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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">DADDY
LONG LEGS…charming and harmonic at CPH</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman"">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman"">Member, American Theatre Critics Association</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">LORAIN COUNTY
TIMES--WESTLAKER TIMES--LAKEWOOD NEWS TIMES--OLMSTED-FAIRVIEW TIMES</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">--<a href="http://COOLCLEVELAND.COM">COOLCLEVELAND.COM</a>—</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;text-transform:uppercase;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Daddy Long Legs,</span><b><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:
Helvetica"> </span></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:
Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica">a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistolary_novel"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">novel</span></a> by the American
writer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Webster"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Jean Webster</span></a>,
Mark Twain’s great grandniece, has had a glorious trek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Originally published in 1912, it was
transformed into a play in 1914 starring Ruth Chatterton, into a 1919 Mary
Pickford movie, a 1931 film staring Janet Gaynor, a 1935 movie called CURLY TOP
starring Shirley Temple, a 1952 British stage musical dubbed <span style="text-transform:uppercase;mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Love from Judy,</span>
then the 1955 film <span style="text-transform:uppercase"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddy_Long_Legs_%281955_film%29"><span style="color:windowtext;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none">Daddy Long Legs</span></a></span> (starring <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Astaire"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Fred Astaire</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Caron"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Leslie Caron</span></a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica">Most recently, it became a musical</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:
Verdana"> with a book by Tony and Olivier Award-winner John Caird (<span style="text-transform:uppercase;mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Nicholas Nickelby,
Les Miserables</span>) and music and lyrics by Tony-nominee Paul Gordon <span style="text-transform:uppercase">(<span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Jane
Eyre</span></span><i>)</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not
bad for a plot that is as thin as a pencil lead and whose conclusion is telegraphed
within the first minute of play.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">The Caird-Gordon rendition is presently on stage
at Cleveland Play House. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">The script, like most female writing around the
turn of century, centers on a sentimental girl heroine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Think Kate Douglas Wiggin’s REBECCA OF
SUNNYBROOK FARM, Eleanor Porter’s POLYANNA and Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE
WOMEN.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Set in early 1900 New England, this is the story
of Jerusha Abbot, a bright orphan sent to a prestigious college by an anonymous
benefactor she nicknames Daddy Long Legs. Revealed through witty and insightful
letters sent to a man she supposedly never sees, it is a delightful look at her
journey to womanhood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">The spoken and sung lines are so blended together
that the entire effect carries the audience into a state of serene smiles and
the feeling of happy escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The
music is often intoxicating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The
song titles give clear clues to the story, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The
Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Who
is This Man?</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Things I Don’t Know</i>,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">What Does She Mean By Love?</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">I Couldn’t Know Someone Less. </i></span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:
Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana;color:#C29CC9"></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">The song, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The
Secret of Happiness</i>, which carries the script’s theme, is a tribute to how
a person can have a series of personal revelations that result in her finding
her true self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As Gordon states,
“It’s about how people come together in a quite interesting and magical
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Don’t be afraid to be
different. Be yourself. Just work your hardest to get your own ideas out there
and do what you can in the world and shine.”</span><span style="font-family:
Palatino;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">The staging and interpretation is creative. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>John Caird’s direction is spot on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are two glorious
performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Add an effective
lighting design, a purposeful set, finely tuned music which supports and does
not drown out the lyrics, and the result is a wonderful theatrical experience.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">The CPH production is a
resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Caird previously
staged the show at numerous venues, with the same cast, starting with its world
premiere in 2009.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Megan McGinnis is effervescent as Jerusha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The beautiful young lady has a
wonderful singing voice, is a fine actress and lights up the stage with her
presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She is the prototype of
the Broadway leading lady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Tall, handsome and talented, Robert Adelman
Hancock is the perfect partner for McGinnis.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>He sings well, develops the right vulnerability, and the duo
appears to be made for one another.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">In an interview McGinnis said, "I
can't tell you how much I love this piece. It's a brilliant and beautiful show
— so well crafted. Jerusha is the most human character I've ever played. She is
fallible and opinionated and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">real</span>.
You watch her develop into this wonderfully strong and independent woman, as
she falls in love with knowledge and learning, and also falls in love with a
man! It's certainly a journey I don't mind taking every night." </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial">Capsule judgement:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Though some may call it a
bit of sentimental fluff, a staged chick flick with formulaic music, I’d term
it a charming tale, developed with clear characters, set to melodic music with
beautiful harmonic blends, that is well staged and performed. DADDY LONG LEGS
is an absolute must see!</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">DADDY LONG LEGS </span><span style="font-family:
Palatino">plays the through November 13 at the Allen Theatre, the new home of
the Cleveland Play House.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For
tickets call 216-795-7000 or go to <a href="http://clevelandplayhouse.com">clevelandplayhouse.com</a>.<span style="color:black"> </span></span></p>