We went to see a musical production of Daddy Long Legs, the one by Jean Webster, the title notes in the library catalog say:
An orphaned girl named Judy Abbott and an unknown, unseen benefactor who sends her to college and whom she refers to as “Daddy-Long-Legs” are the two principals in this immensely popular modern-day fairy tale. Told through Judy’s letters and illustrated by her own quaint drawings, DADDY-LONG-LEGS is a profound and tender homage to the power of awakening love.
It was the kind of musical with only two cast members, who were both on stage basically the entire time. I thought it was a little too long – Mark, more familiar with the intricacies of the genre, pointed out that the first act of almost every musical play is stronger. Characters and melodies and plot are introduced in the first act, while in the second act they have to move it all forward, tie it all up, and reprise.
We got to Milwaukee in time to go to Comet for brunch, before the 2:00 show. We met John there. I drove to Milwaukee, and asked Mark to drive back, so I got to indulge in a Comet Bloody Mary for the first time – bacon garnish, pickled Brussels sprout, and 7-oz. Miller pony bottle chaser & all. The rest of breakfast was good – I had eggs, more bacon, hash browns (that were really greasy, but somehow properly so) and a giant pancake – but the Bloody Mary was the best. Especially because I got them to make mine with gin.
I don’t think I ever really read the book, although it was much talked about when I was a young teenager. So, just like that, I now have the Project Gutenberg e-book in my iPhone – with a copyright date of 1912, Daddy-Long-Legs is public domain. Looks like the Fred Astaire & Leslie Caron movie version came out the year I was born. I’m so enamored of Downton Abbey now – I think I liked that the play was the same time period. And the type of small production with lots of clever tricks – like, since it’s all told through letters, writing in light across the top of the sets to give the dates and locations, or a scene where Jerusha and Master Jervey are hiking in the country, the actor playing Jervis rolls up his trousers and puts on a cap, and voila, is wearing the same knickers and driving cap that Matthew Crawley wears to walk the grounds with the Earl of Grantham.
