Inland Valley Repertory Theatre is opening its 36th season with “The Secret Garden,” a musical adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman.
The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at Morgan Auditorium on the University of La Verne campus, 1950 Third St., La Verne. Performances continue at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 29, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 4.
The play tells the story of 11-year-old Mary Lennox who is sent from India to live with her uncle and his ailing son on a Yorkshire estate, where she discovers a hidden garden that transforms those who enter.
Leading the cast of Inland Valley Repertory Theatre’s production are Chanlon Kaufman and Marina Jurica-Preston in the roles of Archibald and Lily Craven.
Kaufman, who grew up performing at the Chino Community Theatre and the Candlelight Pavilion, worked with a variety of theater companies in Southern California before moving to New York City and appearing in the Off-Broadway production of “Lost Boys,” according to a news release from Inland Valley Repertory Theatre.
Kaufman now works as an attorney in San Bernardino, after graduating from theUniversity of La Verne College of Law in 2019.
Jurica-Preston, a climatologist and meteorologist with CBS LA, completed undergraduate and graduate studies in atmospheric science and music performance at UCLA. In addition to working 20 years as an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist, she spent four years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, according to the news release.
Jurica-Preston’s performance credits include leading roles in national tours (Christine in “The Phantom of the Opera”) and regional tours and concert performances on Broadway and with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, according to the news release.
Others in the cast are Amy Sorensen as Mary Lennox, Michael Gallo as Dickon, Molly Billman as Martha, Patrick McMahon as Ben Weatherstaff, Tiffany Berg McMahon as Mrs. Medlock, Ryan Lloyd as Dr. Neville Craven and John Preston as Colin Craven.
Chrissy Harding is director and choreographer of the production, with music direction by Ronda Rubio.
Tickets are $55-$65, with discounts of 20% offered for groups of 10 or more, available at ivrt.org and by calling 909-859-4878.
In addition to “The Secret Garden,” Inland Valley Repertory Theatre’s 2026 season includes “Footloose,” July 18-Aug. 2; “Plaid Tidings,” Nov. 28 and 29; and readers’ theater productions of Ronald Harwood’s comedy “Quartet,” July 24, and Terrence McNally’s comedy “It’s Only a Play,” July 31.
All performances are in Morgan Auditorium on the University of La Verne campus.
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