McLean said.
("The Garden" will be presented April 3-11 at Kingsbury Hall. Tickets are available from the box office and all Wasatch Front Deseret Book stores.)
McLean added that the reviewer for the local San Bernardino newspaper, who has a reputation for not liking anything, gave the production a very positive review.
In addition, participation in the production itself, as well as the patronage, has crossed all religious lines.
Catholics, Protestants and church members representing a variety of Christian faiths have embraced the choral work, added Rutherford.
"It's been exciting," said McLean. "The cast is not all LDS (in contrast to the oratorio performance in Salt Lake City last year), and there's been wonderful support from throughout the San Bernardino community. Opening prayers for the performances have been offered by people of different faiths and there's a feeling that this will become a great Easter tradition."
McLean has been impressed by what Rutherford and his wife, Janice, have produced.
"I've directed and produced films and musicals and I've usually had an enormous amount of control. So it was really amazing to see what someone else has been able to do with the work," he said, adding that he did help write some new dialogue to bridge the musical selections.
"Just two weeks ago, I was in the Holy Land with, essentially, the cast from the CD recording. We were in the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center with an 80-voice choir. Some of the singers were on tour with us and several others were from BYU. In back of the choir, you could see the city of Jerusalem just as the sun was setting and here we were just a quarter of a mile or so from where the events surrounding the Atonement took place.
"That was such a thrill. You only get so many perfect days in your life and this was one of them. The spirit we felt was extraordinary," he said, noting that his son, Jeffrey, sang the role of the Millstone, and Amy Barrus, Dave Barrus's wife, sang the role of the Seedling (Dave previously sang the part of the Landlord in the original production).
Jeffrey is currently being coached by one of the nation's leading vocal instructors in Southern California - the main reason the McLeans moved temporarily from Heber City to Malibu.
The upcoming Kingsbury Hall presentation of "The Garden" will be the forerunner of a limited regional tour, with possible dates in Idaho, Arizona and maybe Texas.
This new production will include:
- a stage set so large it had to be constructed in an airport hangar.
- animatronic effects designed and constructed by Garnder Holt, whose clients include the Walt Disney Co. and FAO Schwartz.
- Merrill Jenson's original orchestrations, now scored and presented in prerecorded Dolby surround sound.
- an ensemble featuring performers from the greater Los Angeles area and from Salt Lake City (including Salt Lake native David Elias Glick in the principal role of The Man).
The play-within-a-play is based on the concept that before people were born, they were shown an allegorical play providing them a look at the struggles they might face in life. The setting is a celestial garden and the characters include a Seedling who hasn't yet grown into a flower, a Ram caught in a thicket, a barren Olive Tree and a Millstone that realizes his feelings have been crushed as the seeds beneath his wheel.
These dejected characters are lifted from their despair by a Gardener who is full of hope. The Gardener, however, is challenged by the Landlord, who resents attempts to clear the weeds and water the plants. But the Gardener promises that someone with even greater power will come to the garden to save the foursome from the Landlord's destruction - a promise that comes true when The Man visits the garden.
- BEHIND THE SCENES - Some of the best talent in Southern California has been recruited to reshape "The Garden" into a theatrical production, including lighting designer Beverley M. Thies, costume designer Phyllis E. Pope, sound technician Fred Williams and technical director Robert E. Morris II.
Thies' dramatic lighting can be seen at Disneyland and Universal Studios. She has also worked as resident lighting supervisor for the Los Angeles Music Center Opera Company and with the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera and Fullerton Civic Light Opera, as well as at several productions at the Mark Taper Forum's New Work Festival.
Pope, who began by designing and sewing costumes for her children when they became involved in theater productions, was on the staff of the Redlands Theatre Festival for a number of years. Since 1988, she has worked with the wardrobe department of the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera.
Williams has designed the sound for more than 100 shows and operated the sound boards for more than 500 performances throughout Southern California.
Thomas and Janice Rutherford co-founded SBMT in 1993. They've been involved in such productions as "Evita," "South Pacific," "The Sound of Music" and others.
Thomas' directorial work has ranged from the Los Angeles LDS Temple Pageant to productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar," "West Side Story" and "Carousel." He is currently collaborating with Michael McLean on a new musical about the abduction of King Edward V and is working on a new adaptation of "Godspell." When he's not busy with the theater, Thomas can be found at Disneyland's Castle Heraldry Shoppe, which he owns and operates.
Janice, who operates her own leadership consulting business, is director of public affairs for the LDS Church's Fontana California Stake.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
How to get `Garden' tickets; McLean will visit 2 malls
Tickets for "The Garden" are priced at $15 for adults and $13 for children 12 and under. They can be purchased in advance from all Deseret Book locations in the region or directly from the Kingsbury Hall (581-7100).
Seating is NOT reserved. Doors will open one hour prior to curtain. It is strongly suggested that patrons arrive early in order to obtain the best seating. Performances will be at 8 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday, April 3-5, and Wednesday-Friday, April 9-11, with a 7 p.m. performance on Monday, April 7 (with Michael McLean as part of a Family Home Evening presentation).
Composer/lyricist McLean will be appearing with members of the production's cast at two Deseret Book stores - from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, at the ZCMI Mall, and from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, at the University Mall in Orem.