Stage Review - Happy Christmas, Jeeves (Taproot Theatre)
Stage Review - Happy Christmas, Jeeves
Presented By: Taproot Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: November 27 - December 31, 2024 (Extended)
Date Reviewed: Friday, November 29, 2024 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours (including a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
When last we left Bertie Wooster, and his valet Jeeves, he had just escaped one of those situations that he always seems to get himself into, that he always makes worse by not leaving it all up to Jeeves, his right hand and always, without exception, the smartest man in the room. This adventure, staged in Taproot Theatre’s 2023 production of Jeeves Takes a Bow, and featuring Calder Jameson Shilling as the spoiled, and extremely entitled socialite and wannabe loner Bertram Wooster, and Richard Nguyen Sloniker as Jeeves, perhaps the most popular valet in the history of literature, took the pair to New York, where they met showgirls, mobsters, and were unwillingly embroiled in an tale involving the seedier side of New York. Of course, all was well that ended well, and again, as it always has done throughout time in the stories of PG Wodehouse, for every fantastical and humorous hole that Bertie digs himself into, Jeeves, through his quick wit and sheer intelligence, smartly pulls him out of. Now, for Taproot’s holiday production, and their closer for the 2024 season, Bertie and Jeeves are back, back in England, and back for another adventure that involves an unscheduled visit from relatives, purposeful and accidental mixups of identities, and a whole lot of fun, in Happy Christmas, Jeeves, once again featuring Calder and Richard in the roles that they played so masterfully two years ago.
In Happy Christmas, Jeeves, all Bertie wants is his Christmas Pudding. Not pudding, exactly, but his metaphorical pudding, which to him means no visitors, a decorated flat, and time to read the new book by his favorite author, The Christmas Pauper. But alas, fate has other plans, and by fate, I’m referring to Bertie’s Aunt Agatha, who has stopped by with cousin Claude, on his way to South Africa to get his life in order per his Aunt’s directive. Agatha drops the rebellious Claude off with Bertie for the night, leaving it up to him to get his cousin to the train the next morning. Of course, the worst thing anyone can do is to rely on Bertie with anything to do with responsibility, so one can imagine how that turns out. Meantime, Bertie’s good friend “Bingo” (Richard Little) comes to Bertie’s flat looking for advice with a waitress he has just proposed to, Mabel Goggin. Bingo is worried that his Aunt, Lady Bittlesham, won’t accept the engagement since Mabel is from a lower social class than he and Bertie are, so he’s come to, well Jeeves, for advice. It seems the answer might lie in The Christmas Pauper and its author, whose books all deal with love stories between classes, if only they can devise a plan to use those to convince Lady Bittlesham that Claude and Mabel are a good match. And just like burdening Bertie with responsibility, involving him in a plan like this can only result in things going completely off the rails, that is until Jeeves can come in and save the day.
And while Happy Christmas, Jeeves isn’t a true PG Wodehouse story, you wouldn’t know it. Just as Jeeves himself, and Bertie too, has a history at Taproot, so too do the collaborators that came together to bring us this new world premiere holiday story. Jeeves in Bloom was staged during the 2013 season, but it was during the 2015 season, and the production of Jeeves Intervenes when the two worked together, Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey directing and Heidi McElrath dramaturging. Fast forward almost a decade and a show that the pair started working on pre-pandemic finally has hit the Jewell Mainstage at Taproot. It’s clear that this pair understands the essence of a Jeeves story as they’ve brought every element to bear, from a principal character, Bertie, who takes himself way too seriously, to his significantly more intelligent servant/best friend who knows how keep his boss on the rails, when all he seems to do is everything he can to steer himself off of them. The production, like all Jeeves shows before it, is hilarious, with a healthy dose of physical comedy, but with the majority of its laughs coming more subtlely, through an masterful exposition of dry, English wit. Heidi and Nathan have produced a well constructed tale with twists and turns that will make your head spin, your jaw drop, and your belly laugh. They’ve taken known characters and deployed them in a most familiar way while creating new ones that fit into the Jeeves canon as if PG Wodehouse created them himself. In short, they’ve not just captured the essence of Jeeves with Happy Christmas and delivered a funny farce with all of the nuance and nonsense that we’ve come to expect from Bertie and company, but Heidi and Nathan have given us a Christmas tale that has so much heart that it might just have you wiping a tear away from your eye on your way out of the theatre.
