Who doesn’t dream of finding a secret garden this time of year? A respite from the grayness and endless rain; a special place in which to dream of the promise of rebirth that spring brings.

Winter-weary folks can find refuge for a few hours in “The Secret Garden,” presented by the Central Stage Theatre of County Kitsap, directed by Sharon Greany.

The musical closely follows the classic children’s book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and tells the story of little Mary Lennox, who is raised in colonial India at the turn of the 20th century, until her family dies of cholera.

The story picks up as she is taken to Yorkshire, England to live with her only relative, the cold, hunchbacked Uncle Archibald in his lonely house on the melancholy moors.

He’s mourning the loss of his beloved wife and Mary’s mourning the loss of her family but it takes them quite awhile to discover that common ground and begin to heal, with the help of the secret garden.

Greany said she always loved the book, and the musical, created in 1991, has beautiful music, with a message.

“I like the message, that even though your life can be in tragedy, you can still make something good of it,” she said. “The power of faith can make you heal.”

Just as Mary brings new life to the neglected garden, so too does she bring new life to the lonely household.

Mary Lennox is played by 12-year-old Rebecca Grey, who handles the demanding lead role with the ease of a stage veteran.

Greany said Rebecca has been in theater for five years, most recently as an orphan in CSTOCK’s production of “Annie” in 2004.

Her diminutive size is perfect for the part of the delicate yet plucky lead orphan in this show, and her voice is nothing less than angelic.

With her long brown hair and sprinkling of freckles, she looks exactly like little Mary Lennox should.

She also has an able cast of fellow actors, including Eric Richardson as Uncle Archibald, Trina Williamson as her mother Rose Lennox, Dale Borer as her father Albert Lennox, Julie Fedorko as the maid Martha, Billy Buhl as Archibald’s invalid son Colin, Christy Cook as Archibald’s late wife Lily, Jerry Vogt as the gardner Ben Weatherstaff, Adam Matthew as Archibald’s jealous brother Dr. Neville Craven, and Josh Kluth as Dickon, who reveals to Mary the secrets of the secret garden.

Greany has taken care to see that the costumes are authentically Victorian, right down to the corsets, which are not particularly popular with the 21st century women in the cast. Greany designed the look of the costumes, and they were either sewn by her and a group of volunteers or borrowed from other theater companies in the area.

The set is suitably dark and mysterious in the mansion, and bright and full of hope outside. Greany noted that the theater invested in a group of professional photo studio garden backdrops to create the English garden look.

The set transitions are smooth, with no break in the singing as the scenery is shifted by the stage crew.

An interesting feature is that the people who died from cholera are part of the play, a ghostly chorus mostly hidden behind a transparent mesh screen. They carry red handkerchiefs to symbolize the plague that took them.

The characters of Rose and Lilly have a more life-like appearance, moving about the actors on stage, not so much haunting as encouraging them in spirit.

The songs by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon may not be familiar going in, but you just might find yourself humming them on the way out, or when you come back for another show.

“The Secret Garden” opens Feb. 10 at the CSTOCK Theatre in the Silverdale Community Center, 9729 Silverdale Way NW, Silverdale. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $12 adults, $10 seniors and students and $7 under age 11, available at the Kitsap Mall information booth and at the door. Open seating. It is suitable for all ages.