Bloomin’ Jeeves Not To Miss
February 13, 2013 by Hedonista · Leave a Comment
We all have superheroes in our lives. Those oh-so-special people whom you just know would be there in a heartbeat should you neeeed them.
How do you know?
Because they’ve already been there oh-so-many times.
Take Jeeves, for instance. Granted, he’s a butler/valet, but no one would deny that he always seems to go above and beyond. He’ll even challenge a direct order for the improved well-being of the one making the request.
Jeeves in Bloom is a play currently running at the Taproot Theatre Company (TTC). A play adapted by Margaret Raether from the stories of Sir Pelham Grenville (P.G.) Wodehouse. It stars an intensely talented actor who is no stranger to Taproot: Matt Shimkus (Freud’s Last Session, The Beams Are Creaking,) as Jeeves. (Your Hedonista recently attended as media.)
From left to right: The hapless Augustus Fink-Nottle (played by Randy Scholz) and the clueless Bertie Wooster (played by Aaron Lamb). Photo by Erik Stuhaug, provided by Taproot and used with permission.
Jeeves is a well-known character who was made infamous in the BBC comedy series Jeeves and Wooster, which ran in the 1990s. Jeeves inspired the phrase “right ho, Jeeves” as well as the Internet search engine askjeeves.com.
When the playwright Raether first read the novel The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse – which was first published in 1938 – she became inspired. Jeeves in Bloom first premiered in 2009 at the Artists’ Ensemble Theatre in Illinois and went on to be produced at First Folio Theatre in Chicago and Old Log Theater in Minneapolis.
This current Taproot production is being directed by Associate Artistic Director Karen Lund. Summing up this play is a quotation by Aunt Dahlia, played brilliantly by Kim Morris (Leaving Iowa): “Clearly, Bertie needs a keeper. And Jeeves has got brains for two, which is the exact quantity anyone looking after Bertie requires.”
Aaron Lamb (Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol, Beasley’s Christmas Party, An Ideal Husband) plays a fabulous thick-headed but well-meaning Bertie Wooster.
Wodehouse knew how to use laughter to dispel the darkness, let in the light, and teach us that (self-)deprecation result in (self-)acceptance.
Jeeves in Bloom is currently running February 1st until March 2nd, 2013 (they had previews January 30th and 31st). Thirteen performances remain, including tonight’s performance, as well as two Post-Play Discussions, which take place on Wednesday nights after the show. Tickets range from $20-$40, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups of eight or more individuals.
Oh, and next Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., TTC is hosting a free event entitled What’s So Funny? The Enduring Comedy of P.G. Wodehouse, the first in TTC’s 2013 season’s Conversations series. Seating is limited, so be sure to reach out to TTC to reserve seats.