Ultimately, it’s not just a Happy Christmas for Jeeves, but it’s one for anybody who comes to this play, and regardless of how well this play is written, it was always bound to be a winner when the cast was announced and it became known that Calder and Richard were reprising their roles from Jeeves Takes a Bow. Calder was brilliant in that turn and he’s continued that here, like he’s not even missed a step. He brings a bit of goodwill to this one, meaning that as soon as the audience sees him on stage, he’s met right away with applause and laughter, which is saying something, because when the lights come up, Calder’s Bertie is lying down, asleep on the couch in his well appointed art deco flat, dead to the world, that is until Richard’s Jeeves slides the pair of doors open at the rear of the stage, met with his own applause, to bring Bertie a concoction to wake him up. And just a quick note on Mark Lund’s scenic design. The overarching art deco style is a stunner, angles commensurate with the style, doors with inlaid wood designs, and each element a piece that informs the overall vision of the piece. It’s just one piece of a creative design that hits its marks very well, one that includes Mark’s sound design, Tucker Goodman’s lighting and Kilah Williams’ gorgeous costumes, more casual in the first act and a bit more formal and festive in Act 2 though those worn by the elder ladies in the cast are standouts.
What makes Calder’s performance so wonderful is that he’s all in on the performance. The character requires him to be big and overly enthusiastic, positive in a sort of non-self aware way, but at the same time understanding that he’s just nothing without Jeeves. Calder also understands the physical nature of the role, the movement on stage, the exaggerated expressions and gestures that are characteristic of Bertie, and that unique way in which he reacts when things go sideways, which inevitably makes things worse in the end. Meanwhile, the strength in Richard’s work comes from its nuance, his posture, his expressions, and his delivery. I loved it in Jeeves Takes a Bow, and in Happy Christmas, Jeeves, I was reminded why I loved both of these actors’ performances so much. There’s so much that Richard’s Jeeves can say with a bow, a raised eyebrow, or motion, and the level of calm with which he plays his Jeeves is picture perfect. Jeeves never lets his emotions show, though there’s a moment in this play where he has to fight it, when his emotion almost creeps in, and watching Richard quash it down is so fun. The success of Happy Christmas, Jeeves also has a lot to do with how these two work together, their chemistry, and especially their timing. Jeeves needs to know exactly what Bertie needs right when he needs it, which means that Richard has to enter a room, or react to Calder at just the right time to make the humor work, and this pair has a chemistry together that is untouchable.
There’s a wonderful supporting cast here as well. Bingo, Bertie’s friend, and Mabel, to whom he is engaged, are a nice match. Bingo, played by William Eames, is happy go lucky, he’s enthusiastically in love with Mabel, Rachel Guyer-Mafune, and willing to do whatever it takes to make his Aunt, Lady Bittlesham, played by Nikki Visel, to accept the engagement. William is so fun to watch, especially when the audience finds out what lengths he’s willing to go to in order to make his aunt, a famous author of etiquette books, accept Mabel. Mabel is a treat, too, and Rachel is very good in the role, and while she’s not in Act 1 altogether much, her importance in Act 2 cannot be understated, and when Rachel is called upon to invoke her character’s underlying strength, she’s up to the task. And for Nikki’s part, her Lady Bittlesham is just as snooty as you’d hope from an etiquette expert, and Nikki makes the most of her limited stage time in Act 2. Perhaps the biggest disruptor to Bertie’s holiday plans, of course, is his Aunt Agatha and cousin Claude. Aunt Agatha, played by Kim Morris, is a task master, intimidating to her nephews, and a bit scary if I’m being honest, but in a good and entertaining way of course. Kim plays Agatha so, so well, and when both Bertie and Claude acquiesce to her, it’s quite funny to watch, especially with Claude, portrayed hilariously by Joe Moore, being so rebellious and mischievous. Kim’s Agatha is stern and strong, but when she puts Bertie in charge of Claude and the younger cousin decides that perhaps he doesn’t want to follow his orders, that’s when the adventure takes off, and yes, each of these actors are excellent in their individual roles, but together, this group is pure holiday magic. One last thing of note, and something I’ve noticed that is present in Happy Christmas, Jeeves and other shows around town and lacking in others, and that is with accent work. When accents are done well, consistently throughout a show as they are here, there’s usually an extremely capable dialect coach involved, and more times than not it’s Marianna de Fazio. The accent work here throughout this entire cast is spot on, and again Marianna’s name is in the mix.
Happy Christmas, Jeeves, is the latest chapter in the story of Bertie Wooster and his incomparable valet. Written by local playwrights Heidi McElrath and Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey, this hilarious farce of a holiday adventure fits the Jeeves canon like a glove, with characters both familiar and new that carry the heart of PG Wodehouse’s work to a new generation. With Calder Jameson Shilling and Richard Nguyen Sloniker reprising their roles from 2023’s Jeeves Takes a Bow, Happy Christmas, Jeeves is a winner, a new holiday classic with enough laughs to fill Santa’s sleigh, and enough heart to carry us through the darkest winter night.
Happy Christmas, Jeeves has been extended and runs on stage through December 31 at Taproot Theatre’s Jewell Mainstage. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://taproottheatre.org/.
Photo credit: Robert Wade
