Search - Alan Ayckbourn :: By Jeeves (1996 London Revival Cast)

Random cheerfulness and senseless acts of comedy

C. Sahu | Southern California | 02/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""As Tennyson once thundered/ someone here has badly blundered! " (Not.)You have to kind of backpedal attitudinally to a more relaxed time to enjoy this musical recording. We bought it, listened to it once, then put it away for a year - it's hard to tune into at first because, of course, it's not at all like "Phantom" or "Evita." Then one day, in a what-the-heck sort of mood, I put it on and we have been listening (and singing along) ever since.My 10 year old is listening to it right now while he makes pancakes. He and my 8 year old pore over the lyrics sheet. There are no bad words (except, perhaps, when Honoria Glossop sings to Bertie, "you're nobody's intellectual, you hot-blooded het'rosexual!"), no adult situations that children might not understand - this is a great intro to musical theater. But the music and lyrics are definitely clever enough to please any adult. My favorite song is "Travel Hopefully," a great song to pop into the player when you're motoring off to friends for the week-end. "Travel's broadened out my mind," crows Bertie, "Until, today, you'll find..." "...the widest head I know," puts in Jeeves. "Thank you, Jeeves -- you DID say WISEST, didn't you?" "Sir!"The guy who plays Bertie is just great. The way he manages to show grimaces, grins, puffed out chest, monacle in the eye, red as a beet blushes, every comic posture with just his voice is amazing. As charming as "By Jeeves" is, though, this is gentle comedy compared to the actual P.G. Wodehouse books. No movie, BBC recording, or musical can compare to a talented reading of the original stories."

A magnificent surprise

C. Sahu | 07/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit that I am a theater queen - I love show music. Andrew Lloyd Weber has never been one of my favorites because of his overblown sense of musical drama, but he does write some lovely melodies. This show is chock full of wonderfully lovely and light melodies that quicky get you singing and snapping along. 'Travel Hopefully' appears early in the recording and is just a taste of the fun melodic tidbits to come. There are the telltale Weber exagerations in songs like 'That Was Nearly Us Back There' but the music on this recording shines crisply and cleanly like no other Weber production. The dialog snippets are hysterically funny and help place the songs in context. And, can't forget to mention, the lyrics are greatly humorous that even us dullard americans can appreciate and laugh with. Give this recording 2 listenings - 1 to take in the humor and joy and 2 to get hooked on the music. 5 stars!"

The immortal Wodehouse would approve

C. Sahu | 09/23/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I stumbled across "By Jeeves" on accident one day when I was going through soundtracks. I love P.G. Wodehouse's stories so I decided to buy it on a whim. I figured I could always take it back if I wasn't pleased. I ended up LOVING it. Although it messes up some basic P.G. Wodehouse plots (in the stories Bingo ended up marrying Rosie M. Banks and Gussie married Emerald Stoker and Madeline married Spode) it was still VERY entertaining. I loved the songs and the crazy plot twists which were Wodehouse trademarks. Anybody who has never read Wodehouse but liked the plot of this play should really get the books. This Webber show is definitely worthy of the master."