Giving Thanks for Capital City Theater's "Daddy Long Legs"
There are very few musicals that lend themselves to socially distanced recordings, but the 2007 chamber musical Daddy Long Legs, by Paul Gordon and John Caird, seems perfectly at home with a split screen and very little else. The two-person romance, told exclusively through correspondence, is the first virtual offering from Madison’s Capital City Theatre. It succeeds as a concert version of an accidental love story due to the remarkable voices and expressive faces of the performers – Kailey Boyle and Kevin McAllister. A well balanced trio of keyboard, cello and guitar underscore the nearly sung-through piece, which has a rich score and smart lyrics.
Kailey Boyle
Kevin McAllister
The source material for Daddy Long Legs has made a long journey from its inception over a century ago to our modern computer screens. Written by Jean Webster in 1912, it began as a thin, “college girl” book; a work of young adult fiction focusing on a spunky heroine who navigates dramatic decisions about school, marriage, and career. Over the years the book was adapted into a play, a British musical stage comedy, four films (including vehicles for Mary Pickford, Shirley Temple, and Fred Astaire), a Japanese TV series, and three contemporary movie versions in India and Korea.
This story that has fascinated audiences around the world focuses on Jerusha Abbot (a wide-eyed and thoroughly charming Boyle), an 18 year-old orphan who receives a generous gift from a mysterious benefactor. After reading an essay she wrote, her anonymous patron offers Jerusha a scholarship to college and a stipend for living expenses so that she can become an author. There are nine conditions of the gift but the most important stipulations are that the two must never meet and that Jerusha must send her sponsor a letter every month to let him know how she’s doing. After catching a glimpse of the wealthy and generous man who is paying for her education, Jerusha notes only that he is very tall. Unsure of how to address the patron in print, she refers to him as Daddy Long Legs, hence the title.
So begins Jerusha’s one sided relationship with her mentor – a trusted father figure who she assumes is extremely old and gray. Through regular letters she describes life at an East Coast women’s college and her awakening to the wide world outside of the orphanage. There are struggles with her subjects, a literary awakening to the classics, feelings of inferiority among all the well-to-do young ladies in her classes, and exciting trips to New York City – all of which she describes in detail in letters to her patron. There is also a budding friendship with her roommate’s uncle, the kind and quietly doting young philanthropist Jervis Pendleton (a reserved, but clearly enthralled McAllister). The problem, of course, is that they are the same person.
Much angst ensues but very little actual conflict, so not much really happens over the course of the two-hour musical. Jerusha is increasingly curious about the identity of her patron and Jervis battles with his conscience about the impropriety of falling in love with his ward. As the orphan begins to enjoy her independence – longing to become a social reformer and a suffragette – her benefactor becomes increasingly controlling and manipulative. Presented as a period piece set firmly at the turn of the 20th century, the relationship is awkward but understandable. In 2020, it feels misogynist and creepy. The fact that the production looks modern – with contemporary clothes and iPhones – exacerbates the problem.
From a technical standpoint, Daddy Long Legs is one of the better Covid-era theater pieces. With only two characters (instead of the collage of talking/singing heads that many Zoom performances devolve into) it is easy to watch. Sound quality varies from scene to scene, but is generally good and the backgrounds for the scenes are simple but evocative. Editing is on point, with no long lulls in conversation or reactions, and spot on synchronicity during duets, which are exceptionally lovely.
To really enjoy Daddy Long Legs, audiences should focus on the gorgeous music, performed by two very accomplished actors with stellar voices. “My Manhattan” and “The Secret of Happiness” stand out as songs you will want to hear again and again, in a musical that is full of pleasant melodies but light on story.
Available to stream through the 28th, audiences can visit https://capitalcitytheatre.org/daddy-long-legs to check out the show for a $20 ticket. Daddy Long Legs isn’t perfect, but it is something to be thankful for during this time of distanced theater experiences. Kudos to Capital City Theatre for sharing this musical gem with us, while we have to “go to the theater” in our living rooms.