Daddy Long Legs

Based on the 1912 novel by Jean Webster (which became a musical comedy in 1955 starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron), <I>Daddy Long Legs</i> has been given a new and wonderful life thanks to the well-paced direction and well-written adaptation by John Caird (responsible for <i>Les Misérables</i>, among other theatrical mega-hits) and the perfect-for-Broadway tunes by Paul Gordon (who did the music and lyrics). With a nod to Charles Dickens' <i>Great Expectations</i>, the musical tells the story of a wealthy American bachelor, Jervis Pendleton, who anonymously pays for the college education of a female orphan, Jerusha Abbott. The grateful but headstrong Jerusha writes letters to her mysterious benefactor, although he never responds. Well, almost. Love does find a way into the seemly impervious Jervis and the pair of outsiders finds happinessfinallywhen they meet face to face.