Celebrating 25 Years: Where is Your Garden? With Brian Finley

Where is Your Garden?

Consider your “Garden”. Where is that special place where you stop, look around and with overwhelming contentment and simply say, “here!”? Surely, your Garden is a profoundly personal spot: a place that has everything you think should be part of a beautiful life. My Garden, for example, is filled with beautiful music, spellbinding nature, and happy people whom I love…

But going deeper, what does it mean to say that this Garden is “yours”? And how do you acknowledge the visions of the Gardeners of the past who have nurtured this spot – and how will you ensure that its essential beauty is passed on into the future?

This summer we present a brand-new production of the musical “The Selfish Giant’s Garden” which explores these very questions. Oscar Wilde’s original story of “The Selfish Giant” offers a wonderful storyline: a Giant returns home after several years away to find Children playing happily in his precious garden. Wanting to reclaim the Garden as his own, he scares the Children off, builds a wall and erects a sign: “Trespassers will be Prosecuted!” Winter (along with the north wind, frost and hail) covers his Garden, and does not leave… He begins to long for a change in the weather, but all remains covered and frozen. Then one morning, he hears a linnet bird singing outside his window. Through a hole in the wall, the Children have crept back in, and with them, the Garden is returning to life! He rushes out to join them, but only manages to scare them away once again. Only one small Child remains. Her bravery melts the Giant’s heart: he knocks down his wall and the Children flood the Garden once again, this time for good. Winter reluctantly returns to her natural schedule while the Garden blossoms with new life. The Giant welcomes in all the Children, but he is saddened to see that the one Child has disappeared. Time passes: the Giant continues to welcome the Children, but his heart aches to see the Child. Then one day, when he is very old and tired, the Child finally reappears, showing the Giant that to truly understand love, you must know what it is like to lose it…

The musical uses this enchanting story to explore the journey of the Garden: its eternal beauty, the disruption of that beauty, and our responsibility to learn from it, care for it and pass it on to future generations.

And the Garden will be everywhere! When you arrive, you step out of your car and into the Garden. You are greeted by a symphony of birdsongs, vistas of beautiful gardens (new and mature) the smells of fresh grass and a campfire, and of course, the friendly faces of the Westben staff and volunteers. The magic follows you right into The Barn, where you will find your comfortable seat amongst the flowers and greenery spilling over from the stage in front of you and filling the space. Children’s laughter begins to mingle with the birdsong, as the hum of nature gently awakens the Garden onstage. From there, expect a spellbinding journey where one Child does indeed, make a difference. Through beautiful music, you will experience unbridled joy, disturbing selfishness, the relentless passage of time and finally, the peaceful redemption of love. Along the way, you meet the Spirit of the Garden, the Children who are the flowers in this Garden, the gardener Linette, the covetous Giant, the manipulative Virginia Snow and the Elements. And when you leave, you will hopefully see the world and all its wonderful beauty and possibilities anew…

Is this a children’s musical? Children are certainly a vital component onstage, and young audiences will definitely be engaged! So yes. But like every great story, this adaptation is intended for all

audiences. The themes and the musical adaptation are intended to resonate with all generations. This is, after all, a story about our planet – the Garden we all share – and our relationship with our Home and one another.

It has been absolutely thrilling to explore this new production with an amazing group of collaborators, each sharing deeply personal perspectives. My co-writer Ken Tizzard and I have been amazed at the imagination that has gone into this production! Consider the Design Team: Caroline Langill (artist and Provost of OCAD University in Toronto), Gord Langill (Executive Director of Peterborough Youth Services), Koren Smoke (Indigenous artist from Alderville), Beth Puttkemery (floral studio artist and founder of “Smells Like Roses”). Choreography for the Spirit of the Garden (danced by creative artist Lauren Lafayette Brooks) is designed by Rebecca Baptista. Kenora director Edward Franko leads the stage direction. Westben’s sound man Andy Thompson designs and operates the grounds-wide sound effects, while Catherine Warrener is on lighting. Around the grounds, master gardener Kat Kinch and a garden full of volunteers have created two new gardens.

Onstage, it is equally exciting: the Giant is Robert Longo (Javert on the US national tour of Les Mis, as well as Javert in Westben’s 2024 presentation of Les Mis; Beast in Toronto’s Beauty and the beast, etc.). Virginia Snow is played by Gabrielle Prata (known to opera stages across North America, and on TV shows such as Schitt’s Creek and Designated Survivor); Linette is played by Donna Bennett (Westben’s “Prima Donna”!). Talented community members handle a variety of roles. Watch for Kara McMurray and Heidi Ingram (Lily), Jonah McLean (Jacques Frost), Dion Drewlo (Roary Potts) and Ruth Fleming (Helen Hail).

Then there’ s the orchestra. I will be leading a five-member group that includes three keyboard players (myself, Debra Richardson-Edge and Kerstin Walsh), bass guitar (Ben Finley) and percussion (Ian Wright). Expect the same dynamic energy and beauty as last year’s Les Mis orchestra, augmented by a colourful collection of natural and musical sounds from Andy Thomspon.

And of course, there is the 33-member Westben Youth & Teen Chorus, directed by Donna Bennett. It has also been very special for all of us to work alongside Sarah Lewis, Indigenous spoken word artist from Curve Lake, who has gracefully shared Indigenous perspectives on a vast variety of the musical’s themes throughout the production from the hierarchy and cycles of nature to concepts of ownership and sharing, to the balance of the seasons and humankind’s place in it all. A highlight here was her workshop with the children where she led a conversation exploring new and shared thoughts on the themes and characters of the musical. Both Sarah and our children are so inspirational!

All to say The Selfish Giant’s Garden has itself, become a colourfully vibrant garden! And after all the planting and nurturing over the past few months, we are so excited to share the result (and conversation) with you! Please come – you are more than welcome!

For 25 years, the cultivation of such a Garden has been the goal of Westben. It should be no surprise then, that “The Selfish Giant’s Garden” is a central focus of the 2024 season. For us, it is the perfect way to “celebrate the Garden” in honour of our 25th anniversary season!

As Oscar Wilde writes, and as the Children sing: “How happy we are here!”