By Jeeves: Synopsis
Cast: 7 male / 3 femaleRunning time (approximate): 2 hours 15 minutes - not including the interval.
Availability: By Jeeves is available for both professional and amateur production; visit Andrew Lloyd Webber Show Licensing for further details.
Acting edition: By Jeeves has not been published.
This page contains the synopsis for the musical By Jeeves. The synopsis for the 1975 musical Jeeves can be found here.
Characters
○ Bertram Wooster○ Jeeves (his manservant)
○ Honoria Glossop (his ex-fiancee)
○ Bingo Little (his friend)
○ Gussie Fink-Nottle (another friend)
○ Sir Watkyn Bassett (a magistrate)
○ Madeline Bassett (his daughter)
○ Stiffy Byng (his ward)
○ Harold ‘Stinker’ Pinker (a clergyman)
○ Cyrus Budge III (Junior)
Bertie, under the assumed name of Gussie Fink-Nottle, is facing Judge Watkyn Bassett having knocked a policeman’s helmet off. He is sentenced but problems immediately arise. The real Gussie appears at Bertie's flat, pronouncing his love for Madeline, daughter of Bassett. To impress Bassett, he has taken Bertie’s name and pretended to be the owner of the flat.
Just to complicate matters, Bassett also has a ward, Stephanie ‘Stiffy’ Byng, who wants Bertie to help her romance with The Revd Harold ‘Stinker’ Pinker. As Bertie has failed to respond to this plea, Stiffy has announced in The Times she is engaged to Bertie.
In a bid to prevent disaster and Bassett reading The Times, Bertie decides to go to Bassett’s home, Totleigh Towers. Driving to the Towers, he picks up his friend Bingo Little and his intended love, Honoria Glossop, along the way. Honoria and Bertie were once an item to the annoyance of Bingo, who believes Honoria still holds a flame for Bertie. At the Towers, they meet Bassett's guest, the American Cyrus Budge III - who also has eyes on Madeline - and just to confuse matters, Bertie introduces himself as Bingo Little and Bingo is introduced as Gussie.
At the end of the first act, Bertie is also Gussie and Bingo; Bingo is Gussie; Gussie is Bertie; Stiffy is ‘engaged’ to Bertie, but loves Stinker; Honoria fancies Bertie, but is loved by Bingo; Gussie longs for Madeline, but is afraid of Cyrus who also wants Madeline's affections. Everything is about to get much more confused….
Bertie decides to talk to Madeline on Gussie’s behalf, but she misinterprets his words and believes Bertie has declared his love for her. Gussie is enraged. Honoria has also proclaimed her love for Bertie, much to Bingo’s annoyance. The only woman apparently not interested in Bertie is Stiffy, who is 'engaged' to him.
With Bertie being blamed for everyone's woes, Stiffy comes up with a daring and risky plan. If only for Bertie. He will pretend to be a burglar, who will be thwarted by Stinker, thus putting the latter in a good light.
Bertie climbs a ladder - also intending to stop Bassett reading his Times - but enters the wrong room and, wearing and unable to remove a pig mask, is hunted through Totleigh Towers. Chaos erupts until Cyrus is accidentally knocked out by Stinker and becomes entangled in a fountain with Bertie. With Bertie’s identity as the cad and burglar about to be revealed, Jeeves steps in as deus ex machina, pauses the action, spins the fountain round and instead Cyrus is unmasked as the thief and cad.
Furthermore during the hunt through the house, the correct people have ended up with the correct partners much to everyone's satisfaction. Stinker is with Stiffy, Gussie is reunited with Madeline and Bingo is now with Honoria. Bassett has also been relieved of his copy of The Times. No-one believes this state of affairs has anything whatsoever to do with Bertie's actions and that he has done little to help the situation.
The tale over, a banjo - muted unknown to Bertie - arrives and there is time for a final unique rendition of Banjo Boy.
Article by Simon Murgatroyd. Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without permission of copyright holder.