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They say that laughter is the best medicine.
After two years of COVID, quarantine, and all of the other stresses, Warren Players' current production, "Jeeves at Sea", directed by Kevin Hunt, may just be the laughter cure.
The cast is made up of Warren Players veteran performers who have been working tirelessly on honing their acting skills, under Hunt's tutelage. "The community needs something like this right now," Hunt said. "We picked Jeeves specifically for the high comedy element; and to bring back some of the tradition of acting in a regular straight play, where you can really focus on characters, the physical comedy, and making the audience laugh."
As reported in the Times Observer earlier this month, the use of swings has been invaluable. "They are every bit a part of the Jeeves family," Hunt said, "and every member of the cast has put their hearts and souls into this."
"It shows," he said. "That's just one aspect of community theater that we love to bring to our audiences at Warren Players."
Based on P.G. Wodehouse's classic 1920s books, Margaret Raether's good, old-fashioned situational comedy brings to life the antics of Bertie Wooster (Austin Reese), his best friend Crumpet (Michael Stenberg) and the girl they both adore, Lady Stella Vanderley (Brionna Childs) as they depend upon the incomparable Jeeves (Patrick Mulligan) to get Crumpet out of a sticky situation.
The action never stops onboard the Vanderley yacht, the Circe. Jeeves, described by Bertie as "just the sort of fellow you need in a sitch like this", once again comes to the rescue, with hijinks and hilarity along for a ride that may or may not involve murder, and definitely does involve a long-lost twin, a missing uncle, a German Count (Allan Branthoover) who has a secret past with Lady Stella's companion, Miss Pilbeam (Julie Fofana), the literary works of Rosie M. Banks, and, of course, a duel for a lady's affections.
Just who is the mysterious Alfred of Africa? Who did Crumpet attack in the dark streets of Monte Carlo? What were the Count and Miss Pilbeam up to all those years ago in Vienna? Is Miss Pilbeam really as straight-laced as she appears? Will Stella choose Bertie? Or Crumpet? Or Alfie? And just how many times does Jeeves say 'sir'?
The answers to these, and many more, questions will be revealed during the performances of "Jeeves at Sea" - at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27 at Struthers Library Theatre.
Tickets are available one hour before the show opens, and are available for purchase online at strutherslibrarytheatre.org, or by contacting the theater office.
Specialty themed drinks will be available at Sally's Encore ahead of the show, and raffle baskets that support local businesses will be given out during intermissions. There will also be a chance to win a Jeeves at Sea t-shirt if you guess the closest number of 'sirs' said by Jeeves (two winners per performance; check program for more details).
"I think I speak for all of us when I say that the laughter-filled practices for Jeeves at Sea have truly served as healing medicine for our souls," Fofana said. "In these times we are living in, it just simply feels so good to spend time laughing and smiling. I sincerely hope that each member of our audience comes on board with us, to forget life's perils for a little while as we laugh together at sea!"