DADDY LONG LEGS Makes Arizona Premiere At ATC

Arizona Theatre Company welcomes the lighthearted new musical Daddy Long Legs directed and written by John Caird, the Tony award-winning director of Les Misérables and Nicholas Nickleby, with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon of the Tony-nominated Jane Eyre. This heartwarming and inventive new romantic musical makes its Arizona premiere in Tucson at the Temple of Music and Art and runs from November 26 through December 17, 2011. It continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from December 29, 2011 through January 15, 2012 with a special New Year's Eve performance on December 31. Arizona Theatre Company's season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser.

Daddy Long Legs tells the story of a young girl's Cinderella journey into womanhood, as well as a confirmed bachelor's awakening into love. Charming and lighthearted, this new musical about falling in love with life begins when an orphanage trustee offers a college education to an 18-year old girl. His only request is that she must never know who he is and that she write to him monthly, though he will never respond.

Told through a series of letters between Jerusha Abbott, the oldest orphan at the John Grier Home, and Jervis Pendleton, her mysterious benefactor, Daddy Long Legs is a testament to the power of the written word based on the beloved 1912 novel by Jean Webster that has been read for generations. This award-winning musical love story has been lauded for its innocence, its sheer beauty, and its depth of emotion, not to mention its magnificent musical score. Winner of three prestigious Ovation Awards including Best Book, Best Score and Lead Actress in an Original Musical, Daddy Long Legs is an enthralling event for the whole family.

John Caird (Bookwriter, Director) directed The National Theatre production of Hamlet starring Simon Russell Beale presented by ATC in 2001. His productions of Les Misérables and Nicholas Nickleby have won numerous awards around the world, including the Olivier and Tony Awards. He recently directed Macbeth at The Almeida Theatre. International credits include Dance of Death, Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Jane Eyre, Candide, Peter Pan, The Seagull, among others. Other work includes Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance at the Palace Theatre and the Siegfried and Roy Spectacular in Las Vegas. Television credits include Nicholas Nickleby, As You Like It and Henry IV. Opera credits include Don Carlos, Aida, Tosca and Brief Encounter, a new opera by André Previn, for which Mr. Caird also wrote the libretto.

Paul Gordon (Music and Lyrics, Co-Orchestrator) was nominated for a 2001 Tony Award for composing the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical Jane Eyre, directed by John Caird and Scott Schwartz. He won a 2011 Ovation award for his score to Daddy Long Legs and won the 2007 Bay Area Critics Circle Award for his book to the musical Emma which has had productions at The Old Globe Theatre, TheatreWorks, The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Repertory Theater of St. Louis. His other credits include Analog and Vinyl, Death: The Musical, Being Ernest, The Sportswriter, and Little Miss Scrooge.

The cast includes Megan McGinnis (Jerusha Abbott) who originated the role of Jerusha in Daddy Long Legs at Rubicon Theatre, and received a Los Angeles Ovation Award for her performance. Her Broadway credits include Les Misérables, Little Women, Beauty and the Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Parade and The Diary of Anne Frank. National tours include Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and James Joyce's The Dead. Ms. McGinnis' television and film credits include Dear John; Sister, Sister; Wings; Blossom; Anywhere But Here and A Goofy Movie; and ROBERT ADELMAN HANCOCK (Jervis Pendleton), who originated the role of Jervis in Daddy Long Legs at Rubicon Theatre Company. He was in the national tour of Mamma Mia!. Regional credits include James Joyce's The Dead, The Fantasticks, Hair, Route 66, Forever Plaid, Muscle, A Christmas Carol, Fiddler on the Roof, among others. Other credits include Madison Repertory Theatre, Court Theatre, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Skylight Opera Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, American Folklore Theatre, and Clarence Brown Theatre, among others. His television and film credits include Royal Pains, The Guiding Light and The Liver.

Julie McBride (Musical Director) is a performer, music director, vocal coach, and accompanist. Her Broadway and Off Broadway credits include Next to Normal, In The Heights, The Addams Family, and The Lion King. Her regional credits include Theatreworks, The Huntington, The Paramount, and The Wharton Center; David Farley (Scenic/Costume Designer) was nominated for the Tony Award for Costume Design, and he and Timothy Bird were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Set Design for Sunday in the Park with George at the Roundabout Theatre. Recent credits include Romeo and Juliet; A Little Night Music; Kiss Me, Kate; Dialogues Des Carmelites; The Tempest; and Oklahoma!; Paul Toben (Lighting Designer) recently designed The Story of my Life on Broadway. His other New York credits include The Judy Show, Saturn Nights, Electra in a One Piece, and Romeo. Regionally, his work has been seen at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, TheatreWorks, and Northlight, Theatre among others; BRIAN JEROME PETERSON (Resident Sound Designer) celebrates his 26th season at ATC, where he has designed 70 productions, most recently God of Carnage. His designs have been heard in many theatres including Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, Cleveland Play House, Northlight Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville and San Jose Repertory Theatre; TIM TOOTHMAN is the Stage Manager for this production.

Arizona Theatre Company presents Daddy Long Legs in association with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Gem Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Skylight Opera Theatre, Rubicon Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, David Elzer and Michael Jackowitz.

The Tucson media sponsors for the 2011-2012 Season are KGUN9, MIXFM and Tucson Lifestyle.

Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances. Audio Description provides patrons with vision loss a running audio description of the movement and activities onstage through an infrared broadcast system. An Audio-Described performance is offered on December 15 at 2:00 PM. Interested patrons with vision loss may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. American Sign Language Interpretation is presented by professional, theatrically-trained ASL-interpreters for people who have deafness or hearing impairment. An ASL-interpreted performance is offered on December 15 at 7:30 PM. Open-captioning allows patrons to read the play's dialogue on an LED screen as the play progresses. An open-captioned performance is offered on December 15 at 2:00 PM. For open-captioned or ASL-interpreted performances, patrons should request seats best suited to ASL interpretation or captioning when purchasing tickets. Large print and Braille playbills and infrared listening amplification devices are also available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Tucson at (520) 884-9723 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).

Tickets for Daddy Long Legs are $36-$60, subject to change, depending on date and section choice and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office at (520) 622-2823. Discounts are available for seniors and active military on specific performance days. $10 student ticket pricing is now available for all performances. Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability). Ten Dollar Tuesday for Daddy Long Legs is November 29 at 7:30 PM. Balcony seats for this preview performance are available for a suggested $10 donation. (Tickets must be purchased at the ATC box office starting at 10 AM on November 29. Seating is first-come first served and is not guaranteed. Cash only, please. Two tickets per person maximum.) For discounts on groups of eight or more, call (520) 622-2823.

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