In keeping with its tradition of staging world premiere musicals, TheatreWorks has added another to the list with "A Little Princess." It's based on a story by Frances Hodgson Burnett, who also inspired "The Secret Garden." In fact, two members of the creative team for that hit musical are involved in creating this new work. However, director Susan H. Schulman and scenic designer Heidi Ettinger don't have the benefit of the rest of their "Secret Garden" team. Instead of music by Lucy Simon and a book and lyrics by Marsha Norman, "A Little Princess" has music by Andrew Lippa and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley.
However, the version of "The Secret Garden" that made its way to Broadway and then a national tour was the final, polished production. TheatreWorks is staging a production that needs tinkering before it can aspire to Broadway. Lippa's music is pleasant enough, but it doesn't seem particularly memorable. Two of the better songs are derivative of other composers: "What's in the Box?" with shades of Sondheim and "Timbuktu" with a strong nod to Gilbert and Sullivan's patter songs. More troublesome is Crawley's book, which needs to be tighter and more cohesive, especially in the first act. What the show has now is a group of somewhat stereotyped characters who aren't particularly engaging.
The story opens in 1838 in West Africa, where an English adventurer and widower, Captain Crewe (Will Chase), is about to begin a dangerous expedition to Timbuktu. During his absence, his beloved 12-year-old daughter, Sara (Mackenzie Mauzy), is to attend boarding school in London -- against her wishes, for she'd rather stay with the people in West Africa, apparently the only home she's known. When she arrives in London, her reluctance to conform and her keen intelligence put her in conflict with the headmistress, Miss Minchin (Kimberly King). Later, when Captain Crewe is reported missing and believed dead, Sara is relegated to serving-girl status and forced to live in the attic, but all ends happily.
A rousing West African dance number, "Good Luck, Bonne Chance," starts the show well enough, but later dance scenes involving the African characters seem repetitious (choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler). Moreover, Scene 1 doesn't clearly establish how such a warm friendship developed between the Africans and the English father and daughter, nor does it explain why the two are there in the first place.
The show does have the benefit of a talented ensemble cast, especially King's cold-hearted Miss Minchin. Others who stand out are Molly Bell as Miss Amelia, Miss Minchin's kind sister, and Remy Zaken as Becky, the serving girl whom Sara befriends. However, both Chase and Mauzy seem a bit stiff. Or maybe they were just tired. The reviewed performance was the Sunday night following the Saturday night opening and a Sunday matinee. The singing is generally quite good, as is the 13-member orchestra, conducted by musical director Joel Fram. Catherine Zuber's costumes are well suited to the time and places, while Ettinger's spare sets facilitate easy scene changes. Brian Ronan's sound design is too loud, making some of the lyrics difficult to understand.
In short, the show has promise, but it needs work before it's ready for prime time.