Tom Mayhall Rastrelli

Statesman Journal

The future of Broadway is here, and Ben Bailey of Dallas is on the creative team that’s leading the way.

On Dec. 10, the off-Broadway musical “Daddy Long Legs,” for which Bailey, 32, is a producer, was livestreamed to more than 150,000 people in 135 countries. It was the first free livestreaming of a Broadway or off-Broadway show.

Bringing Broadway to Dallas

Bailey watched the livestream from Dallas High School, where he’d gathered with his family, friends and Dallas theater teacher Blair Cromwell and her students.

“Broadway exists in the world that most of us can’t touch,” Cromwell said. “For my students, (seeing Bailey’s success) makes their world smaller … if that happened to a kid from Dallas, more kids now, who are like Ben, have a model to dream on.”

The livestream was projected onto a huge screen. By the time the lights came up at intermission, I’d forgotten where I was. It felt like I was sitting in the 130-seat Davenport Theatre in Times Square a few feet from the actors.

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“Daddy Long Legs” is a two-person musical based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Jean Webster. Set in the early 20th century, the plot begins with an orphaned girl receiving news that an anonymous benefactor will pay for her college education as long as she writes him monthly letters to which he will never respond. The girl christens him Daddy Long Legs. As college transforms her mind and spirit, her letters change his life.

The production is directed by Tony-winning director John Caird (“Les Misérables” and “Nicholas Nickleby”). Tony-nominated composer Paul Gordon (“Jane Eyre”) wrote the music and lyrics. Tony-winning producer Ken Davenport (“Kinky Boots”) is the lead producer.

So how did a guy from Dallas land in such incredible company?

A mind for business

Bailey’s journey to producing began on the school bus, where he began selling baseball cards and candy when he was 8.

“I’ve always been business minded,” Bailey said. “I knew kids would bring their lunch money, and that, if I had candy, they would spend it before they got to school.”

While on summer breaks in high school, Bailey’s dad taught him how to trade stocks. During his senior year, Bailey enrolled in Cromwell’s theater class at Dallas High.

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“Often senior year there will be these guys that decide, ‘I’m going to take intro to theater,’ and the world opens up, and they are amazing,” Cromwell said, “and I say, ‘Where have you been?’ Ben was like that.”

After graduating in 2002, Bailey worked in productions at Pentacle Theatre, Gallery Theatre in McMinnville, Lakewood Center for the Performing Arts in Lake Oswego and Albany Civic Theater. In the meanwhile, he earned a bachelor degree in theology at Norwest University Salem Campus and worked at a church until he was laid off in 2011.

With no job, Bailey took a tax return of $1,500 and began day trading. In 18 months, he turned the return into $130,000. He’s been in day trading and investing real estate since.

A lucky connection to Broadway

In early 2013, Bailey decided to act on the dream that had been in the back of his mind: Broadway. He did a Google search for “how to be a producer” and landed on Davenport’s blog, theproducersperspective.com.

Bailey left a comment asking how someone like him actually could connect with a producer like Davenport. The next night, Bailey said he received a “four-paragraph personal response” from Davenport, who had just won the Tony for “Kinky Boots.” Bailey responded. A correspondence began.

“I’m a big, take-the-initiative kind of guy,” Bailey said. Two weeks later, he was on a plane headed for a one-hour meeting with Davenport. “I guessed the worst that could happen is I go meet this Broadway producer and talk to him.”

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Davenport recalled that meeting.

“I recognized in Ben something that is very rare in the business of Broadway: an incredible passion for the theater combined with an astute business sense. That combination is exactly what I look for in producing partners,” Davenport said. “Being a producer is like being the owner of a small business. You have to be good at all of it, from the accounting to the marketing to the relationships with your employees. Ben's got all that.”

Bailey walked out of the meeting with three scripts to consider for investment. He chose “Daddy Long Legs.” Eventually, after working together, Davenport offered Bailey an above-the-title producer position. Bailey was then equal with the other producers.

“I found the right guy,” Bailey said of Davenport. “He’s not just looking for money. He’s actually looking to mentor people … There’s a lot of good fortune, but it’s also just taking that initiative and going for it. If I wouldn’t have left a comment on his blog, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

Being a producer

“Daddy Long Legs” opened Sept. 28 for a limited engagement, but following the upsurge of sales after the livestream, the run’s been extended, Bailey said.

“This is my foot in the door,” Bailey said. “I think the show has the potential to run for a long time. It’s a special theater experience.”

Bailey also has invested in “Claudio Quest,” a Davenport production inspired by “Super Mario Bros.” that is in development. He’s also invested in the current Broadway musical “Allegiance” starring George Takei. He has been commuting from the Northwest to New York about once a month while his wife, Brittney Bailey, finished her master’s degree. Now that she’s done, they will move to the East Coast.

Bailey’s goal is to work his way up the producer “ladder” and eventually follow in Davenport’s footsteps as a lead producer on Broadway.

“Every time I’m on the plane, I can’t believe that I’m coming to do this,” Bailey said. “It still feels surreal … It’s been a lifelong dream.”

TRastrelli@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 983-6030, facebook.com/RastrelliSJ and on Twitter @RastrelliSJ