Review: DADDY LONG LEGS Entertains With Delightful Melodies and Old-Fashioned Charm

In the intimate comfort of The Marcelle Theatre right now, you'll find two adjoining playing spaces-a grand library up top, and a bright, sunny room below. This is where an interestingly-constructed little love story comes to life. It is where Jennifer Theby Quinn and Terry Barber deliver a solid performance of Daddy Long Legs, a musical based on the classic novel which also inspired the 1955 movie featuring Fred Astaire, directed by Insight Theatre Company's Maggie Ryan.

It's New England in Spring of 1908, and Jerusha Abbott (Theby Quinn) is the oldest of 97 other children in the John Grier Home for Orphans. Her existence is predictably bleak until an anonymous benefactor, known to us as the wealthy, young Jervis Pendelton (Barber), selects her essay as the winner of a generous 4-year college scholarship. It must be noted that he has only ever granted scholarship monies to boys before. The only catch to his generosity is that Jerusha must write to him once a month, not to express thanks, but rather to tell him the details of her daily life. Presumably this is to continue fostering her literary expression, for which she already exhibits immense talent.

Pendleton makes it clear in the granting that he does not intend to be a pen pal though, and therefore will not be writing her back. Jerusha however-to whom sophisticated protocol means very little-begins trying to engage in a conversational exchange to bridge the gaps between the little she knows about the mysterious donor and what she's filled in using her untamed imagination. Jerusha, to Pendleton's amusement, envisions him to be tall, olllllllld, and gray (possibly even bald). She asks him several times to describe himself, and when her inquiries go unanswered, she assigns him the nickname "Daddy Long Legs" based on her very limited view from afar when he dropped off the good news. With this image of him, she is more easily able to open up to the generous father (grandfather?) figure she's never had.

She struggles to fit in at college, detailing her vulnerabilities and concerns in the letters, but she is also becoming enlightened as she takes her education seriously, reading and thinking and entertaining progressive ideas she could have never imagined existed. She also is pretty cheeky about it all, and her style intrigues Pendleton until his curiosity finally gets the best of him.

He makes her acquaintance under the guise of visiting his niece, who is Jerusha's classmate. Of course, Jerusha writes in her letters about the charming young Pendleton (and another boy too), which only fuels Pendelton's interest in Jerusha. Because there is now another boy in the mix, Pendleton's scholarship comes with a few new rules that will keep Jerusha solidly on the course to Pendleton.

The plot has a distinctive Jane Austen/Brontë-sisters feel about it-like it's hitting on an appropriate level of feminism for the early 20th century. But while we recognize Pendleton's charity is the only thing that could have provided an opportunity for a young woman of Jerusha's means, there are moments when modern sensibilities are brushed against the grain a bit by the old fashioned-ness of it all. And although we are ultimately rooting for Jerusha and Pendleton to fall together in the end, it's a little disconcerting at times the way he "forbids" her to make certain decisions that she is perfectly capable of making by herself, only because those decisions would prevent him from getting his way.

And yet.

This is a peculiar little love story, as the two characters interact in only a few short intervals. Most of the narrative is played out as Jerusha and Pendleton read her letters, each from their respective spaces, in song. Barber does quite a lot of (believable) listening as Theby Quinn moves the narrative along. They are both tremendously skilled vocalists, and they make magic of Tony Award-nominated composer/lyricist Paul Gordon's music and lyrics and of Tony-winning librettist/director John Caird's book. The melodies really are stunningly gorgeous, and although the story itself is about twenty minutes too long, you won't get tired of hearing these two, accompanied by musicians Terry Andreotti on cello, Scott Schoonover on keyboard, and Vincent Varvel on guitar. Theby Quinn is energetic and wonderfully expressive, and funny too, as she emerges into Jerusha's young womanhood.

Rob Lippert's scenic and lighting design are appropriately complimentary to the story, highlighted by shelves and shelves of beautiful hard-bound leather books and an old typewriter on which you'll likely want to lay all ten fingers. Julian King's costumes accurately and nicely reflect the class of each actor, although Barber's wig seems to have a mind of its own, complicated by a hat that seems a tad smallish. Zoe Vonder Haar's choreography is flawlessly crafted and executed. Daddy Long Legs is a charming trip to yesterday that might make you grateful to be in today.

Daddy Long Legs plays through April 14. Tickets are $20-$40 and performances are at The Marcelle. For tickets and more information, visit Insight Theatre Company's website.