First Folio reteams comic duo for 'Jeeves at Sea'
For First Folio Theatre co-founder and artistic director Alison C. Vesely, tapping Christian Gray as bumbling playboy Bertie Wooster and Jim McCance as his unflappable servant Jeeves was the casting equivalent of winning the lottery.
“They are the perfect combination. We knew it instantly,” Vesely said. “The two of them together are unbeatable.”
Gray and McCance initially teamed up in First Folio's 2008 production of “Jeeves Intervenes,” adapted by Margaret Raether from P.G. Wodehouse's stories.
Eight years later, Gray and McCance reprise for the fourth time their roles as the millionaire and his valet in Raether's latest “Jeeves at Sea.”
Raether's adaptations, which typically combine several stories, have become something of a franchise for the Oak Brook theater, second in popularity only to its semiannual production of “The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe,” adapted from Poe's writing by Vesely's husband, First Folio co-founder and executive director David Rice.
Vesely calls the “delightful pieces of fluff” a perfect antidote for blustery Chicago-area winters.
“We love her stuff,” said Vesely. “Every time she writes a new script, we're the second company to produce it.”
The first is Artists' Ensemble Theater in Rockford, Raether's artistic home.
Vesely, a Wodehouse fan, says Raether perfectly captures the style, attitude and lingo of the writer, whose appeal she attributes to humor and nostalgia for a madcap, bygone era. As for the popularity of First Folio's productions, she attributes that to the crackerjack ensemble and their precise comic timing.
“To me, Christian is Bertie. He has those upper-crust qualities, but he can be such a dork, in such a lovable way. Forgetful, a little thick sometimes, he's just hilarious that way,” Vesely said.
“With Jim, there's something about him,” she said. “He's so dry. He's so intelligent, especially about Wodehouse.”
But not as intelligent as his character, McCance insisted.
“I don't know if I should make this public, but I'm not as smart as Jeeves. I'm not certain any mere mortal is,” said McCance, adding “I can reveal that Christian is much smarter than Bertie.”
“It's always fun to do a comedy that works, one that the audience enjoys. It's quite a thrill,” he said.
A longtime Wodehouse fan, Gray jumped at the chance to play Bertie. The challenge, he says, is in balancing the realistic and the cartoonish.
“Most people don't realize how farcical these characters are. You can't be afraid to be completely silly because these characters are silly,” said Gray, describing them as “just this side of Warner Bros. cartoons.”
Gray says he and McCance clicked from that first rehearsal in 2008.
“He had Jeeves down with no effort whatsoever and that's exactly what you want,” said Gray. “The rest is history.”
Now, even with a few years between productions, they quickly fell back into those long-established rhythms.
“It's like riding a bike, and in this case it's a tandem bike. There are times I let him steer and times he lets me steer,” Gray said.
While the plays are frequently rooted in physical comedy and slapstick, Jeeves usually observes the mayhem from the sidelines.
“If the secret of acting is reacting, the secret of acting Jeeves is not reacting. Almost,” said McCance, adding he feels a little guilty about the aerobic efforts expended by his castmates.
“I have to be careful to step out of the way,” he jokes.
After four productions, Gray and McCance have put an indelible stamp on these characters. That may be both a blessing and a curse, in that it's difficult to imagine a First Folio Bertie and Jeeves play without them.
That hasn't been an issue so far. Here's hoping it never is.
“Jeeves at Sea”
<b>Where:</b> Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook, (630) 986-8067 or <a href="http://firstfolio.org">firstfolio.org</a>
<b>When:</b> 8 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, from Jan. 27 through Feb. 28. Also at 3 p.m. Feb. 11, 18 and 25 and 4 p.m. Feb. 20 and 27
<b>Tickets:</b> $22-$39