The Southern Utah University Department of Theatre, Dance and Arts Administration is presenting “Daddy Long Legs” on Jan. 27, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium Black Box Theatre.
“Daddy Long Legs” is a musical by Paul Gordan based on the novel by Jean Webster. The story follows a young orphan in the 1910s Jerusha Abbott. She has a mysterious benefactor who offers her an opportunity to go to college in exchange for a monthly letter.
Jerusha spends the musical struggling to find herself, love and the identity and motives of the benefactor she dubbs Daddy Long Legs.
“My whole role is to get the actors on the right path so they’re doing what they need to do because once it’s opening night, the show is in their hands,” said director Jett Larson. “The whole goal of any show is to make it as human as possible. I help the actors find the true meaning of these characters and how they can leave a part of them in these characters on the stage.”
The show’s producer, Malory Myers, will not only oversee the production but also play the part of Jerusha. Larson said she has done a lot of work behind the scenes along with the help of SUU staff Bryan Swanson and Kyle Cook.
The production is made possible through the Black Box Grant which provided the crew access to lighting, space and funding.
“There’s this song called ‘The Secret of Happiness’ that’s about Jersuha finding said secret. She had bad circumstances growing up but she starts to realize the little things in life are pretty cool,” said Larson. “That’s what I want people to take away from the show. We should ask ourselves, ‘What makes life so great every single day?’”
There is limited seating for the show due to COVID precautions so the community can reserve $5 tickets online.
TDAA has several productions in store this semester. Visit the department website for more information.
Story By: Addie Horsley
Photo Courtesy of Jett Larson
accent@suunews.net
