Stephen Sondheim, the horrific mastermind behind such broadway blockbusters as Cats and Jesus Christ, Superstar, has written a musical entitled By Jeeves. When I first heard of this production, I thought the name had to be merely coincidence; however, my worst fears have been confirmed. The play is a musical retalling of the tales of Jeeves and Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse.
I am certainly a huge fan of the majority of musical theatre out there, but this crosses all lines of decorum. Under no circumstances would Jeeves ever conceivably burst into song, especially not the wordy musical rabbit-trails that Sondheim composes. And Wooster would never sing anything but a rousing drinking tune.
Posted by Micah Lewis at February 10, 2003 12:14 PM