By Jeeves (2001 American Premiere Recording)
Based on P.G. Wodehouse'sJeevesstories, which recount the adventures of hapless Bertie Wooster and his resourceful butler, Jeeves, this may be the most British musical ever written--yes, perhaps even more thanMy Fair Lady! In a way,Andrew Lloyd Webberand his collaborator, famed playwright Alan Ayckbourn (book and lyrics), attempt to emulate the bubble-light musicals that Wodehouse himself wrote in the 1920s and 1930s. This is particularly obvious on numbers such as the comic love anthem "That Was Nearly Us" and "When Love Arrives," a duet very much inspired by the ones in the Wodehouse/Gershwins collaboration,Oh, Kay!. It's a bit odd at times to hear Lloyd Webber's majestic chords performed by a small ensemble, but it's also nice to see the composer test himself in this way. Between its firstLondon run in 1996and its Broadway opening in October 2001,By Jeevespopped up in several cities. This recording is based on the Goodspeed Opera House and Pittsburgh Public Theater productions.--Elisabeth Vincentelli