Newlyweds bring special spark to OCT production

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Posted February 5, 2025 | By Jamie Berube, Special to the Gazette / Photos By Thomas Cuevas/Special to the Ocala Gazette

When Greg Thompson was a child, he says he was always confused by the idea of falling in love at first sight.

“As a teenager, I became even more puzzled by the concept of falling in love altogether. I can’t imagine how much more complicated it would have been if I had to deal with the option of swiping left or right, perhaps without reading my potential love interest’s profile first,” he said.

For Thompson, it raises the question whether or not two people can fall in love without physically seeing one another, first.
Thompson is the executive and artistic director of the Ocala Civic Theatre and has directed and/or choreographed dozens of shows. He has been a member of the Actor’s Equity Association, the Society of Directors and Choreographers and is SAG-AFTRA eligible. This month, he is serving as director and choreographer for an old-fashioned love story that may answer his question about love at first sight.

From Feb. 6-23, love is on stage with “Daddy Long Legs” live at OCT, where two local actors will play out a love story originally penned by American author Jean Webster in 1912.

Webster, the grandniece of Mark Twain, wrote “Daddy Long Legs” as a series that appeared from April to September 1912 in the “Ladies’ Home Journal.” It was published in book form in October 1912. The setting is New England, and the timeframe is 1908-1912. Jerusha Abbott, played by Megan Taylor, is introduced in the opening act as the oldest out of 97 orphans in the John Grier Home.

Being 18 years old with a gift for writing, Jerusha catches the attention of a wealthy benefactor of the home, Jervis Pendleton, played by James Ray Taylor. This mysterious benefactor is smitten by Jerusha’s writing and he decides to pay for her college education with one condition: She must regularly write him letters detailing her collegiate adventures and he will remain anonymously known as “John Smith.”

James Ray Taylor is returning to the OCT stage, where he previously played roles such as Sherlock Holmes in “Baskerville,” Joseph Pulitzer in “Newsies,” Dracula in “Dracula” and Lumiere in “Beauty and the Beast.”

Megan Taylor has graced the OCT stage many times in roles such as Actress 1 in “Baskerville,” Katherine in “Newsies” and Renfield in “Dracula.”

In this two-person play, the actors have an advantage in “playing” out this love story. James and Megan are newlyweds and, when on stage together, there is hardly anything artificial about their acting.

Melody Murphy, the director of marketing for OCT, says the couple are perfectly suited for this performance.

“The most unique thing is that we have a newlywed married couple starring in this two-person show. They’re perfectly suited for it, and of course their chemistry will be unmatched,” she said, adding that the show is well-timed for Valentine season.
Thompson describes it as an unconventional love story.

“It’s a delightful and unconventional love story that reminds us how love can often surprise us in the most unexpected ways. Imagine ‘You’ve Got Mail’ meets Fitzgerald’s ‘This Side of Paradise,’ adding all the sincerity of ‘Annie Hall’ and the charm of ‘My Fair Lady,’” he noted.

Throughout the show’s two acts, Jerusha’s letters become the meat of the story. They ignite feelings of romance and yearning within Jervis, who himself is somewhat of a recluse.

Thompson’s question about love at first sight runs parallel to another question throughout this story.

“In the case of Jerusha Abbott and Jervis Pendleton, can we believe two people might fall in love just by writing letters to one another?” he asks.

In the first act, Jerusha gets the news that an anonymous benefactor is sending her to college. She is curious about what kind of man would want to educate her, an orphan. She calls her benefactor “Daddy Long Legs” as a pet name based on her brief view of his tall, spindly shadow at the start of the story when she sees him leaving the orphanage, moments before she discovers her good fortune.

After the opening, the dialogue begins between Megan and James as the story is told through letters and song. Jerusha never sees Daddy Long Legs up close, so she uses her imagination and paints him as an old man with either graying hair or a bald head.

“The characters speak through letters to each other, but directly to the audience, as if the person they’re writing letters to was you in the seats,” James said.

In her letters, she describes feeling lonely and out-of-touch. The cultured conversations of her classmates about life experiences that she has never had make her insecure.

Jerusha feels ignorant to find that she is the only one in her class who has never heard of significant figures such as Florence Nightingale and Michaelangelo. She laments being so many years behind her classmates because she was not formally educated as an orphan. The value of education quickly becomes a subplot sprinkled throughout the play.

“At its heart, this story beautifully highlights the incredible value of education and how it can truly transform someone’s life and shape their future,” Thompson says.

While learning about the world for the first time, Jerusha shares her emotions with Daddy Long Legs in her letters which, in turn, breathe life into his bones.

“As Jerusha embarks on her journey of self-discovery through education, she generously shares her thoughts and feelings about the world that begins to unfold before her,” Thompson said. “In this exchange, she also opens Jervis’s eyes, who has been so focused on his serious quest for knowledge and excellence that he’s missed out on life’s joys.”

Jervis grows fond of her and her expressive letter-writing over the course of four years, but he does not write back nor give away his identity. He does, however, begin to fall in love with her.

This love story is largely sung and, according to Thompson, there are 13 trunks in the show and the two-person cast moves them constantly throughout to change the scenes. Moving the trunks is one challenge for the duo, but there are other challenges, too.

“Telling a story through letters proves difficult because conversations are done in an almost monologue format and going through emotions while telling a ‘one-sided’ story can prove challenging,” James said.

“Also, not crying at the end of the play was rough at first,” he continued.

Megan says she has never had to learn so many lines in her life, and it was exhausting.

“There are times when I have three whole pages of dialogue and song, and James gets to chill in the back and drink his fake whiskey. I envy him,” Megan said.

Megan’s voice is rich, commanding the stage. She does a darling job playing Jerusha, with the kind of zest and zeal that cannot be accredited to anything but the actor’s intuition.

James carries the role of Jervis with perfect poise. He graces the OCT stage with charming confidence and a voice that will leave the audience wanting more.

“Our two actors are exceptional at their craft. This has truly been a study in knowing, as a director, when to step back and get the heck out of the way as you realize everything you need is already in the room with you,” he said.

The stage is set with gorgeous props, including antique shelves dressed with antique books, globes, figurines and sculptures.
As the show concludes, Jerusha meets Daddy Long Legs in an unexpected, sentimental way. His identity is revealed after she graduates from college. To Jerusha’s surprise, he does not have gray hair and is not balding but is in fact handsome and young. Cupid’s arrow shoots across the stage towards the end as the two share a soft kiss.

According to Murphy, the play is very family friendly.

“The content and the language are both rated G, and it’s a lovely, relatable romance for all ages. You could bring anyone from your older children to your grandparents to see it, and they’d fall in love with the show,” she offered.

Being a lesser-known musical, there were some unique challenges in its promotion. For Murphy, the challenges were met with joy.

“There’s something fun about knowing we have a delightful surprise in store for our audiences, if we can just get them here to see the show right away. It feels like keeping a delightful secret. Lesser-known shows are often rare, hidden gems, and this one certainly is,” she said.

Murphy added that “Daddy Long Legs” is the kind of show that becomes a sleeper hit, once word of mouth travels.

For Thompson, directing the play has been a fun process.

“Thanks to a fantastic team, I think it’s beautiful,” he said.

The Ocala Civic Theatre is located at 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. Tickets for “Daddy Long Legs” are $35 for adults and $17 for ages 18 and younger. This show is rated G. Buy tickets online at ocalacivictheatre.com. To get tickets through the OCT box office, call (352) 236-2274 or visit 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.