I will come right out and confess that I'm not an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. His music is too derivative and the productions too elaborate.
That being said, I love this little musical! I've loved Bertie Wooster and Jeeves ever since I discovered P.G. Wodehouse many years ago, and this production lives up to the sly humor and ridiculous situations that abound in the stories and novels about Jeeves and Wooster.
Jeeves in this case (Martin Jarvis) is perfectly cast in a non-singing, non-dancing role (except for a wee bit toward the end). His tone of voice, facial expressions and especially his grand gestures as he literally stage-manages the whole show give the viewer an exact picture of just who Jeeves is: as he puts it, a *deus ex machina*. What a brilliantly concise description of Jeeves!
Bertie (John Scherer) is a little more urbane and good-looking than I expect Bertie to be, but just as clueless and devoted to the Code of the Woosters as the Bertie of the written word. His voice is quite good, and his delivery excellent. He is the star of the show and is on stage almost every minute. I really wonder why this is the first time I've ever heard of this fine performer.
The supporting cast is also good, and they really brought this absurd condensation of several Jeeves/Wooster adventures to life.
I enjoyed all of the music, but my favorite is "Travel Hopefully". It exemplifies Bertie's optimistic and good-naturedly naive character and the stage business of the cobbled-together "car" is hilarious.
What puzzles me is the fact that this production, consisting of a cast from Pittsburgh and produced in Toronto is available only in Region 2 format. Go figure.
Top reviews from other countries
Durham1
In the spirit of Wodehouse
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2013
Mikie
but the play in London (Perfect Nonsense) was so much better!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2015