Daddy Long Legs opens Oct. 17; plays Wed., 2 & 7 pm; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm; Sat. & Sun., 2 pm; through Nov. 8. Tickets: $39-$59. Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura; 805.667.2900 or rubicontheatre.org

“The great artist goes beyond what has been done or known and makes something of his own.”

– Ernest Hemingway

One of the best parts of going to theatre is getting your ticket torn at the door. When that happens, you’re given a blank check in exchange. Very soon, you’ll have filled it in but whose signature will be at the bottom? Who made the show something you could take to the bank? Your memory bank.

John Caird

Over at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, a world premiere musical called Daddy Long Legs is being launched and it has John Caird’s name written all over it. And, write he does. And, direct as well. Very well.

You may remember him from his Tony and Olivier-Award winning directorial triumphs with Trevor Nunn for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and Les Miserables. But, why did it take two directors for those shows?

Having a director at all is a modern convenience, gaining widespread popularity only by the 20th century. From ancient Greek times through the 19th century, the head of the chorus or an actor-manager or the playwright staged the productions. A director type was needed only if the material was unwieldy and one had to deal with a large cast.

So, on a guess, it seemed like an appropriate marriage of ancient and modern thinking to have expanded vision for the iconic eight-hour stage version of Nickleby and the epic musical saga of Les Miz.

“It’s been 24 years,” Caird says, “since Trevor and I directed together.” He writes about it in his upcoming book Theatre Craft (due out by Faber Macmillan in spring 2010).” You should only co-direct when it’s a huge adaptation and you’re working on structure as well. It’s a bit daunting and you feel you need a friend.”

But, even friends can get in the way or in your face or in your line of vision. “Oh yes, it would be mad to co-direct in many productions, especially if you need a relationship with a solo actor, as in Hamlet or Hedda Gabler.

“But, in adapting a 1500-page novel, it works. Both parties have to suspend their artistic idiosyncrasies, breathe deep and allow room for the other person. They have to really see eye-to-eye on the collaboration. You lose track of who does what. It opens it up. And, it’s important to have disagreements publicly.

“Trevor and I have co-directed five times, including a new adaptation of Peter Pan from the novel Peter and Wendy. James Barrie wrote it late in his life to set the record straight that it was meant to be a love story between Peter and Wendy. “It was a difficult job because we needed to start fresh from the novel and undo all the misconceptions created by past productions.

“It seems utterly perverse and misguided when played by mature women especially when it’s about a little boy who can’t grow up. This adaptation is available through Dramatists Play Service and is done quite often here in the States.”

The States are not his only playground. A Canadian by passport, Caird directs all over the world. He is the Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Principal Guest Director at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, and works extensively in Japan and at the National Theatre in London where he staged his own adaptation of Bernstein’s Candide.

Like setting Peter Pan straight, Caird had similar excitement about his work on Candide. “I loved doing it and chose it because it’s an amazing story that needed to be cleaned up. The old way had a mad performance style. So I went back to the Voltaire. Then, it became more moving and involving. Bernstein’s score was great and I used it. But, Richard Wilbur, the original librettist, and Sondheim rewrote some of the original lyrics to make better sense of it.”

In his continual theatre travels, Caird has also lent his talents to the seemingly related world of opera. Hold that thought. “It’s a wonderful medium,” he says, “but a very different form from theatre. Opera is based on the music rather than the story. It’s exciting for me to get that different perspective.”

In May of this year, he got that perspective right with Andre Previn’s Brief Encounter at the Houston Grand Opera. It is based on the play Still Life and the movie of the play Brief Encounter, both written by Noel Coward. As librettist and director of the new work, Caird explains that Coward “has written a story of what it is like to fall in love in a completely unexpected way, out of the blue, not expecting it to happen and that makes the source very suitable for operatic adaptation.”

As for the new opera’s future, he is amused a bit. “It’s not like theatre; it takes a long time to get into the blood stream. Much more than any other art form. It can take years just to track down the right stars and their schedules. It’s all so ludicrously non-commercial, throwing money away on a grand scale. For five performances!”

Circling back to theatre, Caird’s writing and directing resume is staggering. Some recent highlights include his direction on Broadway of Pam Gens’ Stanley, the story of the British painter and his passionate attachment to his wives. It won the Olivier Award for Best New Play. Caird was also the librettist and director of the West End’s Children of Eden, an original musical by composer Steven Schwartz based on the first nine chapters of the Book of Genesis.

But, it was Caird’s work as librettist and director for Broadway’s Jane Eyre that brought him his Tony-nominated collaboration with composer Paul Gordon. Caird adapted Eyre from the Charlotte Bronte novel about the sharp-tongued Victorian governess who falls in love with the master of the house. The production was nominated for five Tonys including Best Musical and two for Caird for Best Book and Best Score together with composer Gordon.

It was through that collaboration that Daddy Long Legs started its long journey to the Rubicon. With Gordon anchored in Los Angeles and Caird (with eight children, ages 7-23) in London, New York, Stockholm, Houston and Tokyo, it took a while to finish and they’re still working on it for its world premiere.

It was Caird’s wife who first interested him in the classic 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by American writer Jean Webster, “with a view to dramatizing it,” says Caird. The story follows young Jerusha “Judy” Abbott as she writes letters to her benefactor, a rich man whom she has never seen. “It’s not a children’s story,” he explains, “more of an Anne of Green Gables, girl coming of age in difficult social circumstances, sort of love story.”

Composer Paul Gordon had a connection in Michael Jackowitz, Director of New Works at the Rubicon who placed Daddy in the summer 2008 “Plays in Progress” series. In the workshop, the musical was read once with an audience, notes taken and adjustments made. A week later, there was a second reading for an audience and it was booked to the rafters,” according to Rubicon’s Lisa Jackson. “People came back eager to see the changes.” Megan McGinnis plays Jerusha (she was the original Beth in Little Women on Broadway) and Robert Adelman Hancock continues as “Daddy” Jervis Pendleton which he also played last summer.

After the Rubicon run, Daddy moves on to Palo Alto’s TheatreWorks, then to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. The three theatres are co-producing the show and sharing its costs. The Rubicon is lead producer, thanks in large part to its husband and wife team of Karyl Lynn Burns (Producing Artistic Director) and Jim O’Neill (Artistic Director), together with Jackowitz who continues with Executive Producer duties.

Daddy is a two-hander, two in cast, but here six in the orchestra. The musicians are eminent in the pop and classical worlds and have toured with most everyone from Miley Cyrus to Madonna to Dwight Yoakam. “In this recession,” Caird muses, “the size of the cast and band should be very attractive to companies all over the world. It would be nice if it goes to Broadway but I’m not holding my breath about that.

“Musicals can get endlessly stalled waiting to get to Broadway. It would be better for all concerned to be less greedy. I’d rather have a hundred successful regional productions than one successful one on Broadway. I want lots of people to see it.”

The economics of theatre matter to Caird. He observes the excellence of the “ensemble” theatre companies of continental Europe, especially in Sweden. “The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm is a real ensemble. They are permanently employed and produce 15-20 plays a year in five theatres.”

He started his association with them through a good relationship with leading actors; for example, Mats Bergman (Ingmar’s son). “It builds its repertoire around the strength of its actors. These types of theatres are well-funded with some state subsidy, corporate sponsorship and more and more from ticket sales.”

He’s also hoping Daddy Long Legs will be a “hot ticket” in Ventura. Remember this Renaissance man when yours is torn at the door.

Feature image of Robert Adelman Hancock and Megan McGinnis in Daddy Long Legs at Rubicon Theatre by Carol Rosegg

Article by Geo Hartley