First ever live streaming Off-Broadway show is free tonight

Theater history is being made tonight – and it's yours to share, for free  – as a performance of the intimate off-Broadway musical "Daddy Long Legs"  is live streamed to the world at no cost to the viewers.  Tapping into the entertainment should be easy, too, just by visiting daddylonglegsmusical.com. You can even download a PDF of the program book for free, too!

First admired in Jean Webster's 1912 novel form,  later an appealing film starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, this new treatment by composer Paul Gordon and librettist John Caird re-tells the tale of an orphan girl supported by a mysterious benefactor, who agrees to send her to college with the condition that she write him a letter once a month. Through  correspondence they share literature, adventure and personal stuff and eventually, surprise, fall in love.

Critics have been quite supportive of the show, which opened in New York on Sept. 28. The New York Times called it "a great treat. Sweet and beautifully sung." Time Out New York wrote "This Cinderella-style story has some serious Legs." The Huffington Post suggested it offers similar appeal as "Wicked"  - likely to be "deeply adored and cherished by women of all ages."

Sensitive guys like it too, I've been assured by one who emerged from a recent performance dabbing tears from his eyes.

Co-starring the much raved about Megan McGinnis  and Adam Halpin (McGinnis' real life husband), Thursday's 8 p.m. stream will seem "as if you are sitting in the Davenport Theatre watching the show live," said co-producer Ken Davenport. He's  jumped through hoops with New York stage unions to pull off this first-of-its-kind happening, but believes it was worth it. "Our goal is to try and raise awareness for the show and for the theater, in general," he told Playbill.com. "I believe the digital distribution of theatrical content is the most powerful audience development tool we are not using."