The Pleasures of Matriculation

It ain't easy being the oldest orphan in the John Grier Home, but Jerusha Abbott is dealing with that unfortunate distinction as best she can. She has skills after all; she is an insightful essayist for someone of her age. After reading some of her efforts, Jervis Pendleton, a trustee of the orphange, determines to pay for Jerusha to attend an all-girls college so she can become a professional writer. (That's not the punishment it appears to be — this all takes place in the early 1900s.) Jervis' only condition is that he will remain anonymous, and that Jerusha must send him monthly dispatches from college. Soon Jerusha is swept up in the excitement of a new life at school, which includes time spent with Mr. Pendleton, the kind-hearted uncle of one of her new friends. Can Mr. Pendleton ever share his true identity with this remarkable young woman? Find out in Paul Gordon and John Caird's musical Daddy Long Legs, based on the novel by Jean Webster. The Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis presents Daddy Long Legs Tuesday through Sunday (October 10, through November 4), on the Browning Mainstage in the Loretto-Hilton Center (130 Edgar Road; 314-968-4925 or www.repstl.org). Tickets are $16 to $79.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Oct. 10. Continues through Nov. 4, 2012