By Jeeves
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
By Jeeves is a musical based loosely on the stories of PG Wodehouse, by Andrew Lloyd-Webber (music) and Alan Ayckbourn (lyrics and story).
The show began life as Jeeves at Her Majesty's Theatre, on April 22, 1975. It closed after 38 performances on May 24, and is regarded as Andrew Lloyd-Webber's only real flop. Alan Ayckbourn decided to revisit the show in 1996, jettisoning most of the score and the entire original book. The revised version, retitled By Jeeves, re-opened on May 1 1996 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre-in-the-round in Scarborough. Audience reaction was generally enthusiastic so the show moved to the fairly intimate Duke of York's Theatre in London on July 2 for a 12 week season. The show turned out to be more popular than first thought, and the run was extended to February 1997 and the show moved to The Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. Steven Pacey played Bertie Wooster and Malcolm Sinclair played his manservant, Jeeves.
The show had its American premiere in November 1996, at the Goodpseed Opera House in Connecticut. American actor John Scherer took the part of Bertie, and Richard Kline played Jeeves. The show was specially recorded and released on VHS and DVD where British actor, Martin Jarvis, took over from Richard Kline as Jeeves. It also ran briefly at the Helen Hayes Theater in 2001.
