First Folio pulls off sharp revival of comedy of manners

If any midwinter show can entice theater lovers from the warmth and comfort of their homes, it's a comedy. And if any comedy is worth braving subzero temperatures, it's First Folio Shakespeare Festival's sparkling "Jeeves Intervenes."

Vivid wordplay and snappy, sugar-coated insults complement slapstick and pratfalls in this comedy of manners based on "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg," one of the stories from British humorist P.G. Wodehouse's popular series detailing the misadventures of imperturbable valet Jeeves and his bumbling aristocrat employer, Bertie Wooster.

PLAY REVIEW "Jeeves Intervenes" 3 1/2 stars out of four3 1/2 stars out of fourLocation: Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook Times: 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays through March 2Running Time: About 2 hours, including intermissionTickets: $26, $21Parking: Lot adjacent to the estateBox office: (630) 986-8067 or www.firstfolio.orgRating: Suitable for all ages

Margaret Raether's droll adaptation is as dry as a well-made martini and equally potent. First Folio's ensemble is as sharp as the crease in a pair of custom-tailored trousers under Alison C. Vesely's zestful direction. And the nimble trio of Jim McCance (masterful as gentlemen's gentleman Jeeves), Christian Gray (as his aristocratic employer Bertie Wooster) and Kevin McKillip (as Bertie's slightly dim best friend Basie, AKA Eustace Bassington-Bassington) generate plenty of comedic sparks. All of which makes for a highly entertaining show that comes at an opportune time.

The play opens with confirmed bachelor Bertie (the genial, charmingly foppish Gray) enlisting help from Jeeves (the delightfully dour, delectably deadpan McCance, who lands every line he delivers). Bertie wants to avoid the matrimonial trap his imperious Aunt Agatha (a wonderfully sardonic Jill Shellabarger) has devised for him.

Agatha, described by Bertie as "she who chews broken bottles, she who kills rats with her teeth," means to wed Bertie to Gertrude (a spunky Lydia Berger), a well-bred Nietzsche-quoting young woman looking for a young man to improve. Uninterested in marriage or self-improvement, Bertie conspires with Jeeves and Basie (the versatile McKillip who makes endearing those fussy mannerisms Hugh Grant makes insufferable) to transfer Gertie's affections to Basie, who is himself smitten with her. Besides this romantic turmoil, the trio contends with Basie's uncle and benefactor, Sir Rupert (Roger Mueller, funny as a blustering Scotsman), who threatens to send his hapless nephew to India unless he can prove he's made a success of himself. Mistaken identities, strained friendships and broken engagements ensue as Bertie and Basie find themselves in one pickle after another. Fortunately, they have the unflappable Jeeves to extricate them.

Set designer Angela Miller's ice blue and snow white accents make Bertie's upscale, London flat suitably wintry, while costume designer Elsa Hiltner injects a shock of peach (for flirty Gertie) among the proper gray pinstripes.

That the production works as well as it does has to do with Vesely's ability to balance the madcap and the literate. The banter crackles. The physical comedy amuses. And nothing is overdone.

In fact, Bertie's description of Jeeves applies equally to First Folio's production. Having agreed to another of Jeeves' deftly conceived plans to rescue their collective fat from the fire, Bertie gazes admiringly at his valet and says "you're absolutely pitch perfect."

I couldn't have said it better myself.